Temple of Adventure

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2011-12-04T16:45:00.001-02:00

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Lots 'O' Chicken Stock

2010-11-16T23:17:00.007-02:00

I know it has been forever since I posted to my blog but, I have been super busy. The biggest change is that I am working. Not that I didn't work before . . . what I mean is, I got a job teaching at a new private school. My children are now attending the same school and we are all doing really well. I finally have time to sit down and post something. It has only taken me 3 months!

The other day after church, we had a couple over for lunch. I made roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and our guests brought a salad and a dirt cake (which my kids loved!!). I didn't take pictures of that meal but, I make roasted chicken alot so here is a picture from another time I made roasted chicken. YUM!

I made two 4 pound chickens at one time in my turkey roaster. They cooked while we were at church - 250 degrees for 5 hours. We had the equivalent of 1 whole chicken leftover so, I picked the meat from the bones and made some stock. That's nothing new. I always make stock after I make roasted chicken but, this time was different. It was different because of this beauty!

My mother bought me this wonderfully heavy 22 quart stock pot for my birthday back in October and I broke it in tonight. THANKS, MOM!!! I put all the bones and drippings from my roasted chickens into the pot with a few cloves of garlic, a few onions, a couple of carrots, a couple of celery stalks (with leaves) and a handful of grape tomatoes. I filled it up to within 3 inches of the top with cold water and left it on low heat for a few hours. I then strained the stock. I put the veggies into the blender with some stock, pureed the veggies and added it back into the stock. I measured out 6 cups of stock to make homemade Chicken and Dumplings. I used the leftover chicken meat and made a dough of flour, milk, baking powder and salt for the dumplings. It was delicious! This is what was left after we ate . . . just enough for me for lunch tomorrow! I put a little shredded cheese on it!

Including the 6 cups I used for tonight's dinner, I made 49 cups of chicken stock!!! That's a little more than 3 gallons! I measured it all out into containers in recipe sized portions. I just hope I have enought room in my freezer for all of it. I will be using some of it fairly soon. I will use some on Thanksgiving for my stuffing and for basting the turkey.

I plan on posting more often now that we are used to our new routine. If not sooner, I will post all of my Thanksgiving recipes.

A Week in Food . . . Well The Highlights Anyway

2010-07-10T00:55:00.005-02:00

So the past couple of weeks have been really busy but I thought that I would post a "best of" of what I cooked for you to see.

First, we had a Wednesday night potluck at church last week and I made this pasta salad.

So, I boiled a pound of elbows in salted water until done and drained them. Then I added a batch of roasted tomatoes like the ones I made HERE. Next, I added a 15 oz portion of cooked cannelini beans (drained and rinsed if using canned). Then I added 3 large handfuls of baby spinach leaves and tossed so the heat from the tomatoes and pasta would wilt the leaves a little. I then added a little grated cheese. This can be served hot as a pasta dinner or room temperature as a salad. It was well received by everyone who tried it.

On July 2nd, our middle boy, Jeremy, celebrated his 9th birthday. Instead of making treat bags loaded with candy, we opted for these homemade goodies as our party favors. Kids and parents really liked these . . . ALOT!

I prepared Rice Krispie Treats according to the recipe on the box but, I added 3/4 cup of creamy peanut butter. Then I divided the mixture into 24 equal sized balls. (HI, GINA!!!) I stuck toothpicks in the the balls (HI, AGAIN!!!)and dipped them into melted chocolate and then into rainbow sprinkles (UH OH!!!). I let them chill in the refrigerator on a baking sheet. We wrapped them in green party bags and gave them to all who attended the party.

On July 4th, we had another potluck after church but, it was at the park so I decided to bring fruit salad, Pumpkin Gingerbread, Zucchini Pie and Loaded Mashed Potato Pie to share with our church family. (Sorry, I did not take pictures of the fruit salad or the gingerbread.) There was alot of good stuff at the picnic including red velvet cupcakes (MMMMMM!!!!) and chicken curry (YUMMMMM!!!!). We ate our weight in food that day. This is a picture of the mashed potato filling. I had some leftover mashed potatoes and just doctored them up with dill weed, pepper, sour cream, cream cheese, shredded fiesta blend cheese and real bacon bits. I tasted it and adjusted the seasonings. Then I added 3 eggs so it would set as it baked.

I poured it into a greased pie plate and topped with more cheese.

I baked both pies together in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until set. The pie on the top rack is a zucchini pie.

This is something we ate alot in the summer when I was growing up and zucchini was in abundance. All you do, is mix the following ingredients together in a large bowl until fully combined and then pour it into a greased pie plate and bake as directed above.

3 1/2 cups finely chopped or shredded zucchini
1 onion finely chopped
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
3 tsp dried parsley or 3 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup flour

This is what it looks like when it is done. It is light and delicious.

This potato pie was also delicious but . . . not so light.

Although I failed to photograph it, the Pumpkin Gingerbread was devoured and several people asked me for the recipe.

15 oz can of solid pack pumpkin
4 eggs
3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 1/2 cups flour

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until completely incorporated. Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake for 50 minutes in a 350 degree preheated oven. Do the toothpick test and bake until done.

I went to an antique store with my friend Sarah today. I will post pictures of our adventure tomorrow.

Mexican Dinner From Leftovers and Crazy Hair Day!

2010-06-30T00:24:00.006-02:00

Tonight we had a wonderful Mexican inspired meal made from leftovers and freezer/pantry staples. On Sunday night, I made some chicken thighs in the oven and had 2 leftover. I picked all the meat from the bones and shredded it up for Chicken Quesadillas. I was going to grill some veggies to add to the quesadillas but Michael was working late and I didn't want to deal with complaints about veggies so, I steamed one of the zucchinis from my friend Tanya's garden pureed it. I mixed it into the shredded chicken and tasted it. It needed something else.

I had a little bit of homemade salsa left in the refrigerator so I add a couple of tablespoons to the chicken and stirred. That was just what it needed. The Salsa Recipe can be found here.

Next, I laid out 6 soft taco sized flour tortillas and topped each with a thick slice of Colby-Jack Cheese.

Then, I evenly divided the chicken mixture between the 6 tortillas.

We like things really cheesy and I noticed that my entire tortilla was not covered in cheese so I added an extra slice of cheese to each tortilla. I broke each one into 4 equal strips and framed the chicken to achieve full cheese coverage.

I then covered each one with another tortilla. It was then that I realized that there were only 4 tortillas left in the bag so I made 2 cheese only quesadillas. I set them all aside and preheat the oven to 350 degrees and started on my side dish.

I pulled a bag of red beans out of the freezer. I usually make 2 pounds of dried beans at a time and then measure them out into can sized portions for recipes. Black beans and red beans can always be found in my freezer. These beans were prepared in the crock pot with a ham bone and other seasonings.

I also prepared 1 cup of regular white rice and added it to the reheated beans. My boys love red beans and rice as a side but will also eat it topped with cheese for lunch or as a burrito filling.

While the rice was cooking, I heated the quesadillas until the cheese was melted and then let them sit for 5 minutes cool a little before I cut them into quarters. The cheese only ones are stacked at the top of the picture. The rest of the platter was chicken and veggie quesadillas.

Mmmm! A Mexican dinner that everyone ate without complaints! We had about half the rice and beans leftover and 7 wedges of quesadilla. I know what we are having for lunch tomorrow.

This baby ate without complaining or trying to walk around the table! YAY! Today was crazy hair day so he has red hair glue in his hair. He kept checking his hair all day giving me updates like, "Yup, Mom! My hair is still red!" Thanks, Judah! I was really worried about that!

Tomorrow night we have a cookout at church but, I will post more on Thursday night as our mealtime adventures continue.

The London Broil and Happy Birthday, Michael!

2010-06-28T23:50:00.007-02:00

Yesterday, I showed you my Top Round Roast and how I prepped it to become a London Broil. Well, tonight we had this lovely steak with some basic buttery mashed potatoes. I preheated the oven to broil and set my roast on the counter to bring it up to room temperature. Then I broiled it for 4 minutes per side and let it rest on the cutting board for 10 minutes to redistribute the juices. I then sliced it at a 45 degree angle going against the grain of the meat. It came out perfect!

I boiled the remaining marinade and served it on the side but, I didn't think that it really needed anything extra. Since it was his birthday, we gave my husband the "You Are Special" plate tonight. Dinner is served on this plate to the birthday person, a special guest, someone who has done a good job or has been extra kind, someone who needs cheering up, or just because. I try to rotate it to keep it fair. You can buy a plate like this but, I made mine at the local Pottery Pad. I painted the words and the detail on it and Caleb painted the middle blue with white dots (about 8 or 9 years ago). The Pottery Pad glazed and fired it for me.

Here is the birthday boy taking his first bite of London Broil.

Here he is being all dorky and dramatic.

We pause here to insert my husband's theme song. I hope you enjoy! When he calls my cell phone, this is the song that plays.

This is what happens when you set a plate of tasty meat on a table of carnivores. Notice Michael's plate is also empty.

Here is the birthday boy after he has eaten too much. His words: "It was totally worth it!!!" Do you like the shirt that I got him for Father's Day? It says, "I may be left handed but, I am always right!" We'll let him think that for now.

I was planning on making a chocolate butter cake with a layer of sweetened peanut butter in between the cake layers and chocolate butter cream frosting. However, we are on our umpteenth consecutive day of temperature about 457,000 degrees so I was not baking and heating up the house. We went to Bruster's for ice cream. I love this picture of Caleb and Judah! They are so cute! I wish Jeremy was in it but, he was spending the night at his friend's house.

Pay no attention to the 13 year old wearing an old man hat. He thinks he is Indiana Jones. I wouldn't care except that he is wearing it with black basketball shorts (with paint on them) and a Super Mario Galaxy t-shirt. Oh Well!

This child is a mess with Cotton Candy Explosion ice cream running down his chin. Don't let that angelic face fool you. He makes me very tired.

Here is the birthday boy again. He was very excited because they had his favorite flavor today . . . Chocolate Peanut Butter Buckeye! YUM!!! I also had some Chocolate Peanut Butter Buckeye as well as a scoop of Banana Chocolate Chip. My day is complete.

SO . . . Happy 35th Birthday, Honey! I love you!!!

Tomorrow, I will be making quesadillas with the leftover chicken from yesterday and the fresh veggies from my friend, Tanya's garden. Stay tuned!!!

The Chicken Was Awesome BUT . . . Where's The Beef?

2010-06-27T22:11:00.005-02:00

So yesterday I talked about my trip to Sam's Club and the awesome deal I got on chicken. The chicken thighs soaked in the sweet sauce all night. I cooked 6 chicken thighs at 400 degrees for 35 minutes just like the recipe said to do. It was delicious and I served them with fresh sliced peaches and homemade rolls that a sweet lady from church made for us. Thanks, Nora! We have 2 pieces leftover that I am shredding for Tuesday's chicken quesadillas. Here are the 2 that are left after we had dinner.

And this is the picture from Food Network's site of Robin Miller's chicken. Mine didn't brown like hers. Maybe she put them under the broiler for a couple of minutes or something. OR Maybe the orange marmalade would have browned better than my peach preserves? Who knows? Anyway, They were still sticky and delicious and I will make it again (with my changes of course).

What I failed to mention yesterday was that I also scored some awesome deals on beef. I got a 4+ pound pack of short ribs REDUCED FOR QUICK SALE which I promptly repackaged and put into the freezer. I also got 2 chuck roasts (which I wrapped and froze) and 2 top round roasts for London Broil. My husband is a Midwest boy who loves his meat and potatoes so we are having London Broil tomorrow for his birthday dinner.

London Broil (despite what some may think) is not a cut of meat but actually a method of cooking. The cut of meat that people are really getting when they asked the butcher for London Broil is Top Round Roast (cut at least 2 inches thick and weighing 5-6 pounds). Now that that's out of the way . . . Top Round can be tough and London Broil is a relatively quick cooking method so you need to tenderize the roast. I pounded the roast using the spiked side of a meat mallet for about a minute or 2 per side. Then I sprinkled on a nice layer of Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Salt. I bought this once when I was out of seasoned salt because it has no MSG and we like it on everything. We even sprinkle it on popcorn and use it as table salt. Now I won't buy anything else. I also sprinkled on a layer of Pampered Chef's Greek Rub. This stuff is delicious. It has lemon peel and oregano in it. So I sprinkled both on a side and then pressed it with my hand into the meat. I flipped the meat and repeated the process. Here is a picture of my tools.

Here is the roast seasoned in a Zip Loc bag. I was not done yet. I had tenderized with a mallet and salt but I still needed a marinade to keep the meat moist and juicy and tenderize it some more with an acid.

Here are the ingredients that I used to make a flavorful marinade that would also tenderize the meat:

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup Bragg's Liquid Aminos (you could use soy sauce if don't have Bragg's)
a few generous dashes of Worcestershire sauce
about a Tablespoon of minced garlic

I stirred the ingredients all together in the measuring cup and tasted to see if it needed anything else. I thought it tasted great.

I poured the marinade over the roast in the bag, pressed all the air out and sealed it. It is sitting in the refrigerator overnight and tomorrow, I will broil it in the broiler of my oven for 4 minutes per side for Medium rare.

I plan to serve the steak with potatoes of some sort . . . mashed, sliced and fried, twice baked . . . I haven't decided yet. We'll also have a spinach salad and probably some form of chocolate dessert (his favorite).

Yesterday, I went to pick up my oldest son from his friend's house and his mom handed me a bag of produce from her garden. I will probably grill these and serve them with the leftover chicken on Tuesday in the quesadillas. Thanks, Tanya! Aren't they pretty?

I will let you know how the birthday dinner goes. Stay tuned . . .

Chicken, Pickles, Frogs and GOOBERS!!!

2010-06-26T23:52:00.004-02:00

Well, I am back! So many things have happened since my last post. I will be sure to post pictures later this week of vacations and graduations and other happenings around here. For now, I want to share about my awesome trip to Sam's Club. I hit the jackpot of "Reduced For Quick Sale" Meats yesterday! Today, I processed it all. I purchased 12 large chicken leg quarters for about 8 dollars. They were so large, I didn't realize they were leg quarters until I got home. I thought they were breasts. I guess I didn't read the package because I was blinded by the bright sticker that said "REDUCED"! Pardon my fuzzy picture, my camera is dying.

First, I separated the drumsticks from the thighs and packed all 12 drumsticks together for a dinner (with planned leftovers). I will probably either fry them or baste them in BBQ sauce and grill them. YUM! For now, they are in the freezer. I then peeled the skin off the thighs and removed some of the large fat pockets. I put 6 thighs each into 2 gallon sized freezer bags and one went right into the freezer. The other bag was bathed in a marinade using these ingredients below and THIS Robin Miller recipe as a starting point. Of course, I changed it. I don't think that I have ever followed a recipe to the letter.

The original recipe called for orange marmalade which makes me want to gag so, I substituted peach preserves. I doubled the amount of soy sauce and added a teaspoon of ground ginger. I mixed all 4 ingredients in a bowl until smooth and then poured it all over the chicken thighs in the bag. Don't they look happy in their sticky bath? I bet they will be delicious tomorrow after church when we eat them for lunch! Right now, they are marinating in the refrigerator overnight and tomorrow I will bake them for 35 minutes at 400 degrees just like the recipe says to.

On to the next cooking project of the day. These monstrous beauties are supposed to be pickling cucumbers. They are ginormous! They came from my mother's garden and she asked me to make pickles with them. They are far too fat to leave whole so I decided on sandwich slices. You may only need one slice to cover your whole burger with one of these pickles.

Here are the ingredients I use to make some awesome garlic dills very similar to Claussen Pickles. In case you can't read the labels in the picture (have I mentioned that my camera is dying?), there is minced garlic, salt, vinegar, dill seed (not weed), and Mixed peppercorns (pink, green, white and black).

The cucumbers were so big that each one filled its own quart sized Mason Jar. I even had to gently fold the larger rounds to get them in the mouth of the jars. So, I loaded each jar with cucumber slices, 1 Tbsp of dill seed, 1/2 Tbsp of Peppercorns and 1 & 1/2 teaspoons of minced garlic. You could use 3 whole peeled cloves of garlic per jar but, I was out of fresh garlic so I used the jar stuff.

While I was filling the jars, the brine was coming to a boil on the stove top. The brine was 8 cups of water, 4 cups of vinegar and 1/2 cup of salt.

Once it was up to a rolling boil and all the salt had dissolved, I carefully topped each jar off with the brine. I then sealed the jars and let them sit on the counter until they reached room temperature. Then they went into the refrigerator to brine for at least a week but 2 weeks is better. If you can wait that long!!!

In unrelated news, these creatures decided to hang out on the glass sliding door last night. For at least 20 minutes, they didn't move. I thought for sure the frog was going to eat the moth but he never did. We all got bored and walked away.

In other unrelated news . . . this child is a GOOBER!!! He is wearing an undershirt (inside out I might add), goggles, a cowboy hat (backwards), dog tags and he is holding an Indiana Jones whip. He is just as adorable as can be but . . . I am not quite sure what this whole ensemble is all about. He went outside to dig in the red Carolina clay barefooted and dressed like this. Not the backyard . . . the front yard . . . so all the neighbors could see him and wonder what in the world goes on in our house. Strange but I love him!

Stay tuned for picture from our trips to the Creation Museum and the Smokey Mountains. I also have pictures from the above GOOBER'S graduation. I will do my best to get them all posted this coming week.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

2010-05-17T00:18:00.002-02:00

I am a salty food person. When I am craving a snack, I usually end up wanting something salty like: beef jerky, nuts, pretzels, Tostitos Hint of Lime . . . you get the picture. Yesterday, I was in the mood for some soft pretzels so I decided to make some but I thought it might be fun to make the dough with beer instead of water and to add some honey for a hint of sweetness. They came out really good. I was impressed. However, I think next time I will cut the yeast by half because the beer made the dough rise much more than it would have with water. They rose so much that all the holes closed up so that they look like knotted rolls instead of pretzels. They were still delicious. Take a look. The recipe follows the picture.

1 cup room temperature beer
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp kosher salt
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp instant yeast

Mix all the ingredients together in the either the bowl of a stand mixer or in the pan of the bread machine. If you use the stand mixer, knead for about 10 minutes. If you use the bread machine, like I did, set it on the dough setting and walk away. When the bread machine beeps, your dough has already risen. If you use the mixer, cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise for 1 hour in a warm place.

Turn the dough out on a floured surface and divide into 16 equal pieces. Grease 2 baking sheets or baking stones and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roll the pieces into 12 inch long ropes and shape into pretzels. Beat 1 egg and brush on the pretzels and sprinkle with kosher or pretzel salt. Bake 8 pretzels per sheet for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm with cheese sauce. YUM!

SO there you have it! Soft Pretzels!

Today after church, we went out with friends for lunch and I had 1 one of these for dessert. So good!

I have made cannoli cream before many times but, I do not have a frying tube so I cannot make the shells myself. If I ever get one, I will have to have a wider door installed on my house because I will make them ALL THE TIME!!! Probably a good thing that I don't have one.

Strawberry Picking 2010 and a Delicious Meal

2010-05-13T22:58:00.011-02:00

Yesterday, we went strawberry picking with a group of our homeschool friends. It was a gorgeous, breezy day and the berries were sweet and perfect.

I just love the little white blossoms on the strawberry plant.

This is a 1 gallon bucket full of lovely ripe strawberries. We took home 4 of these buckets filled to overflowing.

Judah stayed home from Pre-K so he could join us. He did pretty well. I didn't find any under ripened or rotten strawberries in his bucket.

Later that evening, we went out for BBQ for dinner. Judah wanted to ride this ride before dinner and was told that he could ride it after dinner if he behaved and ate all his dinner. He didn't like that answer . . . so he pouted. Isn't he cute? Don't you want to have 12 just like him someday?

The boy knows how to hold a grudge, ladies and gentleman. I apologize for my husband . . . I am still trying to figure out what happened to him.

Judah did get to ride the ride after dinner and then we went home. When we got home, I made Freezer Jam using about 2 gallons of strawberries. We have 8 large jars in the freezer, 1 in the refrigerator and I have given 2 away. I just used the recipe on the back of the packet of Ball Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin (found in the spice/baking isle). It is so delicious!

Tonight, for dinner, I made these yummy buttery dinner rolls and some homemade cinnamon honey butter. The rolls came out so good and were the perfect vehicle for the jam and/or honey butter.

Here is the recipe for the rolls. I made mine using the bread machine but you could certainly mix and knead by hand.

1 cup warm milk (no hotter than 110 degrees F.)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
4 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast

Place all the ingredients into the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. I listed the ingredients in the order that I loaded them into the machine. Most bread machines have a dough only cycle that does all the the mixing, kneading and rising for you. Set the machine on the dough cycle and walk away. Mine takes 1 hour and 30 minutes. When the cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 24 equal portions. Shape the dough into balls and arrange in a greased 13 inch by 9 inch baking pan. I used two 8 inch cake pans. Cover the pans with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled. I set mine on top of the stove while the oven was on and they doubled in 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Mmmmm! So good with the honey butter. You can find the recipe in this post.

Although it was tempting to just have rolls, butter and jam for dinner, I did make this lovely roasted chicken and a baby spinach and carrot salad to round out the meal. Sorry, I didn't take a picture of the salad.

It was all very delicious! The entire chicken breast as well as part of a thigh were leftover. I shredded them meat and out it in the fridge for use later in the week. The bones and some veggies and seasonings are simmering in the crockpot for some homemade chicken stock. We still have a gallon of strawberries to finish off so maybe, we'll have smoothies for breakfast.

A New Treasure

2010-05-06T16:43:00.003-02:00

Today, after I dropped the boys off at the Boys and Girls Club for Homeschool field day, my good friend Amy and I went to a new antique and designer mall here in our town. All I can say is WOW!!!

Please forgive my crappy photos . . . I took them with my phone.

This used to be an old textile mill and it is being coverted into this awesome treasure warehouse of all things pretty. I was on a mission to find tea cups for a Mother's Day tea that I am attending on Saturday so I didn't have the time to truly shop but, I will be going back.

This sweet table was one thing that caught my eye. Of course, in my house, those balls would be getting chucked all over the place. I love the blues and browns and that chunky candle holder.

Here is a close up of another sweet planter pot. I know of at least one sweet friend who would love this place. *SIGH!!!* I must go back and really search. They had everything from fabric to furniture and everything in between. Who wants to go with me?

Semi-Freezer Cooking: Bolognese Sauce (or Tacos!!!)

2010-04-27T13:57:00.009-02:00

There are some nights when I just need a quick meal but I don't want to serve a less than healthy meal like processed foods. So my solution is to "process" whole foods myself at home and have things in the freezer that can be ready in 20 minutes or less. I am a planner so a lot of times I will plan to use one of my "processed" foods ahead of time. For example, Wednesdays are really busy for us with produce co-op and PE class at the YMCA for the kids and then church in the evenings. I don't want to have to eat out or go through a drive thru so a lot of Wednesdays we will have pasta. Growing up Italian in Brooklyn, NY, it was actually a sin (in my family and the greater neighborhood even) to serve jar sauce unless you had canned it yourself over the summer (which we did). SO, I came up with this recipe which actually makes 7-8 packets of meat sauce base for that slow cooked Bolognese Sauce in 20 minutes. I have served it to my grandmother and I am still alive! LOL! This recipe is also an awesome way to sneak lots of veggie into those picky eaters.

Kristi's Bolognese Base

5 pounds ground meats of choice
4 onions
5 ribs of celery with leaves
5 cloves of garlic (or more . . . we like a lot of garlic)
2 zucchini
16 oz mushrooms
4 carrots
1 large Sam's Club sized can of diced tomatoes
12 oz tomato paste
1/2 cup fresh minced flat leaf parsley
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp pepper

Process all of the fresh veggies in the food processor until they are very small bits. Set aside. In a LARGE pot, cook your meat in batches so it browns and doesn't boil and turn gray. Remove the meat to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside. Cook the veggies in the meat grease in batches until soft. Remove the veggies to a bowl and discard remaining grease. Using the same pot, return the meat to the pot and add the tomato paste. Cook over high heat and stir until paste is melted and starts to bubble and turn a rusty reddish-brown color. Add your veggies and diced tomatoes with their liquid. Stir well and add your seasonings. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Cook uncovered for at least 1 and 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Let it cool and transfer to freezer bags or containers of your choice in 3 cup portions. It will be the consistency of a thick ground beef chili. Freeze until ready to use. This recipe usually yields 7-8 packets of sauce base. Please ignore the 6 inches of snow in my freezer. I need to defrost it. I usually stack the bags like this for maximum storage space. I do the same with dried beans that I have prepared.

When I am ready to make the sauce, I usually set a packet of sauce base on the counter in the morning.

By dinner time it is mostly defrosted and slides right out of the bag and into a medium sauce pan. Then I add a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce and 2 tsp Italian seasoning. Simmer over low heat while your pasta is cooking. If you want to make it a true Bolognese Sauce, stir 1 cup of milk or cream into the sauce about 2 minutes before removing from the heat. It is fine as a meat sauce but the cream just adds more flavor and richness. Serve your sauce over your favorite pasta (we had penne).

NOTE: You can use just beef in this recipe but, I usually use a mixture of beef, pork, veal, sausage, turkey or whatever I have on hand to add up to 5 pounds of meat. You can also add more or different veggies. This is my basic recipe but I have used bell peppers and eggplant in it before with good results. I try to use whatever is in season.

ANOTHER NOTE: You can use the fully prepared sauce to put together a lasagna or baked ziti or in any recipe you would use a meat sauce.

LAST NOTE (I PROMISE): You can use the packet of sauce as a taco meat by omitting the 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes and Italian seasoning and adding an envelope of taco seasoning (or the equivalent of homemade taco seasoning) and 1/3 cup of water. Simmer together in a pan and serve as you would for tacos, burritos, whatever you like.

I am Linking up with

Jen @ Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Lisa @ Blessed with Grace

Cole @ All the Small Stuff

Gayle @ The Grocery Cart Challenge

Homemade Granola . . . I May Never Buy Commercial Cereal Again!

2010-04-08T22:48:00.003-02:00

My family loves granola . . . in any form. Their favorite form is the granola bar which I began making at the end of last year. I researched several different recipes to come up with a mixture my kids would like. Jeremy, the undisputed king of granola bars, loves the recipe that I came up with and lets me know when we are running out so I can make more.

My favorite form of granola is as a cold cereal with milk and it is so expensive in the stores so I decided to make my own. Hey, I am all about making things myself. Here at the Temple house, we make all of our own soaps (body and hand soap, laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, dish washing liquid, shampoo, conditioner, household cleaners) breads, granola bars, sauces, spice mixes, stocks, etc. If I had a juicer . . .

Anyway, back to the granola. After reading several recipes and methods, I concocted my own version of what I thought I would like best and it is fat free (except for the fat the occurs naturally in the nuts). I call it Greatest Hits Granola. I like to make it at night after everyone is in bed so it can cool overnight.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Mix the following together in a large bowl:
3 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1 cup slivered or sliced almonds
1 cup roughly chopped cashews
1 cup crispy rice cereal

In a small sauce pan, combine the following ingredients and heat over low heat until the brown sugar is dissolved. You do not need to bring this to a boil:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup real maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup applesauce (not chunky, I used homemade apple sauce)
1/4 cup mashed ripe banana
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt

Pour the liquid mixture over the ingredients in the bowl and mix to coat evenly. Divide the mixture between 2 sheet pans and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes until evenly browned. Here is a picture of the 2 sheets baking. Every time I took them out to stir them, I rotated which rack they were on just so they would brown evenly.

When it is done baking, turn off the oven and prop the door open and leave the granola in the oven to cool on the sheet pans over night. In the morning, transfer the granola to an airtight storage container. See my new counter tops? I will be posting the whole story complete with pictures soon.

Then you can add in 1 cup or more of whatever you like (raisins, craisins, dried apples, dried apricots, mini chocolate chips, etc.). As you can see here, I added freeze dried apples and dried cranberries. See that lovely jug of milk in the picture? I just started buying our milk directly from the dairy. It is raw, full fat milk with the cream on top. You have to shake it before using unless you want to pour the cream off for another use. It is delicious and I have not had any problems digesting it as I have in the past with dairy products. I am beginning to think that pastuerization kills a nutrient in the milk that aids in digestion. It is illegal for raw milk to be sold in North Carolina for human consumption so, I cross the border to South Carolina to get it straight from the cow at Tucker Adkins Dairy.

Mmmmmmmm!!! Yummy Granola and Creamy Raw Milk!!!

I hope you are inspired to try this granola. I know if you do, you will be hooked!

Grateful For His Sacrifice

2010-04-03T02:00:00.003-02:00

This song says all that I feel today as Resurrection Sunday approaches.

May you all enjoy the freedom and peace that His sacrifice gives us.

Happy Easter!

Caleb Got Braces!!!

2010-03-02T23:43:00.003-02:00

This morning we had an 8 AM appointment at the orthodontist's office. Caleb had braces put on his teeth this morning. This month is a constant reminder that I am no longer as young as I would like to believe that I am. My baby will turn 5 on the 10th and start Kindergarten in August. Caleb got braces today and will enter his teenage years on the 23rd. Where did the time go?

Here is our before picture.

And here is the finished product.

Before I know it, he will be driving and wanting a cell phone and going out with friends without a parent. OK . . . I need to go find a paper bag and some chocolate to console myself.

Snow Cream . . . Fresh Off The Grill . . . The Breakfast Of Champions

2010-02-13T12:42:00.003-02:00

So, it snowed again last night and all through the night. We got about 5 inches of really good snowman making snow. The kids were all excited. Yesterday, we went to a friend's house for lunch and the boys begged for their friend to come home with us and stay for dinner. It started to snow before dinner so Mack spent the night. We had popcorn and watched Ice Age 2: The Meltdown.

This is the view from our front door this morning. Beautiful, isn't it?

See how the snow os sticking to all the tree limbs? I love the snow and I am so glad we are getting a real winter this year.

This is the view out the back door. Just out of the frame of this picture is our grill and when I saw all that clean snow, I thought to myself, "I am going to be the coolest mom ever if I make snow cream for breakfast!"

So, I collected 8 packed cups of snow in a large bowl and quickly added a 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk and 1 teaspoon on real vanilla extract.

I stirred it all together trying to break up the snow clumps and get everything blended without getting too soft.

Our guest thought I was a little crazy as I stirred snow in a bowl. I don't know . . . maybe he was expecting waffles and omelets.

Here are some of our sticky toppings.

We cannot forget the chocolate crunchies and rainbow sprinkles.

Here is the crew tasting breakfast for the first time.

This is Mack. He thoroughly enjoyed eating doctored up snow for breakfast.

Caleb loved it.

I think Jeremy has more Hershey's syrup than snow cream in that bowl. He stirred his up to make chocolate snow cream.

Judah was still trying to figure out why I was serving ice cream for breakfast. I hardly ever buy ice cream so they really enjoyed it.

The recipe I used is Paula Dean's recipe. I had never used the sweetened condensed milk for snow cream before but, it held together better than any other recipe I have ever used. It was not soupy.

So, in case you missed it earlier in the post, all you do is mix together:

8 packed cups of snow

14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

My husband just came into the office and told me that today is the first time in a generation (at least 50 years) that there has been snow on the groung in everyone of the fifty states (except Hawaii). It snowed in Florida yesterday. Global Warming? Hmmmmm???

Baking Day

2010-01-29T19:30:00.004-02:00

So today was Baking Day. I had 4 things that I wanted to make but I only made 2. I made 3 loaves of sandwich bread and homemade granola bars. Before dinner, I will make some cornbread to go with our chicken soup. Tomorrow I will make the banana bread.

So here is my second attempt at a chewy granola bar. My first attempt came out more like a bar cookie which tasted good but was not passing as a suitable substitute for store bought granola bar.

Here is how I made them:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup peanut butter
5 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup applesauce (I used homemade which had some cinnamon in it)
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup rice krispies
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup finely chopped nuts (I used pecans that I had in the freezer)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 11x15 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, stir together the brown sugar, peanut butter, honey, applesauce, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together the oats, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, cereal, nuts and wheat germ. Stir the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture until evenly coated. Press lightly into the prepared pan. Bake or 25 to 30 minutes or until slightly golden. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into 20 bars and wrap in foil or plastic wrap.

You can always substitute other things for the chocolate and peanut butter chips like raisins, dried cranberries, etc.

Here are my bars all wrapped and ready to eat!

Here is my sandwich bread. The house smells so good!

It rose very nicely. It is the perfect height for sandwich bread.

I am off to make some chicken soup for dinner and enjoy the snow that is falling.

The After Pictures - I Need Your Feedback!!!

2010-01-23T14:30:00.004-02:00

OK, so the rooms are not completely put back together but, they are about 90% done. The trim and thresholds are not done yet but, neither is all the flooring so we will be doing that when all the flooring is laid. Please, feel free to leave me comments and/or suggestions for a diferent furniture arrangement or ideas for some new accessories. I am always up for new ideas.

This is a picture of the formal living room taken from the office door. The front door is to the right and the dining room is to the left. The curio cabinet is supposed to be in the corner but, the extra flooring planks are stacked in the corner. I deas for an area rug???

This is the living room taken from the kitchen. Again, the curio is usually in the corner.

This is the dining room taken from the living room. The kitchen is to the left and is divided by a penninsula and upper bank of cabinets. We recently replaced our brass chandelier with this beautiful Tiffany style fixture. We love the colors. Please disregard the boxes on the table and all my homeschool stuff stack on the sideboard. What colors would you paint in these 2 rooms (really one big room) keeping in mind that we love the wood moldings?

Here is a view of where we stopped for now. I am standing in between the 2 rooms facing the kitchen and past that, the family room. Please pretend the cluttered countertops are nice and clear and clean. The floor will continue through the kitchen and into the family room (where the kids are). I love how well the floor matches the cabinets. I can't wait for all of it to be done.

This is taken from the same spot. The kitchen is to the right and the office door is to the left. I need to do sometthing different interms of pictures here. I know that one of the pictures is crooked. The lamp is the one I aquired at the Nester's Swap Meet a few months back. I just bought a Better Homes and Garden shade for it at WalMart. I like it but, not with the wall behind it. Any suggestions???

I am linking this post to DIY Day at A Soft Place To Land.

I Think I May Have Compulsive Hoarding Disorder!

2010-01-23T01:26:00.005-02:00

I think I need an intervention!

I know . . . I know . . . it looks like I need to be on an episode of the show "Hoarders". You know, that show on A&E where people with Compulsive Hoarding Disorder get a therapist and an organizer and they clean their homes. I like to watch it. In a sick way, it makes me feel good about myself and it makes my mess seem . . . well . . . not so bad. Anyway, My dining room only looks like this because the living room has been pushed into the dining room so we can start laying the new floors! YAY!!!

My boys see an empty room as an opportunity to set up a battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons. This is a view of the formal living room taken from the office door.

Here is a view taken from the kitchen . The battle is still waging as Devastator fights . . . well . . . I don't really know who that little guy is.

Here is the table saw that we used to cut our flooring. Very exciting, I know. Please try and restrain yourself from leaping with excitement.

Here are some of the boxes of flooring which we got from Sam's Club for a very good price.

This is Jeff. He is the husband of my good friend, Rona. Jeff was a tremendous help. He even brought his own power tools. Thanks, Jeff!

Here is the first row of flooring. Isn't it so pretty and shiny?!?!?! Humor me! I have been wanting these floors for a very long time. I cannot tell you how good it felt to pull up the carpet on Wednesday morning knowing that Thursday and Friday, my dreams would come true.

Here is a picture facing the office (PLEASE . . . ignore the real "Hoarders"-style mess in the office!) Jeff and my dad had a good rhythm going and the floor went down pretty quickly. Jeremy wanted to help but he kept stepping on the planks so we sent him into the family room to play the Wii.

After we got the living room floor down, we had to take a break and move that giant pile of stuff carefully onto the new floor so we could continue laying the floor into the dining room. This is the living room taken from the kitchen at the end of day 1 (Thursday). Fancy, huh?

Jeff came back at 8 the next morning (Friday). He laid the flooring in the hallway up to the bedroom doors and then continued moving toward the dining room. You can sort of see the opening to the hallway in the background of this picture. We are taking it straight through the kitchen. See how well it matches the cabinets! BTW . . . I will be changing the hardware and counter tops. Just not yet.

Because all the rooms are open to each other, we had to lay some flooring in the kitchen which we were not planning to do until next week. We ended up having to move the refrigerator. We had to take the doors off of it so we could get it out. The island doesn't allow for the refrigerator to come all the way out of it's spot. The floor under the refrigerator made me want to throw up. Did you know linoleum could grow fur? EWWWWW!!! After I cleaned the floor with ammonia, we had to cut the cabinet above this space to allow for the added height the flooring would give to the refrigerator. VERY MESSY! Saw dust was everywhere . . . and I mean everywhere! I had to clean saw dust out of my purse! This is a picture taken from the dining room of Jeff laying the flooring in the alcove.

Here is the refrigerator with no doors on it in the middle of the kitchen floor.

This is the refrigerator door leaning against the wall of the family room. It didn't take very long to get that whole section done. The doors were back on and everything was reconnected with in an hour. Nothing was lost except the ice in the ice maker and a small container of shrimp sauce that fell out of the refrigerator while we were moving it.

Finally, here is a picture of Jeremy helping to clean up all the sawdust. He was a big help today. Tomorrow I will post pictures of the finished rooms after all the furniture is back in place. Now I am off to bed. I am so tired and I didn't even work as hard as my dad or Jeff.

Thanks, Dad and JoAnn for the lovely Christmas gift of new floors! We love them!

I am linking this post to DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land.

So . . . It Is 2010!

2010-01-02T22:30:00.003-02:00

Welcome to a new decade! We rang in the new year with a quiet dinner and movie night at my Mom's house. We had to wake the kids at 11:50 so they wouldn't be mad that they missed the ball dropping. Really they just wanted to spray everything with Silly String. After going home and sleeping in, we cleaned the house so we could have some company over for dinner. My good friend, Susanne, came over with her family for dinner. We had Spaghetti and Meatballs and homemade Italian bread. YUM!!! We played a game called Apples to Apples and had a blast.

This morning, however, I was awake from 4 until 8 with a puking 4 year old. He's fine now. He has kept a bowl of soup down and is in the bath tub as I type but, those 4 hours killed me. I was tired all day. Oh Well!

I think I am ready to get back into the swing of things. We'll be taking down our Christmas decorations next Saturday as I like to keep everything up through Little Christmas (January 6th). This coming week promises to be busy as we get back to homeschooling, classes at the Y, and trying to organize all the new stuff the kids got for Christmas. We need to purge some things from every room in the house. There are some goals I am setting for the New Year. I would like to continue to make all of our our bread and soaps. I would like to try to cut some more of the processed foods from our diets. I would like to have more time to myself. Wouldn't we all!?!?!

I plan to keep the blog updated at least weekly but, I make no promises.

2009 Comes to a Close

2009-12-30T16:56:00.003-02:00

Tomorrow is New Years' Eve and as I sit and reflect on the year that has just passed, I am overwhelmed by God's goodness, mercy, love, grace and provision. Our family has been truly blessed this year. We have made so many wonderful memories, spent time with friends and family, welcomed new babies, said tearful farewells to loved ones lost . . . and in all these things, we are extremely grateful for the life He has blessed us with.

From our family to yours . . .

We pray God's richest blessing on you for this coming year. We hope this photo leaves a smile on your face as you start your New Year. This is my new favorite family photo.

Autumn Harvest Soup

2009-10-06T00:50:00.002-02:00

I am linking up with the following:

Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace

Today was really kind of cold and damp so it was the perfect day to rummage through the cupboards and the freezer for "soup-er" inspiration. This is what I came up with: Autumn Harvest Soup and Homemade Flax Seed Bread with Cinnamon Honey Butter!
Isn't it pretty?

Here is the base recipe that I wrote down and added to my recipe collection. I made note of extras or substitutions that I used today.

Autumn Harvest Soup

1 pound mixed split peas (I only had 12 oz but, it was close enough.)
1/3 c. pearl barley (not instant)
1 lb. bacon (I had 1/2 pound of bacon and 1/2 pound venison sausage that I had browned and frozen.)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp dried marjoram
6 carrots, diced
4 sticks celery, diced
1 sweet potato, cubed
1 lg. ham bone
1 bay leaf
14 cups water
Kosher salt and Pepper to taste (I did not add pepper because my sausage had a kick and sufficiently peppered my soup.)

Soak the split peas and barley in cold water while you are assembling your soup. Dice bacon while frozen for easier cutting, put in hot large kettle and cook until well browned and crisp. Add onion, garlic and marjoram and cook until soft. Add all your other veggies and stir to coat for about 5 minutes more. Add your ham bone, bay leaf and water. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer for at least 3 hours. Stir occasionally and check your peas; when they are soft, it is done. Remove your bone and bay leaf. Pick all the ham from the bone and add it back into your soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (I used my Pampered Chef chopper to dice the onion, garlic, carrot and celery very fine. I just cubed the sweet potato with a knife. I salted to taste at the very end because sometimes cooking dry beans with salt makes them tougher. It didn't really need alot of salt because of the bacon and the ham.)

See how lovely the texture is? There is a piece of ham and sweet potato on that spoon!

The bread was some I had made for sandwiches which turned out really well except for the rising. I need to learn to wait. The Honey Butter is something that I have been making for years whenever I made homemade bread. Today I was watching Barefoot Contessa and Ina Garden was making the recipe I always use. I guess there are not that many different ways you can make honey butter.

Sandwich Bread with Flax Seeds

2 tablespoons yeast
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar
3 cups of warm water
3 Tbsp ground Flax Seeds
10 cups of flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup melted butter

Combine 1 tablespoon of sugar, the yeast and 1 cup of warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Let set for 10 minutes. Mix the yeast in well. Then add the 2 remaining cups of water, 1/2 cup sugar and butter. Mix together. Mix in 3 cups of the flour, one cup at a time. Then switch to the dough hook attachment and mix in the remaining 7 cups of flour, one cup at a time. Once all your flour is incorporated, set the mixer a notch higher for 4-5 minutes to knead. Put the dough in a large oiled bowl and flip to coat both sides with oil. Loosely cover bowl with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray, and place in a warm place. Let it rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch down dough to remove air bubbles and divide into 3 even pieces of dough. Shape into loaves with floured hands and put into greased loaf pans. Cover pans with oiled plastic and then a dish towel. Set in a warm area for another hour or until doubled in size. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. It is ready when it turns golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped! Remove from pans and cool on a cooling rack. (I let my dough rise for 1 hour but it had not doubled in size. I should have waited another 30 minutes at least. Then I was running out of time so I only let the loaves rise for 1 hour. The loaves should have been taller but I was impatient. It was delicious anyway.)

Cinnamon Honey Butter

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of kosher salt

Blend all ingredients together with a hand mixer until smooth. Put it in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate.

It was the perfect meal for a chilly fall day!

Eureka!!! No More Clumps In The Laundry Soap!!!

2009-10-04T17:05:00.007-02:00

Back in April, my husband and I ventured to Lowe's probably 10 times in one week. Every time we were there, we asked a ton of questions and spent at least an hour with pad and pencil trying to figure out which washer and dryer were the best bang for our buck. Our washer and dryer was a stack mates set from Maytag that was 20-25 years old. It still worked but was starting to make this crazy noise when you started the dryer. It was also too small for all the laundry I was doing every week. It took forever. You can read more about the whole experience here.

So we opted for the Maytag Bravo set. It is gigantic and I was beside myself with glee when I did my first load of laundry. Now I only have to do 1-2 loads per week. When we bought it we were told that we had to use HE detergent so on our way out of the store, I grabbed a bottle of HE detergent. I have been making my own laundry detergent since 2006 after finding this recipe on the Internet. I haven't purchased laundry soap since I bought a laundry soap making kit for $17 from Soaps Gone By in 2006. It has lasted that long! Well that one bottle of HE detergent that I purchased in April is just about gone. I have been reading on other people's blogs that the homemade stuff is safe for an HE washing machine because it is low suds.

Last night, I got out all my supplies to make a batch of laundry soap and was wondering if there was something I could do about the gloppy consistency since my new machine has a dispenser. I was thinking that the clumps of gel might be an issue when it was put in the dispenser. Plus, I thought that a smoother consistency would make it easier to measure out and pour. So, I thought about the homemade hand soap that I made just recently. You can read about it here. And I thought, "What if I used the same amounts of water, soap, washing soda and borax but just changed the way that I put them together and make it more like the hand soap?"

So here is what I did:
* Pour 1 gallon cold water in a large bucket. Set aside.
* Pour 1 gallon of water into a large pot and bring to a steam (you should just see tiny bubbles on the bottom of the pot and steam coming up off the top of the water.
* Add 1 bar grated soap. I used Zote (Pink and smells nice).

* Stir until the soap shavings are dissolved but do not boil.
* Add 1 cup Super Washing Soda and 1/2 cup Borax. Give the pot a stir, turn off the heat and stir until the powders are dissolved. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes uncovered.
* Use your immersion blender and blend until smooth and creamy (no little bits of soap should be left).
* Pour your soap mixture into your bucket of cold water and use your immersion blender again until smooth.
* Leave the bucket to cool and gel overnight UNCOVERED.

* In the morning, you will have soap jello. It will be springy to the touch but not wet. Use your immersion blender again and blend well. Break up all the chunks of gel. It should turn the consistency of liquid laundry detergent. Even and smooth. At this point, you can add 10-15 drops of essential oil to scent your detergent, although this is not necessary. After the addition, blend well with the immersion blender.

* Use a funnel to pour your liquid into old detergent containers for easy pouring. Shake before using if you want to but you shouldn't have to. Those large clumps should be a thing of the past. Use 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup for HE and front load machines and 1/4 to 1/2 cup for top load and non-HE machines. I wrote directions on some masking tape and put it on the bottles.

As I was cleaning up the kitchen last night after making my laundry soap, Michael called me into the family room where I saw this little four-year-old boy "watching" TV.

This is what he was watching . . . the backs of his eyelids! He was completely asleep propped up on his elbows. So cute!

This is what we had for Sunday lunch . . . Chicken Parmigiana with Linguine. YUM!!!
I used the sauce that I made here. It was delicious!

Use What You Have . . . Homemade Hand Soap

2009-10-02T01:15:00.006-02:00

You are probably all wondering whether I am ever going to stop talking about my produce co-op. Well, have no fear, I am not blogging about food today.

Regardless of what your finances are, there are always things that we can do to save money, reduce waste and reuse things. I know I am NOT the only person who upon checking out of a hotel, takes the little soaps, shampoos and lotions home with them. Now I am NOT one who takes the toilet paper off the wall, tissues and extra trash bags. I worked housekeeping for a summer at a resort and the other ladies and I used to talk about the guests who would do that. VERY TACKY! The worst guests were the ones who took towels and linens. We had to report those and those people got charged for those items. But, I digress . . .

Anyway, we have a box of extra toiletries under the sink in our bathroom. You know, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, hairspray and the like. There is a Ziploc bag of hotel bar soaps from everywhere from Econo Lodge to the W Hotel. Some are nicer and more luxurious having designer scents and fancy wrappings while others were just plain old soap. If you are like me, then you understand the aversion I have to a bar of soap sitting on the side of the sink all slimy on the underside with dried dirt from someones hands all over it. YUCK!!! I also don't like using bar soap in the shower because it gets dropped and gets hair stuck to it. Just being real here, folks!

The other day, I noticed that we were running low on liquid hand soap . . . mostly because of a four-year-old who thinks he needs three pumps of soap to get clean. I hated to go out and buy one of those big refills of hand soap when I knew I had tons of bar soap that was just sitting in the cabinet. So I searched the Internet for recipes for homemade hand soap. I didn't want to buy any ingredients that I didn't already have on hand. Alot of them called for glycerin, which I did not have. I thought about how I make our laundry detergent and thought, "it should work the same way for hand soap, right?" So here is what I did:

I weighed various bars of soap with similar scents until I had 4 oz. I grated them on my cheese grater. This batch was lemon and sage/rosemary scented soaps.

I poured 1 gallon of water into a pot and heated it until it was steaming but not boiling.

I then poured the soap shavings into the pot and stirred it. I took the pot off the heat and set a timer for 15 minutes. See that there are still some shavings visible.

After the 15 minutes was up, this is what it looked like.

Then I blended the mixture using my immersion blender until there were no more soap shavings.

I then let the mixture sit overnight uncovered. It was hard on the surface the next morning. It almost looked like the hardened fat on top of homemade stock that has been refrigerated.

At this point I used the immersion blender again to get a creamy, liquid soap consistency. I didn't get a picture of this step . . . SORRY!

Then I used a funnel to ladle the soap into our soap pumps around the house and poured the rest into a gallon sized water bottle for use at a later time.

I filled the pump in the background and here is what I had left.

The cost of this project was $0.00. I also made a gallon of body wash and a gallon of tear-free soap for the kids using a Johnson's Baby Bar that I had from my last son's baby shower (5 years ago). It all smells good and washes well.

(NOTE: If you have chlorinated city water, you might want to use distilled water for this purpose. I used distilled water for the first batch and regular well water for the others but I think that the chlorine in municipal water supplies might change your results.)

This post is being linked to:
Frugal Friday at Life As Mom
Hooked On… at Hooked On Houses
Food On Fridays at Ann Kroeker’s
Family Recipe Fridays at Vanderbilt Wife
Recipe Swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge
Friday Feasts at Mom Trends
Foodie Friday at Designs By Gollum

Holy Guacomole!!!

2009-09-30T19:47:00.003-02:00

I am sure that everyone is tired of hearing about the produce co-op that we belong to but . . . here comes another post about my produce. Ready? Well, whether you are or not, here goes . . .

Last Wednesday was our produce pick up and one of the items we received was avocado. I had never actually purchased avocado myself but had eaten it on sandwiches and in guacamole at restaurants. Our favorite local Mexican Restaurant makes a pretty good guacamole. I like it but I wouldn't die if I never had it again. It is not one of those foods that I crave or anything.

So, anyway, we got 3 avocado and they were as hard as rocks. When I got home, I just set them out on the counter. This morning, I noticed that they seemed a little darker than when we got them. I touched them and they were softer so I decided that when we got home from PE at the Y, I would try my hand at guacamole. I searched some recipes online and found Alton Brown's recipe at Food Network's website. I love Alton Brown so I thought I would try it. I did, however, make a few minor adjustments after reading the reviews and so I am posting how I made it and you can link to Alton Brown's recipe to see the original. Here is what I did (Sorry, I did not take step-by-step photos today.):

3 avocados, halved, seeded and scooped out with a spoon
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dark chili powder
1/2 medium onion, diced
8-10 strips of roasted red bell peppers (SEE THIS POST FOR THE RECIPE)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (I didn't have any but, I would add it next time)
3 cloves garlic, minced

I put all the ingredients in a the bowl of the food processor and blended until mostly smooth. Then I enjoyed with a tortilla chip and put the rest in a plastic container in the fridge. Easy and delicious. Even my picky husband loved it. It may not be pretty but it was YUMMY!

Clean Out The Pantry Stew

2009-09-30T01:55:00.003-02:00

Sorry folks! I did not take any pictures of this meal but we all enjoyed it for dinner one night and lunch twice for 5 people. I was just trying to use up some odd amounts of beans that I had left in the pantry.

1 pound of venison sausage

2 cups dry split peas (I used a green and yellow mix)

1 cup dry red lentils

3 Tbsp pearl barley (not quick cooking)

1 cup dry white beans (I used navy beans)

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

2 bay leaves

Homemade beef stock

Salt and Pepper

The night before, place you split peas, lentils, white beans, and barley into a bowl or pot to soak covered by plenty of cold water overnight. In a skillet, brown your venison sausage until cooked, breaking it up as you cook it. Refrigerate your cooked meat until the morning when you will assemble the meal. (You can use any ground meat or even stew meat of your choice. I just had this sausage on hand so I decided to use it.)

In the morning, drain and rinse your beans and grains in a colander. Transfer to the crockpot along with your cooked meat. Chop all your veggies and add them to the crockpot. I used my Pampered Chef chopper to chop them really fine because my kids sometimes will complain about large chunks of veggies. You could also add other veggies at this point like zucchini, mushrooms, parsnips, etc. Add your bay leaves and fill the crockpot to within 1 inch of the top with beef stock. I used homemade stock but you could certainly use water and bouillon or use chicken or veggie stock depending on the type of meat you used. Give everything a stir and cover and cook on high all day (up to 8 hours on high and then switch to low for another 4 hours if you feel it is necessary. Sometimes split peas are still a bit hard after 8 hours on high.) Remove your bay leaves and season to taste with salt and pepper. I did not add any salt or pepper because my venison sausage had a little kick to it which sufficiently "peppered" my stew and my homemade stock had salt added already.

I served this with a loaf of homemade beer bread with homemade honey butter and some grated cheese for sprinkling on the stew. It was very good and my boys loved it. It was very filling.

I am linking up with Crockpot Wednesday over at Dining With Debbie.

Making The House Smell Like Pizza!!!

2009-09-29T01:50:00.007-02:00

Today my sister stopped by and when she walked into the house she said, "Oh, I am definitely staying for dinner. I smell pizza!" I laughed as my boys emerged from the bedroom asking if we were having pizza tonight. We did not have pizza. We had lentils and rice. The wonderful aroma everyone was smelling was tomatoes, garlic and herbs roasting in the oven.

My good friend Amy gave me a plastic grocery bag filled with assorted tomatoes. There was one really big tomato and a bunch of smaller and grape tomatoes but most of them were yellow tomatoes. I knew we would never eat all these tomatoes before they spoiled so I decided to roast them to make sauce for a later date. I had made some last Thursday with the tomatoes from the produce co-op we belong to and it turned out great so I decided that these tomatoes would meet the same fate. I was able to make a batch of red sauce and a batch of yellow sauce. Here is my recipe in pictures:

First, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees. The yellow tomatoes were small but I had close to 3 pounds of them. I washed them and cut them in half. The tomato below was one of the larger ones.

Here they are washed, cut and ready to go in a glass dish (11x15).

Then I added 2 Tbsp minced garlic. You can do this with fresh garlic. I just didn't have any. Just peel 12 cloves of garlic and toss with your tomatoes.

Then I added 2 tsp of kosher salt.

Then I added 2 tsp of dried oregano. You can use fresh. Just use 2 Tbsp of fresh oregano leaves instead of the dry stuff.

Then I added 1 tsp of dried sweet basil. Again you can use fresh basil but I didn't have anymore. Just use 1 Tbsp of fresh instead of the dry stuff. You can also add your favorite seasonings but I like it with just basil and oregano.

I then liberally sprinkled the whole thing with black pepper. You could add crushed red pepper flakes if you like a kick but I did not as the kids are not fond of burning tongues.

Finally, I added 1/2 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I know that sounds like alot of oil but, trust me, it is not and it adds to the wonderful Italian flavor of the sauce.

Here are my lovely tomatoes after they have been stirred to evenly distribute the oil and seasonings.

Pop it in the oven for 30 minutes. This is what they looked like after 30 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and stir for a minute. Put it back into the oven to roast for another 30 minutes. Don't they look yummy and deliciously browned?

After they came out of the oven, I let them cool for about 10 minutes . . . til they stopped bubbling. Then I transferred them to a bowl with tall sides. I used my trusty immersion blender to blend it into a nice thick sauce. You could thin it with a little chicken stock if you wanted it thinner or don't blend it if you like things chunky. My kids have texture issues, I think. They think they don't like tomatoes but they eat them in chili, taco soup, salsa, sauce, etc. I guess it just has to be small pieces.

Anyway, I got between 4 and 5 cups of sauce out of each batch I made. I poured it into glass jars and either froze or refrigerated the sauce for use at a later time.

Here is a picture of the batch I made with the red tomatoes. Both sauces were equally delicious and did not require any sugar to sweeten. The roasting brings out all the natural sugars.

I am linking up with Tasty Tuesday and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Roasted Red Bell Peppers

2009-09-29T01:12:00.003-02:00

I know last week I mentioned that I belong to a produce co-op but, I must tell you again how much we are enjoying the fresh fruits and veggies. This weekend I roasted 7 or 8 red bell peppers. It was super easy.

First, I put the peppers on the gas burners of my stove and burned the outsides of them until they were charred and black. I used tongs to turn them and keep them from rolling off the flame. You can do this on the grill but it takes less time if you can get the flame to touch the peppers.

Here are a few more on the other side of the stove.

After they were sufficiently charred, I put them in a large bowl and covered them with cling wrap to steam for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, I put them one at a time into a plastic bag and sort of smooshed it around without squashing the actual pepper. Most of the skin slides right off and stays in the bag. Some black left on it good so people know you fire roasted them. ***DON"T RINSE THEM WITH WATER TO CLEAN THEM OFF!!! YOU WILL WASH AWAY FLAVOR!!!***

Oh, look! There is a diving mask and snorkel on the counter behind the plastic bag above.

After I removed the pepper from the bag, I cut it open and scraped out all the seeds. Then laying out flat, I cut it into strips.

I put the strips into a jar and poured some olive oil over then to coat. I am storing them in the fridge for use in soups, on sandwiches or for whatever I want to use them. Roasting them makes them so sweet.

I am linking up with Tasty Tuesday and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Homemade Salsa From the Garden's Bounty

2009-09-22T02:02:00.004-02:00

Hello, Friends! Today I am linking up with Jen over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam for Tasty Tuesday. Over the summer, I joined a produce co-op. There is a pickup location close to my house and some ladies in our homeschool group urged me to try it out. We love it. I haven't really been purchasing produce at the store unless it is a major steal. I encourage you to check out the website and find out if there is a location near you.
http://www.yourneighborhoodproduce.com/

Anyway, through this co-op and friends and neighbors who have gardens, we have been inundated with fresh tomatoes, green and red bell peppers, Anaheim chili peppers, red onion and all sorts of yummy veg that I had no idea how I should use it. My kids won't eat these veggies raw (in a salad) but will eat them cooked in a recipe. I had so many peppers especially that I started thinking Latin inspired recipes. So I said to myself, "Who says that salsa has to be mostly tomato?" So here is the "baby" if you will of this brain storming session. Jeremy called it "The Best Salsa Recipe Ever". I love 8 year olds. They are so enthusiastic about everything.

I chopped the following ingredients and put them into a large pot:
3 medium tomatoes (hard cores removed)
2 large green bell peppers (seeded)
2 large red bell peppers (seeded)
1 cup chopped red onion
2 large red Anaheim chili peppers (seeded)
2 medium yellowish-green Anaheim chili peppers (seeded)
4 cloves minced garlic

Isn't it so colorful and pretty?

Then, I added 1 and 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 and 1/2 cups of white wine vinegar (it was what I had but you could certainly use cider vinegar or red wine vinegar). I brought it up to a boil and then reduced the heat to simmer for 20 minutes.

I stirred it occasionally.

When my 20 minutes was up, I transferred it in batches to my very faithful blender who burned up just this week. I was trying to mix the oil back into the almond butter to make it spreadable and she slowed down and smoke started billowing from her motor. She lasted from April of 1997 to September of 2009. She was a wonderful kitchen helper and I certainly used her lots. Let's have a moment of silence for my dearly departed blender. I have my eye on the new 700 watt stainless steel model and my birthday is 2 weeks away. But, back to the recipe. You can certainly leave it chunky or any varying stages from chunky to completely pureed. I completely pureed mine as that is how I like it.

I then poured the very hot salsa into clean jars and tightened as tight as I could. I let them sit on the counter until they were room temperature. I checked the pop-up buttons on the lids and pushed them in as the salsa cooled. They sealed themselves. I then put them into the refrigerator to keep even though they were sealed. In fact, I brought a jar over to my neighbor's house and we couldn't get it opened. I am the one in my house who can usually open anything and it took me about 5 straight minutes of struggling with one of those rubber jar opener things to get it opened. The button popped really loud!!

This recipe made 3 jars and some leftover which we ate the next day at a cookout with my parents. My 6 foot 6 inch little brother (the professional chef) said he liked it but he would add more heat. If you want heat, you could certainly add/substitute jalapenos or any hot pepper and leave some of the seeds in the mix. I made it mild for the kids' sake. You could also can this recipe properly using a water bath and everything but like I said, the jars self-sealed so I didn't bother.

Try it out and tell me what you think. I've also been making pickles because I am the only one in the house who will eat cucumbers but everyone loves pickles. Maybe I'll post that recipe next Tuesday.

I Am From The City, People!!!

2009-09-04T15:20:00.006-02:00

As many of you may know, I was born and raised in New York. Now, that statement can have many different meanings because New York is a large and diverse state. I was born on the island of Manhattan and moved to Brooklyn before I was 1 year old. We lived there until the summer right before my 11th birthday. We moved to Staten Island and let me tell you it was like moving to the country for us. All of a sudden, we had a yard with a pool, a garden and a swing set. We went from living in a semi-attached, 2 family house in the apartment above my Nonna's to a large one family home with a yard that backed up to protected wetlands. We went from sharing a driveway with the house beside us to never having to park in the street. We had made the move to suburbia and never left the city of New York.

I lived in that house until I went away to college. I experienced culture shock when I moved to a small Indiana town of 3,000 (when school was in session). Corn as far as the eye can see! I came home to get married and have a baby. My new family and I lived in a one bedroom apartment in the house in Staten Island until November of 1999 when my parents sold the house and moved to North Carolina. We too were looking to move south but my husband was having trouble finding a job. So our little family of 3 moved back to Nonna's house in Brooklyn except this time, we all lived in Nonna's 2 bedroom apartment. By February, Michael had found a job and we moved to North Carolina.

I say all of this to say . . . I am a city girl. Until now (and except for college), I have never lived outside of New York City. I hate yard work. I do better with potted plants. I miss sidewalks, street lights, block parties, the ice cream man, L&B Pizza, being able to walk to the corner store and get milk and bread. I know you are all saying, "We have those things in the south." I know! I just don't live near any of it. The morning after we moved into our house, I was awakened to find that roosters really do crow early in the morning but they also crow all day long. Goats and cows smell bad from far away. Country folk let their dogs run free and don't spay or neuter their animals (ASK ME HOW I FOUND THAT OUT!!!). Did you know that you never have to go the grocery store for meat because you can sit on your back porch with a shotgun? For this city girl, This was like Green Acres!

After almost 10 years of living here, I am used to the . . . shall we say, quirky ways of country folk. Every now and then something really strange will make me ask what I was thinking but for the most part, I realize that I am raising country boys!

So we were really excited when one of our homeschooling friends came over this morning with a gift for us. Let's call them Farmer Bob and Farmer Amy. They are dear friends and our boys get along very well. They brought us some fresh eggs from the chickens that they raise on their property. Amy told me she had some extra and asked me if we wanted some. I am never one to turn down free food so I said, "Sure! I'll take some eggs! Thanks!"

Amy and Bob showed up at my home with 5 DOZEN EGGS!!! I only took four dozen because that was all that would fit in my basket. Did you know that eggs . . . fresh eggs straight from the chicken coup are dirty? You are probably saying, "DUH! Of course their dirty, Genius! They shoot out the back end of a farm animal!" In my defense, when you have ever only seen eggs in a carton in the grocery store, you don't realize that eggs are dirty and somewhere along the way someone sterilizes those eggs before they can be sold in stores. So I gratefully took my chicken poop and dirt coated eggs into the house and gave them a bath in anti-bacterial hand soap. They are so pretty and let me tell you how good they tasted! YUM! We are being short changed at the grocery store. These eggs were huge and all different. When I cracked them into a bowl to make breakfast, the yokes were a rich deep yellow and they were huge. I just had to share them with all of you.

Here are 3 and a half dozen eggs that are left. They are shiny because they are still a little wet from their bath.

See all the color variation and pretty speckles?

You can see the reflection of the skylight above in the eggs.

This one is my favorite one. It is a really pretty pale blue-green with brown speckles.

So I know all my country friends are shaking their heads and laughing at the city girl. I am glad I could make you smile.

And The Winner Is . . .

2009-08-28T16:30:00.004-02:00

One of my new blog land buddies, Stacie has graciously presented me with this Honest Scrap award. I just started following Stacie's blog after we met at the Nester's swap meet a few weeks ago. She is a really sweet lady and we had a blast spending time together.

In accepting this award, I need to do the following:

1. Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.
2. Share "ten honest things" about myself.
3. Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.
4. Tell those 7 people that they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving.

10 Random/Honest Things about Me:

1. I am the oldest, youngest, middle and only child of 5 kids. (That's a post for another day!)
2. I dropped out of college get married and have a child when I was 19 years old. I finished my degree after my 2nd child was born in 2002. I use my teaching degree to teach my own children at home.
3. I love soup! I love making soups from scratch and in large batches. I can eat soup even on the hottest, stickiest North Carolina day. My husband looks as though he might pass out when I order soup in the summer.
4. I love to bake and cook. Every year starting in September, I start making Amish Friendship Bread. I keep 2 batches of starter going 5 days apart from each other and I bake, wrap and freeze the breads as gifts for Christmas. Last year, I baked my last batch on December 23rd and had over 80 loaves of bread to give out.
5. I could spend hours at the mall or any store for that matter and never spend a dime . . . especially if they sell furniture, fabric, home decor items, flooring, paint or shoes. I LOVE SHOES!!!
6. The first time I met my husband, I was a little afraid of the dorky guy in the Tazmanian Devil t-shirt and duck slippers. My fears were validated when he introduced himself to me as "Tater". I didn't find out his real name until we started dating a year and a half later and I met his sister and she called him "Mike". He is still just as strange as ever.
7. I am quote sure that I probably require medication for OCD. I have this thing where the inside of everything has to be exactly right and it looks like an advertisement for California Closets or something like that. The funny thing is that I have 3 boys (ages 12, 8 and 4) and a husband which means no one cares about what anything looks like and they are all slobs. I am slowly converting my 12 year old.
8. I have a photographic memory and I live in a house with 4 other people who are also blessed with this gift. I have found that it makes for really long drawn out explanations of everything because they feel like they have to describe everything from every angle using every sense. It also causes arguments like, "No it wasn't a white shirt, it was off-white."
9. I hate the feeling of newspaper. I cannot touch it with my bare hands. It makes my teeth hurt. Even typing this and thinking about newspaper is making my teeth hurt. When we moved and I had to pack up breakables, I wrapped everything in rags and clothing. I can read a newspaper if I don't have to touch it or if I am wearing gloves but even the smell of it makes me nauseous. I am going to stop talking about it before you send someone to my house to take me away to the psychiatric hospital.
10. I love fast, high, spinning rides. There is not a ride on earth that I will not try.

I tag... Rona, Amy, Terri, Nester, Jen, Emily, and Tracey because as different as they all are, they have all brought creative ideas, insight, encouragement, a great recipe, new friendships, spiritual advice, or laughs to me through their blogs. Thanks for being real, girls!

Prayers Answered

2009-08-20T18:22:00.003-02:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Michael's job will be changing for the better. We are SOOOOO excited about this. I will let everyone know more when I find out more details. This is going to be a great year!

My Late Post About The Swap Meet

2009-08-15T12:59:00.005-02:00

Pardon my tardiness. Yesterday was a crazy day. I was all set to take the boys to the movies with friends but all 3 decided to show me their "Mr. Hyde" so I said, "That's it! We are NOT going to the movies with our friends." As they sat there crying and begging for forgiveness, mercy and second chances, I said, "And there will be no Wii or TV either." To which Judah asked, " Well, can we go to the pool?" You gotta love 4 year olds!

We did not go to the pool. We did chores! Caleb, my peace maker, did everything I asked and tried to motivate the others.

Jeremy snuck off to his room to play with Legos but I did make hime help with the laundry when I found him.

Judah . . . well, I am just grateful that he did not try to make a bigger mess while we were cleaning.
He picked up fruit snack and granola bar wrappers and picked up the crayons.

We ended the day with more pizza creations (which I did not photograph). We had Black bean and shrimp with Mexican cheese blend and spinach alfredo pizzas. The boys actually preferred the bean pizza. We watched The Sandlot while we picniced on the family room floor.

This morning . . . Let's just say everyone is being super obedient today!

So one week ago, I attended a Swap Meet at the Nester's house. I met so many lovely ladies. Some that I knew from following their blogs and others that I am following now. It was a wonderful time of food, fun, fellowship and . . . getting new stuff (I couldn't think of another word that started with "f" that fit here). I got some lovely mossy green fabric and trim to match, tan curtain panels and a tall skinny lamp that I'll be using on my buffet in the dining room. I will post more on these items as I figure out how I will be using them.

There was so much food and while I tried to be healthy and brough a fruit tray (I know . . . boring), Stacie brought these yummy simple little treats made with bugles, peanut butter, chocolate and sprinkles. For a sweet/salty junky like myself, this was like CRACK and they were wonderful. I will be making them in the near future. Oh and Stacie was very sweet and great to talk to. Jen, Kimba, Richella, Emily (the Nester's sister), Bonita and Terri were just some of the ladies that I met that day. They are all just as fun and genuine as they are on their blogs. Here are some photos of my fun Saturday.

Here is one of me and the Nester. She is just as real and sweet as she can be!

All of these ladies have posts about the swap and we all hope to do another one.

Pizza That Cleans Out The Fridge

2009-08-11T02:40:00.004-02:00

The other day my fridge was full of bits and ends of meals that were not enough to just reheat and eat alone so I had to get creative. I knew that pizza would be something that would be eaten with no complaints so . . . I pulled 2 partially baked pizza crusts out of the freezer and all my ends of food out onto the counter to brainstorm. I had made shrimp with spaghetti the night before and since shrimp was $4.99/lb at Harris Teeter, I made 2 pounds instead of one (which is never enough for my boys anyway). All of the spaghetti was eaten but there were 21 shrimp leftover. They had been cooked in a yummy lemon, garlic and herb mixture so I knew they would be fine on a pizza. I had also made some pesto using baby spinach earlier in the week and had a small container of it ready to be spread all over a pizza crust. I wasn't sure the kids would eat the pizza with only the pesto as the sauce so I mixed a little bit of jar Alfredo sauce that I had in the pantry into the pesto. And so I began to build.

Here is my thawed partially baked pizza crust with the pesto/Alfredo mixture and my leftover shrimp.

Then I realized that our oldest was not going to eat the pizza because he just recently decided that he does not like shrimp. I planned on making the second pizza a cheese pizza but I thought he might be weirded out by the sauce. I chopped up 2 Roma tomatoes that I had in the fridge and sauteed them in EVOO and a little kosher salt until they started to break down.

I ran them through the blender and mixed them into the rest of the Alfredo/pesto mixture. It made a lovely creamy tomato sauce.

I spread the sauce on the crust that was to be the cheese pizza.

There was a little leftover so I spooned it over the shrimp on the other pizza.

I topped both pizzas with a bag of pre-shredded Italian blend cheese. Here is the cheese pizza.

Here is the shrimp pizza going into a 450 degree oven for about 10 minutes. I just put the pizza right on the oven rack.

Here is the cheese pizza baked for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is as golden as you like it.

Here is the shrimp pizza. I didn't want the shrimp to get over cooked so I took it out at the early stages of doneness.

Both pizzas were devoured and it took less than 30 minutes total to make them because I used leftovers to make some very gourmet style pizzas. My friend's son was over for dinner and he said I should give his mom the recipe. The bonus was that all 4 boys (my 3 and our guest) ate spinach without even knowing it.

What are your favorite leftover recipes?

What is up with me?

2009-08-10T12:58:00.002-02:00

I vowed in April to start blogging more regularly. You see how well I've done. Later on tonight I am going to do a post complete with pictures. BUT, for now, I will just ask your forgiveness for breaking my vow and let you know that I have much to share. Come back later.

Hello . . . Do You Remember Me?

2009-04-15T14:56:00.017-02:00

Yes, I am still alive. And NO . . . the computer is not fixed yet. However, I have found a way to upload pictures to the laptop and will try to be more consistent with the blogging.

The week before Easter, everyone here had the flu and once I had everyone back to health, I caught the bug and it turned into a sinus and ear infection. I am finally feeling like a real person again but I've had so much to do to catch back up on all my work. I even missed church on Easter Sunday which I was not happy about since I went to all the choir practices and missed actually singing the songs on Easter. I did get dressed and met everyone over at my Mom's for lunch. See our cute family picture.

Anyway, things are back to normal . . . whatever that means. I sat down to write this post on April 15th. I typed the first 2 paragraphs and saved it as a draft. I finally have the time to sit down and my mind can't even organize the thoughts in my head of all the things I haven't been able to post. So here is my apology in advance: If this post is hard to follow, I am so sorry but, I am about to go into a Dennis Miller style rant about laundry. Here goes:

I have had so many tasks and projects going on at once I can't even think straight. I have been sorting and purging for a church yard sale that is happening this Saturday. I have to drop everything off today so it can be sorted and priced. I am trying to refinish and recover my old glider and ottoman for a dear friend who is having her first baby. I have been doing laundry perpetually for the last 13 years of my life and I am beginning to wonder whether there is a secret that everyone else knows about laundry that I don't. It's not funny. If there is a secret . . . I need to know what it is. Does everyone else out there feel like there is always either mountains of dirty clothes or mountains of clean clothes? I'll get all the clothes washed and dried but then there are mountains to fold and put away. Once I get those put away, I take a deep breath and feel that sense of accomplishment only to walk into the laundry room and there is a mountain of dirty clothes again. The nerve of these people I gave birth to perpetuating the cycle of insanity which is the laundry. And one more thing . . . Why is it that when I fold all the laundry my stack of clothes to be put away is the smallest by half. Even the 4 year old's stack is bigger than mine and his clothes are tiny. There is only one thing that I can conclude from this observation. I am not wearing as many clothes as they are. If that is true then eiter they are changing clothes 3 times a day or I am having "Pajama Day" mor often then I care to admit.

Here is another question for all 2 of my loyal readers: Do you wash everything after it has been worn once or do you do a "stain and sniff test"? I am not talking underwear or socks or even shirts. Obviously, if they were outside working or playing and were very sweaty or had worn a shirt for an enitre day, then by all means, pitch it in the hamper and I will wash it. I am talking about jeans, towels, sweaters/sweatshirts worn over another shirt, church clothes worn for 3 hours and then changed out of before lunch. Here is my attitude toward this issue. If you take a bath and put on clean underwear and pajamas and get into bed, are your underwear or pajamas really dirty in the morning? Can't you wear those underwear that day? Can't you wear the same PJ's for at least 3 nights? If you get out the bath or shower, where you have presumably washed your entire body from head to toe with soap, and then dry your clean body with a towel, why can't you hang the towel to dry and use it at least 3 days? My view on jeans is this, I check them front and back for any marks or stains. If they are clear of marks or stains then I sniff. If I don't smell anything but denim, then they get a spritz of Febreeze and go right back to the boy who thought they were dirty. I would need to own a laundromat and stock in Tide to wash everything daily. I am NOT saying wear filthy clothes or sleep on crusty sheets or use a stinky towel. What am saying is this: I am NOT the laundry fairy. Laundry takes work and it takes all day (we don't have a super capacity washer). And for the love of all things holy, use a napkin. Your shirt and pants are not there for you to wipe your hands on and long sleeves are not a built-in snot rag . . . neither is the side of the seat in the car. Why do you think there is a box of tissues in every bathroom and the car and napkins on the table? They are not for decoration. I am going to go on laundry strike one day just for laughs. I don't think anyone else in this house knows how to use the machine. I am sure Michael could figure it out but I have been doing his laundry since February of 1995 and before that, his mom did his wash. I think that everytime they put on a pair of clean, fresh smelling underwear they ought to come hug me and tell me they love and appreciate me. That's just my opinion, I could be wrong . . . but I don't think so.

(BIG BREATH)

I say all that to say this: My new dream washer and dryer are being delivered today. I asked the guy in Lowe's to sell me the floor model and got him to give me a discount because it has a small dent. It is barely noticable. Dave Ramsey would have been proud of my negotiation skills. Anyway, this new set is twice the size of and 23 years younger than my old set so I am hoping that will help me in my laundry endeavors. I am really excited about it. It scares me a little how excited I am over a washer and dryer. I think maybe I need to get out more. I think I might have already said that in this post. I know you are thinking it.

Yesterday, we took a little field trip. We went out for pizza and then bowling and then to the park with 3 other homeschool families. We had so much fun and did alot of laughing. Here are some pictures of the kids bowling.

I just want to thank my good friend Rona for taking a "Rear View" picture of me and my sloppy form. I have great friends . . . friends I can count on to lift me up and encourage me . . . people who will help me feel better about myself. I have come to the conclusion that Rona hates me because she took this picture. I am going to go drown my sorrows over my spreading backside in a tub of ice cream now. (Just Kidding, but not about the ice cream! Love Ya, Rona!)

Here are some group photos of the kids. It is impossible to get a good picture of 9 children. Take a look:

Hopefully, I will be blogging more regularly from now on. Two of the boys had birthdays since my last post and we went to Disney World and Myrtle Beach. I have pictures and stories to tell. Maybe I will post some pictures of my new washer and dryer and you can help me think up names for them like Bert and Ernie or Thelma an Louise.

Down But NOT Out And A Plea For Prayer

2009-01-23T19:59:00.003-02:00

You know the old saying, "The shoemaker's family never has new shoes"? Well, the same goes for the computer nerd's family. The power supply on our computer died and we have to replace it. It is not a big deal or expensive repair but, it just hasn't gotten done. We have laptops that I have been using to check stuff and pay bills but, all my pictures are on the other computer. I also cannot upload pictures from my camera card to the laptop so I can't post photos. I hope to have him (my computer nerd husband) look at the computer soon so I can rejoin the cyber world. Anyway, I thought that I would give everyone an update (sans photos) of what's been going on around here.

Saturday night, Jeremy started running a fever with no other symptoms. I missed church Sunday because he was still running a fever. By Monday night, I knew it was a sinus infection from the rancid smell of his breath. Tuesday, after our sad snowfall melted, we went to the doctor and got some antibiotics. Wednesday morning, he woke up after sleeping until 9 AM (which never happens) and it was like he was never sick. I kept him home to have him rest anyway and sent him to school on Thursday. Today there was no school due to parent-teacher conferences. He is doing well considering this is only his 3rd week of conventional school ever. So, he only went to school one day this week. Oh, well, it's only 1st grade.

On Wednesday morning, I was minding my own business, taking a shower when the door bursts open and a high, squeaky voice is screaming about how he just achieved "Pro Status". Apparently, I live in a house with expert Wii bowlers. After telling said child how happy I was for him, I told him to get out and close the door so I could finish my shower in peace. Even the bathroom is not sacred here.

I am proud to announce that I have caught up on all the laundry. I just have to put all the boys clothes away. By the time I get around to folding it and putting things away, they are all in bed and I can't go in their rooms to start putting clothes away. Well, I could but that sort of defeats the purpose of putting them to bed.

Great things are happening for this family. We are so blessed. I was reminded today how fragile life is and how we should always appreciate our blessings. I have a friend in Canada who is in kidney failure. Her name is Jillian, she is 30 years old and has 3 children (2 boys and a baby girl). Her mother sent this to me today and I wanted to pass this information along to everyone I could. Please read it and pray for Jillian and her family. If you feel led to do anything else to help, please call the number in the message. Someone out there can help save her life and allow her young children the blessing of growing up with a mother who loves them and doesn't want to leave this earth yet.

Hi everyone~~This is to update you on Jillian and her health re: her kidneys. Unfortunately none of Jillian's potential donor's were a match. We are spreading the net out farther now, as she's getting worse. I'll try to keep it brief but give you the relevant points:

*Her kidney function continues to drop and she is now at 17% overall kidney function

*Her need for a transplant is NOW

*We've run out of options--no one in the immediate family is a match. Her options are few--there are currently 1000 people ahead of her awaiting transplants from a cadaver.

*She can receive a kidney from a compatible living donor

*Anyone with blood type "O" (negative or positive) has a 90% chance of being a match.

We all understand this is a personal choice and trust me, there are no hard feelings for those who may not respond. But there is always a chance someone might be willing to donate a kidney and at this point we must leave no stone unturned until we find a match for Jillian.If anyone is interested then please let us know. Call 604-806-9078. Ask for a woman named Ruth. Tell her why you are calling and who you are calling about (Jillian Eccles) and she will take it from there. There are never too many people as some will definitely not be compatible. Thanks in advance for ANYONE who tries.

Bonnie

Thanks for taking the time to read this message and for praying fervently for Jillian and her family. Thanks to anyone who goes above and beyond to save a life.

Kristi

Back to Life

2009-01-07T11:38:00.003-02:00

I know, I know . . . it has been a whole month since my last post. Call me a slacker but, I just couldn't find the time to blog the past 30 days. First there was the kids Christmas play, then there was all the baking and finishing the presents that I made (most everyone got a scarf this Christmas). Then there was the task of getting the house ready for 5 extra people over the holiday. I love the holidays and I love having people over but I know that I burden my perfectionist self with unnecessary work. Then we had to recover from the Christmas and the aftermath of 3 boys getting everything they wanted from all of their wonderful grandparents. My tree is still up! I hate taking the Christmas decor down. It saddens me a little. It is so warm and festive with all the lights and when you take it down, I want to cry. The house almost gets a chilly feeling. We are taking everything down this weekend.

After much prayer and wrestling, we decided to put Jeremy in school. He was just not doing what I needed him to do here at home. I picked him up on Monday after his first day and he said that he had a boring day and wanted to be homeschooled again. I laughed and said, "Sorry, Buddy. You had your chance to do what I asked you to do and you refused. You are going to finish out the year here and then we'll see about next year." He seemed OK until we got home and he had to write out his spelling words 2 times. He cried for 2 hours as he wrote the words. Last night was better but he also had math and reading homework. He cried but it was less and he did very well. Strong willed middle child = Jeremy. The good news is that he cheerfully gets up and ready for school and seems happy to be there when I drop him off. Yesterday, he told me that he told the teacher that he was not going to give up. He's so cute. My only concern is that since school started, he has taken to sleeping in the bed with me. Michael's on call so he's sleeping on the couch so the pager doesn't wake me. When Jeremy said that he wanted to fall asleep in my bed and then Daddy could carry him to his bed, I said OK because he had just had his first experience with school and had a hard day. Last night, he snuck into the bed at some point. I hope he doesn't feel like I am trying to get rid of him or that I don't love him as much as his brothers. I don't want him to think that I am discarding him. I just think that he listens better to other adults sometimes than he does with me. I didn't want him to fall behind academically either.

Anyway, I'll keep you updated as to Jeremy's school progress as time goes by. Judah is still loving pre-k and Caleb is home with me. He is loving the quiet and the ability to get things done without distraction. The only thing that I am not liking is having to be at the school to pick them up at a certain time. I HATE school bus traffic!!!

I will try to get some pictures together from the holidays and post them later (probably tomorrow).

My Garland Is Showing!!!

2008-12-10T14:21:00.006-02:00

I am participating in The Nester's Garland Show and Tell. I have never done garland before but when I saw her garland I was inspired to try. So here it is. Tell me what you think.

Here is the full length view with my new Chocolate accent wall. Please disregard the black trash bag in the bottom of the picture. It is a bag of clothes that we are dropping off at Goodwill.

Here is the left side. I want with pine cones and berries. Everything was 50% off at Hobby Lobby. The vase I already had. The rocks in the vase are from a gem mining trip the kids and I took and the large pine cone is one we found at my Dad's house. The baby shoe is Caleb's bronzed shoe and the bird I got at the Habitat Restore for $1.

Here is the right side. The funky basket I got from a lady who was freecycling a huge trash bag of baskets. The pine cone is another from dad's house and the shoe is the partner to the one in the photo above. The bird is also from the Habitat Restore for $1 but it is a little smaller and different from the one above.

Our stocking holders are silver and spell out PEACE. For some reason, the stockings are not hanging. I think we had the fire going the night before and had taken them down for that. Anyway, they are hand knitted by a friend of my mother-in-law. They each have our name and the year we were born and they are red, green and white. You can't really see them in this picture but, I have a strand of colored led lights in the garland. I think I need to change the batteries.

Here is my newly painted front door with a wreath that a good friend of mine had her mother make for me.

Here is our tree. I take down all our window treatments and hang sparkly snowflakes in the windows with fishing line.

These are the things my kids are not allowed to touch.

These are the things I let them play with.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I know I will enjoy looking at everyone else's decorations.

All I Want For Christmas Is My 2 Front Teeth!!!

2008-12-08T23:04:00.008-02:00

I know . . . I am so slack but, I have been soooooo busy. My house looks and smells wonderful. I love Thanksgiving/Christmas time. I wanted to share some pictures with you, my faithful readers. Jeremy lost that other front tooth finally. I told him we had to floss it so it would be healthy for when the Tooth Fairy came to get it. I just tied the floss around the tooth and kept tightening and tightening until the tooth just popped out. He was so scared it was going to hurt, that he didn't believe me when I showed him it was out. Then he stopped crying and started laughing. He was excited about money from the Tooth Fairy. Here are some pictures from that day:

Caleb has also lost his fair share of teeth the past few months. It looks like he only has his front 8 teeth. He recently lost all 4 canines and the pre-molars right behind them.

Judah did not want to be left out of the picture taking and gave me a "CHEEZY" smile. Although he is only 3, he has already lost one tooth. See this post for the whole story. This baby is going to need braces.

We also took our Christmas card pictures. Our church decorates for Christmas better than I ever could. The past 3 or 4 years, we have taken our picture there. Let me know what you think.

I will take some pictures of my Christmas decor soon but I have to go put a cranky 3-year-old to bed.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!!!

2008-11-28T12:11:00.005-02:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with their families. We ate SOOOO much yesterday. It was all so delicious. I am so excited because today we are putting up our Christmas tree and other decorations. I will post some pictures later. But for now, I just wanted to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.

New Family Pictures

2008-11-21T18:55:00.003-02:00

We had pictures taken last month for the homeschool yearbook and I just thought that I would share them with you. It had been 2 years since we had a portrait taken and with the exception of Judah looking like he is straining to go to the bathroom, I think that they turned out rather well.

Caleb wanted "crazy hair" for the pictures.

Jeremy wanted "spikey hair". Don't you just love the indredibly loose, crooked tooth sticking out of his mouth?

Judah loves to have his picture taken and this is the face he makes when you say, "SAY CHEESE!!!"

What do you think?

I am NOT dead . . . just really busy!!!

2008-11-20T14:02:00.002-02:00

I know it has been a while since I've posted on my blog and I don't really have the time to update everyone right now. However, later tonight, when the kids are in bed, I will post an uber-long update complete with pictures. Just wanted to let everyone know that I was still alive. Until later . . .

Some Fun Amidst the Gas Shortage

2008-10-02T12:14:00.005-02:00

Tuesday nights I meet with a group of ladies at a local Starbucks and we read our Word, journal and share our journals with each other. As I was pulling into the parking lot, my gas light came on. I had heard other people talking about having trouble finding gas but had not experienced it for myself. I left Starbucks and took a longer way home so that I would drive past the most gas stations. Every place I drove past had plastic bags over the pump nozzles or had no prices up on their signs. As I drive toward the last station before home, I can see people at the pumps. I pull in behind a car where a man is topping off his tank, closing his fuel door and getting into his car. In the time it took for him to pullout and me to roll forward, an attendant came and put a bag over the pump nozzle. I calmly roll down my window but before I can speak, he barks, "We're outta gas!"

So I look at the man and ask the obvious question: "How can you be out of gas? I just saw that man fill his car with gas."

He spits on the ground and barks back, "We're outta gas!"

Now the New Yorker is rising up in me. I say, "I am on E. I only want to put $20 worth in. May I please use the pump before you close it off."

He looks at me with an annoyed look on his face and says what I am being to wonder is the only thing he knows how to say, "We're outta gas!" Then he starts to walk away from me. He was so rude and uncaring. So now New York girl is furious at the sloppy man that is putting bags over pump nozzles. She was about to lose her Christian witness but I reigned her in and reminded her that it was no use and Southern Hospitality and friendliness is a myth. She, however, is far stronger than the girl who wants to be treated nicely here in the south instead of being called a Yankee as they spit brown juice from between their teeth. So she squealed the tires as she buzzed past said sloppy, rude attendant.

Hey, I never said I was perfect. I have my flaws. But don't treat me that way, don't call me a Yankee and say it like it is a bad thing. First of all, the war is over. It has been over for more than 140 years. Second, my dad's family was in Texas at the time of the Civil War and my mom's family was in Italy, so I had nothing to do with taking your slaves away. Get over it! Treat people the way you want to be treated. OK , so I should not have sped out of the gas station but sometimes I get so tired of people hearing my accent and then changing how they treat me or asking me where I am from and then asking me when I am going back. This doesn't happen as often as it used to and we have met some lifelong friends whom we love dearly but every now and then, it happens.

I digress . . . Back to the story. But I believe in customer service so when I got home, I called the gas station and told the manager what happened. He informed me that they were getting a shipment of gas in around 1 AM. He was only slightly less rude but I am sure that he has had to deal with lots of phone calls and angry people who can't find gas.

So Yesterday, I knew I had to get the boys to the Y for their PE class for 1 PM. I didn't know if there would be a line to get gas so we left the house at 10:30 and headed to the gas station. On the way, we picked up a guy who was trudging down the country road with a gas can. I know, its not safe but I felt like it was safe to pick him up and I would want help if I were trudging up the road with a gas can. He was very grateful and friendly and we are all still alive.

(SIDE NOTE: Sometimes we are called to do things that conventional wisdom would say is dangerous and crazy. How many times have I been helped by someone who was willing to go against conventional wisdom . . . NOT HERE IN THE SOUTH MIND YOU BUT UP NORTH IN NY AND MICHIGAN AND OHIO AND INDIANA AND PENNSYLVANIA, ETC. I am not saying that you should pick up hitch hikers on a regular basis but I would like to call every one's attention to Matthew 25:31-46. Pray and use discernment.)

Anyway, back to the story. We reached the gas station, said goodbye to our hitch hiker and pulled right up to the pump. I put $20 worth in and decided to take the kids to lunch before their class. We went to Long John Silver's. They had never been and I hadn't been to one since high school. Jeremy was very excited for shrimp and hush puppies. Caleb stuck with the old faithful . . . chicken. They loved it and had a great time. They decided that they were going to make faces at each other. They were trying desperately to cross their eyes but were having very little success. However, what I did happen to capture with my camera made me smile.

The last two pictures are my favorites.

Silly Pirates

2008-09-30T15:36:00.004-02:00

Now that it is finally cool enough to play outside without the risk of heat stroke, we have been taking afternoon trips to the park. Sometimes we pack dinner in the cooler and Michael meets us after work for a picnic. I am hoping fall lasts at least a month. You never know here in the south. It could be in the low sixties and breezy one day and ninety and humid the next.

Anyway, we went to the park the other day and I took these pictures of the boys pretending to be pirates and making silly faces.

This was their attempt at an action shot. It is the most posed action shot in history. I think Judah was walking the plank and Caleb was making sure that he would actually walk the plank by holding a cork pop gun on him. Jeremy was the lookout guy. Doesn't Judah look pleased to walk the plank? They make me laugh.

My cutie pies . . . and, YES, I know they need haircuts. After we left the park, we went out for burgers and then for haircuts.

Judah is always wanting to make silly faces for the camera. He's too cute.

The park has this really cool thing that you crank like 6 times and after you hear a bubbling noise, you talk into it and then it repeats what you say. In true boy fashion, Jeremy was having the machine repeat all sorts of bodily noises back to him and then laughing as though there was nothing funnier in the world.

And here's my oldest angel. Soon he won't be interested in going to the park and playing pirates. That makes me sad.

We have alot of projects going on at home. I am hoping to show all of you my new fireplace wall. It has taken alot of spackle and paint but it looks good enough to eat. You'll see what I mean.

Tagged!!!

2008-09-21T00:00:00.002-02:00

I've been tagged! I feel so special! Mom in High Heels tagged me today. So, here are 7 completely obscure things about me that you probably never wanted to know but I am going to tell you anyway.

1. I hate the feeling of newspaper. It gives me that creepy, tooth hurting feeling like nails on a chalk board.

2. I don't like drinking out of plastic cups. Id' rather have a glass. . . especially at a restaurant. Maybe it is a cleanliness thing. I don't know.

3. I love octopus. It is delectable and reminds me of Christmas Eve.

4. I was in college before I had a driver's licence.

5. I firmly believe that there is a right way to load a dishwasher and it kills me to watch someone fill the dishwasher in an inefficient manner. My mom calls it anal retentive. I just call it doing things the right way.

6. The hangers in the closet have to hang a certain way. The clothes have to all be facing the same direction and everything has to be color coded and stored with like items. My husband calls it psycho. I call it organized. Everyone can always find what they are looking for in their closets and draws.

7. I am a compulsive toilet paper fixer. If I am anywhere and the toilet paper is not hanging over the top then I have to fix it. I have done this at church, in restaurants, at friends' homes, . . . OK so maybe I am a little crazy.

And now I have to tag 7 other people. Please leave a comment here if you participate.

Our Dental Fiasco!!!

2008-09-18T21:35:00.015-02:00

OK, so the boys are all in bed and I thought I would share with all of you what has been going on with our family since Tuesday. Tuesday was my brother's birthday so we went to my mom's for dinner and cake. Whilst we were there, Little Man

decided to run into a wall and knock a tooth out.

At first, we couldn't find the tooth but, then Michael found it.

We called the dentist's office (which, of course, was closed) and the recording told me to put the tooth in milk and go to the ER. We went to the ER and they took us back right away. The doctor came in and checked his mouth to make sure nothing else was loose and told us that they don't reattach baby teeth. He said he thought that there was still a piece of the tooth in the gums but that we would need an x-ray. He told us that we should go to the dentist first thing in the morning and gave the boy a Popsicle. I paid a $75 copay for a red Popsicle!!!

The next morning at 7:30, I called the dentist and they worked us in for 9 AM. They took and x-ray and confirmed what the ER doctor told us. He didn't knock the tooth completely out, he cracked it below the gum line. She referred us to the pediatric dentist. They made the appointment for 11:30 today because they didn't want his gums to close over the broken tooth.

So this morning, we go to the pediatric dentist and they point out that he broke the root into a few pieces and explained how he would remove it. Upon further examination, said dentist informs me that Little Man has 2 other cavities that needed to be filled. I was grateful that they didn't have to put him out . . . they just gave him some nitrous oxide and Novocain. They were done in 20 minutes. The boy was drenched in sweat and tears but recovered as soon as we left the office. This traumatic experience was brought to you by the number 223 (as in dollars that our dental insurance won't cover).

All in all, I can't complain. It could have been worse and Little Man was back to his crazy, rambunctious self within an hour. Tonight, right before bed, he said, "Hey Mama, watch this!" I cringed as I watched him run and throw himself on the floor like he was sliding into 2nd. Will he ever calm down?!?!?!

Yes, I know he needs a haircut!!!

Guilty Feelings and a New Layout

2008-09-18T21:35:00.004-02:00

I just thought that I would post because it has been a whole week since I've written. I feel bad for all 3 of my readers . . . guilty even. They must have missed me. Well, I am still here. We have had a very busy week. After the kids are in bed, I will sit down and type out what has happened since Tuesday. But for now, I just wanted you all to know that I am still alive and all is well . . . finally.

I did add a new fall layout to show my excitement for my favorite season and to celebrate the temperture being below 80 degrees for the past few days. YAY!!!

Join in the POOPIE Fun!

2008-09-11T02:12:00.014-02:00

The Nester over at the Nesting Place is having a Mr. Linky party for all the POOPIES in blog world. For those of you who are new, POOPIE stands for: People Opposing Objectionable Pretend plants In the Environment.

So I thought I would start out with violation # 1 . . . Ivy atop the cabinets in the Master Bathroom. I kind of like it up there only because the ceilings are so high and I feel like it needs something. Plus it goes with my wallpaper and I wash it in the shower once a month so it is not all gross and dusty. It used to cover the tops of my kitchen cabinets but, I took it down to wash it and decided not to put it back up. Here are my two faux pas:

Here is one of those trees in a basket that has two-tone leaves. One side of each leaf is dark green and the other side is burgundy. Not very realistic looking but I wrapped some clear Christmas lights on it and it has become a great night light.

I love this arrangement. I purchased all these flowers at AC Moore. I tried really hard to find flowers that looked realistic. It is very springy . . . not very fall-like but, I love it.

This is another simple arrangement that I like. It is pale pink roses and some greenery in a really cool pink vase. I love roses and the real ones never last. I've tried drying them but they always look so sad . . . and dead! (P.S.- Notice my Tobacco Road wall behind the arrangement. I just did that yesterday!)

This wreath is one of my favorite fall/winter decorations. I purchased it from Princess House when I used to be a consultant for the company. I pair it with this silver bowl fuul of glass stones and a pillar candle. At Christmastime, I have a crystal bowl that I set in the center of the wreath and I fill the bowl with Christmas balls.

I had this old grapevine wreath. It is heart shaped. It used to have some eucalyptus on it but it crumbled off. So, I threw this together but I hate it. I think it's the shape I hate or maybe it just feels too "country" with the raffia bow. I don't know. Maybe it's the leaves on the burgundy flowers. I think they look shiny in the picture but they are not shiny up close. I think I will be making a trip to Hobby Lobby for a round wreath and something more autumn-y (that's not really a word) to put on it. The daisies and burgundy hydrangeas were the most autumn-y things I had to put on there and I hate it. I need to go shopping. Help!!!

Finally Finished . . . Well . . . Almost!

2008-09-07T00:10:00.005-02:00

I have been so busy with getting back into the full swing of homeschooling, and moving rooms around, and sorting through old stuff, and doing outside work on the house, and . . . and . . . and . . .

I feel like life needs to slow down a little bit. Anyway, I finally finished a project that was bothering me. I just couldn't figure out what to do with my huge, pain-in-the-neck living room windows. Here is what I posted when Nester had her Mistreatment Par-Tay:

I had asked for help and many of you had some really great ideas. A couple of days later, I tried this:

I took down the panel from the middle window and added panels to the 2 end windows. I had all 3 toile panels up but it just didn't look right. So, I took them all down. I liked the way the bottom of the windows looked but even after I removed all of the upper panels, it still looked unfinished. I figured I would take a break and come back to it later. Maybe if I distracted myself with a different project, the answer would come to me . . . and it did!

We went to a birthday party for the daughter of dear friends. When I walked in to the kitchen I noticed that she had taken her blinds down but the room was still cool even thought the sun was setting into the windows. She told me they had bought this film for the windows at Lowe's that blocks out 99% of the UV rays and 80% of the heat that comes from the sunlight that shines in the windows. It looked so good! I couldn't even tell that there was anything on the windows and they had done it themselves. It is about $32 and I would only need one package so I have decided to leave the top of the windows naked and get some of that film. I will leave the blackout fabric in the windows until the summer is really over as it has helped with our cooling expenses. Thanks Kevin and Heather!!!

So, I returned from the party with renewed inspiration. I only had to put the finishing touches on the bottom half of the window. I dragged my mother and my sister with me to Hancock Fabrics and we were there for like 2 hours. Everything I LOVED was $24.99 a yard and I knew I needed 6 or 7 yards for this idea I had in my crazy head. There was NO WAY I was spending $150-$175 on those windows. I could have gone and had custom drapes made for that!!! After a little while, the lady in the decorator fabric department decides that she was going to help me. I guess I was getting on her nerves. I kept taking all the rolls of fabric and draping them over each other and walking across the room to see if I liked it. She was clearly getting annoyed. So I showed her the fabric that I had used to make my panels for the bottom of the window and explained my idea to her. She leaves and comes right back with a steely blue chintz for $4.89 a yard. It goes perfectly with the blue stripes in the panels. I think she was just happy to be rid of us. She recognized me the other day when I was in there to buy some fabric for a valance for Jeremy's room. She looked a little nervous. Anyway, here is what I've done:

I purchased some curtain tieback pegs on clearance at Target and 2 yards of brown satin ribbon. That paired with 2 safety pins and 2 tea cup hooks and I had successfully achieved my vision for this window. I successfully covered the awkward break between the windows. SO HAPPY!!! I also took the 2 side panels from the upper windows and covered the pillows on the 2 chairs. I love them!!! The only thing I still want to do is to add the trim in the following picture to the 2 hanging edges of the valance. Here are my fabrics all together with the trim:

I will have to take a new picture when I get the window film put up. Let me know what you think.

Quality Time and Deep Conversation???

2008-09-05T18:42:00.007-02:00

OK, so I had to run some errands this afternoon. You know, the bank, Target, Aldi's, Sam's to gas up for the week . . . things like that. So I decided that I would take the boys out to one of their favorite place for lunch. They love it because this restaurant has an all you can eat pizza buffet for lunch. I don't know why they call it "The Pizza Buffet" when they also have fried chicken, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, spaghetti and meat or meatless sauce, mac and cheese, sausage and peppers and salad bar. But anyway, I took them there for lunch and they ran to their favorite booth, got their food and asked the waitress to change the channel from CNN to Cartoon Network. Tom and Jerry was on and this is what I got to look at while I ate my lunch:

There was total silence except for the occasional burst of laughter. I guess I should appreciate the silence but, a little conversation isn't too much to ask for is it?

My New Drug of Choice

2008-09-03T14:22:00.005-02:00

This has nothing to do with homeschooling or decorating or anything except that I have to tell all of you about my new drug of choice. I love to browse the organic section of the grocery store and last Thursday I found it:

Good Earth Organic White Tea with Sweet Citrus

It makes the most delicious iced tea. It has orange peel and lemon grass in it as well as some spearmint. It is quite possibly the perfect cup of tea. I even staged a pretty picture for you with a table cloth and my Princess House crystal pitcher and iced tea glass. SEE!!!

You must try it. Caleb said it was "Delectable". Jeremy said it was "the most delicious cup of sweet tea he has ever had". I just plain LOVE it. If you live near a Food Lion, They had it for $3 a box.

A Busy Weekend

2008-09-01T02:01:00.004-02:00

OK, so it has been a little while since my last post. I made it through the first week of the new year of school and we are right on track. We had a busy weekend. We are doing some fix-ups to get our house ready to be sold. I just finished painting the front door . . . Yes! I know it is after midnight. We have to leave the front door open over night so the paint has sufficient time to truly dry well. I didn't think of that but, we'll be fine for one night with just the storm door closed.

Any way, this coming week promises to be just as full. Tomorrow we are going to the pool as it is the last day of the season and Judah's Preschool is closed. Tuesday and Wednesday, my dad is coming to help with some more outdoor fix-ups and we will be pricing laminate to replace the carpet in the public areas of the house. It is 10 years old and has seen a lot of traffic. We are leaving the carpet in the bedrooms. It is still fine . . . although I will probably shampoo them. The hall bath is keeping its vinyl as it is neutral and in good repair. The Master bath has carpet. Please tell me who thought this was a good idea. Last summer I took a razor and cut a line in the carpet so I could remove the carpet from under and around the toilet. With 4 people of the male persuasion living in the house, you could only imagine what the carpet was like in that area but that is a whole 'nother post. I put vinyl tiles in the toilet corner and nailed a thresh hold over the cut end of the carpet. It looks fine but the best part of this project is the smell or lack thereof. The rest of the carpet is pretty worn especially right in front of the sinks. We may just lay a solid sheet of vinyl throughout the room. I am excited for new floors.

Other things I'd like to do that would not break the bank are:

1. Replace the bathroom sinks and faucets as they are the very cheapest money can buy and are really kind of dated. I saw plain white porcelain sinks for $24 each at Home Depot and nice chrome faucets with 2 handles (instead of the acrylic ball handle) for $29 each. I have 3 sinks to do so that's not too bad ($159 plus tax). I would love to do what the Nester did in her bathroom but then I would have to paint the cabinets and we have A LOT of cabinets!!! Check it out here: http://nestingplacenc.blogspot.com/2008/08/high-heels-for-bathroom.html

2. Actually plant live plants in the ground in front of my house. I am a city girl and not that good with plants but we have a huge front yard and in all the years we have lived here, we have had nothing but a driveway and a mailbox in front of our house. It is a great house and it is pretty all by itself but it needs some curb appeal. I just put some pretty potted plants on the porch but I think it needs something more. I also just painted the shutters Black (they were brown) and as I mentioned before, I just painted the front door black tonight. I wanted red but couldn't find a red I liked that didn't totally clash with the Autumn-Colored (Dark ORANGE!!!)roof. I have new black exterior light fixtures that Dad will be putting up for me. The old ones are bronze but not in a good way. The address numbers were falling off the house and swinging around on their nails so I invested in some quality brushed nickel house numbers.

One thing that I would really like to do is paint all my moulding. In the late 90's when this house was built, stained wood mouldings were the style of the day, so we have cherry cabinets in the kitchen and both baths plus matching crown throughout the entire house. I love dark wood and especially cherry stain but having the mouldings that color limits what colors I can paint the walls (or at least in my mind I can't get past it). This would not be an expensive project. It would just be extremely time consuming. I just want white semi-gloss mouldings. Sort of related to that would be to remove the popcorn texture from the ceilings and have smooth ceilings. Our youngest sleeps in a loft bed and he likes to pick it off the ceiling. It is not fun to clean up.

So, I thought I would end this post with some pictures of a few things I've done inside the house.

I used this ribbon to mistreat some fabric scraps for a valance for the sliding glass door in the breakfast room.

Here is a close-up of it tacked to the wall (notice my cherry moulding). I didn't get close enough but, the fabric is white with rust, sage and 2 different purples in a grid pattern. I found some ribbon (the ribbon from the previous picture) in the closet that matched 2 of the colors in the fabric and hot glued them on the bottom. The colors coordinate with the wall paper.

Now you can truly appreciate the popcorn ceiling and cherry moulding situation. Pay no attention to all of the hand prints on the glass. My children do not understand the purpose of door handles.

This is a set of sheers that I already had and a remnant from Hobby Lobby. I love it and the colors in it are the same colors as are in the couch. Again love my moulding!!! I think it needs something more and I have some khaki linen that I was thinking of using as panels on the ends. What do you think?

Here's a close-up. Notice that I left the frayed edge showing in place of fringe. I kind of like it that way.

So, I also did a lamp for Caleb's room and the window in Jeremy and Judah's room but they are sleeping as it is after 1AM now. I will snap more pictures tomorrow. Maybe I will do a showcase of the boys' rooms. I will also try to find some before pictures of the front of the house and then I'll take some new ones and you can tell me what you think and what else you think needs to be done. I could use some good landscaping ideas.

More Mistreatment . . . This Time It Is NOT The Windows

2008-08-21T13:56:00.013-02:00

I wanted to post something I just did today to find some space in my house. But first I want to show you the very first thing that I ever mistreated . . . My dining room fixture.

She is not that pretty but when we moved in, she was naked. They had really bright clear bulbs in this thing and clear glass hurricanes over the bulbs. I got these shades at Hobby Lobby for $1 each and hot glued the beading on the edge. That was probably 7 years ago. I really don't like that it is brass but I have gold picture frames and don't know what other color I could paint it. What do you think?

Here is the project that I did in 20 minutes this morning with a full size flat sheet from Walmart ($2.50 on clearance) and my glue gun. Tell me what yo think of my new "scrapbooking supply cabinet". Here is the before picture:

And here is the after picture:

And here is what she is hiding:

Judah didn't seem all that impressed but tell me what you think.

What the heck . . . ?

2008-08-20T11:15:00.003-02:00

I am sitting in the office, checking my email and trying to get ready for my very full day when I hear this:

Caleb: Did you take that Nazi off the motorcycle?

Jeremy: The Russian guy is supposed to go on the motorcycle!

Caleb: No, Jeremy! The Russian guy died when Scooby Doo's alien girlfriend showed up to save the day.

Jeremy: Oh, you mean, Crystal and Amber?

Caleb: No not Crystal . . . just Amber.

Jeremy: Whose that in the Jungle Cutter?

Caleb: Oh, that's Napoleon . . . He's French . . . Not like the mustard!

Jeremy: I'm gonna go watch the Magic Schoolbus.

What the heck? Is anyone else confused? And did anyone know that Scooby Doo had a girlfriend?

I am off to do some laundry. Have a blessed day!

Mistreatment Partay with The Nester

2008-08-18T12:59:00.000-02:00

I have been so inspired by what the Nester has done in her home that I have decided to "mistreat" some of my windows as well. I will even show you one disaster in the making (which of course I am stuck on). Maybe you can help me.

So here is my first mistreatment. It is a valance that I made for the kitchen window. I had a bag of fabric scraps and a box of OLD ribbon that I got from a lady at church. The fabrics is the skirt portion of a little girl's jumper and I glued the ribbons onto it and used coordinating plastic clothespins to hang it on an existing rod. I hung it at the ceiling and it mostly covers the wall. Please disregard how the wall paper is hung upside down on this section of the wall. It was like that when we bought it. The cost for this project was: $0

The next room I did was my formal dining room. I used some old homemade curtain panels and hung them at the top of the window so they would reach the floor. Then I hung a rod just below the crown molding and hung my nifty mistreated window topper to cover the wall and the top of the lower curtains. I really love this fabric and I had just enough to make it look like a custom cornice board. The velvet covered buttons make it look even more tailored and formal. In the first picture you can see the lampshades on the chandelier that I mistreated with some dangly, beaded trim. Even my husband liked it and he seldom gets excited about decorating. The scallops are not as crooked as they appear in these photos. The cost for this project was: $8

The next room I did was my bedroom. We have 2 windows on either side of the bed but since my bed was not made, I only took a picture of one of the windows. They are both dressed the same. I already had the sheers in there. The mossy green panels were a pair that I had gotten at Walmart at least 3 years ago on clearance. I cut each panel in half and glues the cut edge so the fabric wouldn't unravel and made dumby panels. It has almost a burlap weave but it is soft and smaller weave so it made a mess when I cut it. The toile and gingham were remnants from Hobby Lobby. I hung everything just under the crown molding on rods I already had. The cost for this project was: $6 (for 2 windows) Does anyone have any ideas for the lampshades?

The next room is a work in progress and I really need everyone's help. I started in the formal living room by pairing existing cream colored panels with the striped panels that I made using my glue gun. I have blackout fabric in the top windows because we live in the south and these windows face west. The sun bakes this room in the summer so I cut blackout fabric to fit these windows and velcroed them to the window frame. In the fall and winter, I can take them down and at Christmastime, I take everything down out of this window so the world can see my tree! Anyways, I am having a hard time dressing the top of the window to cover the blackout fabric. I also purchased some wonderful blue fabric on Saturday at Hancock's 50% off sale and some trim. There is a picture of all of it together. Any ideas for me?

I have some other projects and fabrics to play with after I finish the formal living room monster window. Take a look at my clearance finds:

I am thinking about mistreating a round table and a sideboard with these.

I am going to do a cornice or something in the family room with this.

I love everyone's pictures and ideas that I've seen so far. Thanks in advance for the help.

Toothless Wonder

2008-08-09T02:07:00.000-02:00

I thought you might all enjoy some pictures of Jeremy with his front tooth missing. He was very excited when it fell out. It was the third tooth that he has lost so far. The Tooth Fairy left him $1 which he was very happy about. I just love when they lose their front top teeth. They look so cute and sound so funny. Then when it grows back in, it is way too big for their mouth.

I am not quite sure but, I think Michael had him laughing and that's why his eyes are closed.

Traveling Back to the City of My Birth

2008-08-09T01:40:00.000-02:00

Well, we just returned from a trip to NYC. It was really a strange trip for me. Everything seemed so much more crowded and dirty than I remember it being eight years ago when I moved south. Maybe I've just gotten used to the slower pace of life and the wide open spaces of country living. If you had told me 10 years ago that I would be living in the country and be able to hear farm animals when I sat outside on the porch, I would have told you that you were nuts! I was born and raised in NYC. I spent the first 10 years of my life in Brooklyn and the next 12 in Staten Island. Aside from going away to school in Indiana, I has never lived outside the city. Now when I go back to visit family, I can't believe I ever lived there.

We had a wonderful time visiting with family and revisiting my favorite pizza place, my old babysitter, our old church . . . some things hadn't changed and other things were so completely different. The kids had a wonderful time and being raised in the south, they talked to everyone they came in contact with. I think they freaked some people out with their friendliness and their fearlessness. I just thought that I would share some pictures from our trip. There are some of the boys eating Italian Ices and Spumoni and a couple of them playing at the park that I used to play at when I was little.

I can't figure out how to get the pictures at the end of the blog post so, I'll just leave it as is.