Homespun Sprout

Apple Stock

2011-10-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe in the October issue of Mother Earth News...one of my FAVORITE magazines. I am a big fan of making my own chicken stock, so I thought this one sounded interesting. The recipe says that it makes a delicious base for butternut squash soup. And I have been quite unmotivated to use the two butternut squash that have been hanging out in my kitchen for *ahem* about two months. So it all seemed to come together today when I set out to make a big batch of this stock. I'm going to list the recipe as it was originally written, but I didn't follow it (of course...). My notes are in italics :)

Apple Stock

Ingredients:
8 medium apples, cut into quarters, seeds removed
2 large onions, cut into quarters
4 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup oil
6 sprigs parsley (I didn't have it. Left it out)
1 small bunch thyme
10 peppercorns
5 corriander seeds (Left this out too.)
2 pieces of cinnamon stick, about 2-inches each (I used 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon)
3 cups apple cider (this was recalled at my local store so I couldn't get any. Instead I used about 1 1/2 cups orange juice and used water for the rest)

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a roasting pan, toss apples, onions, celery, and carrots with oil.
Roast 1-1 1/2 hours stirring every 20 minutes until the veggies are well browned.

Remove the veggies from the oven to a stock pot. Add a cup of water to the roasting pan and loosen all the yummy bits from the bottom. Add that liquid to the stock pot. Add the remaining ingredients, plus about a gallon of water.

Bring the stock to a simmer over medium heat. Adjust heat to keep the stock at a simmer, partially covered. Simmer for 6-8 hours - don't allow it to boil.

Strain and discard the veggies. Cool and either refrigerate or freeze for later use. Makes about a gallon.

**My house gets EXTREMELY hot with the stove going for this long. So I threw everything in the crock pot and set it to low for 6 hours. The results were delish!

After I strained the stock, I used it in this Butternut Squash Soup recipe in place of the chicken stock. It was so yummy! Serve it with a salad and some crusty bread, and you've got a perfect fall meal!

B-Week

2011-08-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

Having a plan is half the battle. It's amazing how much smoother this week went because I was prepared. This is not to say that we accomplished everything I thought we would, but we certainly had a lot of fun learning about the letter B! Here's what our week looked like:

We made a nifty little Butterfly magnet:

First she used her dot stampers and water to decorate a coffee filter.

While it was drying, she glued some pom-poms (these nifty ones came from the dollar bin at target!) and some googly eyes on to a clothes pin.

Then we just scrunched up the coffee filter and pinned it in the clothes pin. I stuck some adhesive magnet on the back and the masterpiece was complete. This little beauty now lives on the fridge.

Then, Addison and I baked some Brownies (from scratch!) to bring to her friends Blake and Brice. The boys were pretty excited to see us with these yummy treats in hand!

And here is a picture of the B-week sensory bin. It contains buttons, blocks, bunnies, beads, balls, beans, butterflies, beads, and a bowl.

And lastly, we made this cute bird out of milk and juice tops and some craft foam. I cut the pieces and Addison glued them all on herself :)

Here are the books we read this week:

Jamberry

Henry and Pawl and the Round Yellow Ball

Round Like a Ball

Corduroy

A-Week

2011-08-23T15:07:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind on my posts. Imagine that. It seems I'm a little behind on most things these days. Doc is already 6 weeks old, and the days are flying by. He's attempting to smile these days which is a lovely change from the usual crying :)

To keep Addison busy, I decided to jump right in and start teaching her letters. We've been doing a letter each week. Now, let me clarify a bit. We're not really spending all that much time dealing with the letter itself. After all, she's only 2, and there is plenty of time for that. But talking about one letter each week gives ME some focus when I'm coming up with activities and books to keep her busy and happy. Here's what our A-week looked like.

We started by going to the Gilcrease Apple Orchard.

Then we did some Apple printing with some of the apples we picked.

And Addison did some activites from this great website. I followed this blogger's post pretty closely to see how Addison would do. And she was happy to complete all the activities. But when we got to B-week, she seemed bored witht them. So I've decided to hold off on printing any more of this stuff (it takes a TON of ink) until she seems a little more excited about "worksheet" typed activities. For now I want to keep our letter-of-the-week stuff as play-based as I can. After all, when will she ever have a time in her life again when it's ok to just play?

And here are the books we used this week:

Apples by Jacqueline Farmer

Apples, Apples, Apples

After just jumping right in and trying to make this letter of the week thing happen, it became very clear to me that we needed a plan. So I came up with a little planning sheet to help me get myself organized. There is space for me to identify a craft, songs, books, outside activities, sensory activities, and "tot school" activities for each day. Now, does this mean that we are actually accomplishing all those things every day of the week? No way. But it's nice to have an idea of things we COULD be doing if time permits and Addison is up for it. If she is happy playing by herself, that's fine with me too. Stay tuned for highlights from B-week :)

Montessori Shelves and Some Other Stuff

2011-08-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted. Needless to say, I've been a bit busy. Our new baby arrived on July 13th. Doc William weighed in at 7lbs 4 oz and was 20 inches long. He was born at home, and it was lovely. So we've been adjusting to having him around :) Addison is in love...

Now that he's been here a couple weeks, Addison is starting to get a little stir crazy. I'm still not crazy about being out and about for more than an hour or two at a time with Doc in tow, so I've been spending nap time trying to come up with some ways to add a little more structure and interest to Addison's day at home. Today I put together some activities to keep her busy.

I've been reading up a bit more on Montessori learning activities. Today I set up the bookshelf in her play room to fit in with the Montessori philosophy a bit more. Each activity is in its own container, and they are all kept on the low shelves so she can access them when she wants. They are not all Montessori in nature, but I think allowing her to choose what she wants to do will be a nice change for her.

On the bottom is her dot markers and a couple of coloring books, and next to it is the space for a fun open-ended activity pictured below. Above that is a transfer activity using pom-poms and a spoon or chopsticks (she still hasn't figured out how to use the chopsticks :), and her Fisher Price barn set for a little imaginitve play. Above that is her play-doh set, a shape stacker, and our first-ever sensory bin (more about that in a minute). Books are on the top shelf.

Today Addison learned that the activities in these containers must be played with on her green mat, and that they go back into the same containers when she's done. So far, she's done great.

Here's the open-ended activity I just mentioned. It contains a half an egg carton, 6 plastic Easter eggs, and a bunch of "pretties" otherwise known as glass jems from the craft store. She had a blast filling the eggs with the "pretties" and then filling the egg carton.

When she was done, she promptly told me they needed to go in the refrigerator. So that's where we put them..for a minute anyway.

Here's a picture of the sensory bin I put together today.

There is no rhyme or reason to the items I included. I just tried to make it interesting. I pulled this out this evening and it was a TOTAL hit. She scooped and sorted for a good 40 minutes. Her concentration was pretty amazing. I will definitely continue to make these for her. I'm thinking I will change it out once a week or so.

This week we've been talking a lot about colors. Addison knows her colors pretty well at this point. I got a bunch of books from the library all about colors. This one is her favorite.

We made some ballons in each color to hang in her play room. I got the idea for the balloons from one of my favorite blogs. She had a ball decorating the balloons. I set up the activity ahead of time by putting all the materials for each one in its own container. She could then grab the decorations she wanted to add by herself. It took us two days to complete the set.

Here's a close-up.

It's been a bit of a challenge keeping a busy two year-old happy while I'm also trying to care for a sometimes difficult newborn, but I think we're finding our groove. Hopefully if I can stay on the ball with activities for Addison that will help a bit.

Ziplock Bag Toddler Activities

2011-07-07T18:03:00.000-07:00

Time is ticking and there are only 2 days left till my estimated due date! I've been a little worried about how to keep my toddler entertained once baby #2 arrives. Addison is VERY used to having my undivided attention most of the time, and I specifically remember the amount of quality time I spent on the couch nursing her when she was new...it's going to be a totally different ballgame this time! To prepare for the inevitable, I decided it would be a good idea to fill a bunch of gallon-sized ziplock bags with fun, interesting, new things to keep Addison happy and entertained for short periods of time while I get used to nursing the new baby. This is a work in progress, and I plan to change out the activities once I see what she likes and what she doesn't, and to keep everything fresh and new. These activities will only be pulled out duing times that I nurse so the novelty doesn't wear off (at least that's the plan...)

I'm storing everything in this basket, so it's all set to go.

I made some cardboard road pieces out of some boxes that were in the recycling bin. And the cars were on clearance at target...not sure how this one will go over, but we'll see!

Dry erase CRAYON board! Brilliant! The other side is black, and she can write on that side too.

Some random bugs...and I threw in a few snakes too. I think I'll add some strawberry baskets or something like that so she can "capture" the bugs. Not sure...

Crayons, paper, and some sticky foam shapes.

Dot markers and coloring book (these are not new, but she LOVES them).

Pipe cleaners and dry pasta.

Random pieces of fabric and some old ribbon. Who knows where this will lead...

Wooden blocks (jenga pieces), spools, and clothespins.

An egg carton, some Easter eggs, and some pretty jewels.

And these are a couple of the play silks I'm making her for her birthday...I still have a couple more to finish to complete the set. When I was cutting the pieces to size, Addison had a BLAST playing with the silky scraps...so I'm hoping she'll love the finished product too. They flutter and float when she spins with them...or throws them. And they can be blankets for her babies...or shawls...or whatever :)

I also made a HUGE batch of playdough (7 colors worth). It will stay in the fridge, but I anticipate this being used during nursing times also. She especially loves to play with the playdough and her pretty jewels at the same time.

So hopefully these goody bags help keep Addison happy as she adjusts to being a big sister. If you have any other ideas for activities that could easily be stored in a ziplock that are appropriate for a two year-old to pla with independently, please leave a comment!

Maternity leave

2011-06-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to drop a quick note to say that my Etsy shop will be closed until the end of July in anticipation of my new baby arriving. I'll be sure to post again once I reopen!

It's Green!

2011-06-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

Finally, the garden is starting to look like a garden! It was a slow start this year. The temperature has been below normal since I planted (don't get me wrong...I'm CERTAINLY not complaining!) But these last few days, the beds have really taken off. In fact, I took the following photos a couple days ago, and it already looks different out there. So here we go on the latest garden tour...

Yellow bell pepper. I'm planning to pick this tomorrow. The other plants have smaller peppers and bunches of flowers, but nothing ready to eat quite yet.

These are actually banana peppers. I'm hoping to get enough to pickle them...I love them on sandwiches and in salads. I have two plants, both of which appear to be doing great. Here's to hoping for a bumper crop!

My Italian parsley is a little out of control, wouldn't you say?? I haven't been very good about cutting it back because it's been home to a HUGE family of ladybug larvae. Addison and I took a ladybug hike a while back, and she brought home a little bug house with a few ladies in it. We let them go in the garden (I assumed they would just fly away). A couple weeks later, I noticed that there were eggs...EVERYWHERE! So every day, we would go outside to say hi to the ladybug babies, and eventually we got to watch them hatch and turn into MORE ladybugs. The whole thing was very cool, but they really decided they liked this parsley, so I let them have it. Most of the egg sacks are gone now, so I think it's safe to hack this baby back a bit.

Here's the tomato bed. It too is a bit out of control! I need to get some stakes out there to contain the mass. I typically don't stake up each plant or use cages...but these monsters are taking over the garden path.

Nothing ready to pick yet, but we've got tons of green babies! Oh boy!

I thought it was only fair to say that not everything is thriving this year. My basil is pretty pathetic. I think it hates the bed it's in. I have some space near the peppers, so I may pick up another plant and see if a different location does the trick.

I just love fresh thyme, don't you?

These sunflowers are taller than hubby now. The rest of the bed contains rainbow chard, garlic, carrots, and bush beans.

I'm seeing some fritattas and green smoothies in my future :)

Can't wait to see some orange popping up here. So far, just pretty tops.

The bean plants are LOADED with babies...and today, Addison got to pick the first of the harvest. She proceeded to eat all of them raw :)

The zucchini, yellow squash, and cukes all have flowers. So far, I'm only seeing male flowers, but I'm hoping that's because it's still early. We'll see.

And lastly, here is a picture of a fun upcycle project...

This came from my gram's nursing home. It was destined for the dump, and my mom and I saved it. A coat of paint, and it's been transformed into some lovely garden storage! Yippee!

Homemade Hard Lotion Bars...and Chapstick Too!

2011-06-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

I've been suffering terribly with EXTREMELY dry hands for a while. It seems like when the seasons change, my skin acts up even more than normal. And this year, for whatever reason, my hands, feet, and knees are worse than ever. I have tried every lotion possible. I've worn socks and gloves to bed. I've started washing ALL dishes with gloves on my hands. Nothing has helped. I was complaining about my cracked and bleeding hands to a friend a couple weeks ago, and she suggested trying a hard lotion bar. I had never heard of such a thing. She told me that she makes her own, and that it works wonders on extremely dry skin. At this point, I figured I had nothing to lose, so I bought the ingredients. I mixed up a batch of this stuff today and OH MY GOSH. I love it!! Want to know how to make some? Here ya go...

Ingredients:
Shea Butter
Coconut Oil
Beeswax

Thats IT!!!
Method:

Combine equal parts of all three ingredients in a double boiler (I just put a bowl on top of a pot 1/2 full of boiling water). I used a cup of each.

Mix until all ingredients are melted. The coconut oil will melt first, then the shea butter, then the beeswax.

Pour into empty chapstick tubes like these...I got mine from Mountain Rose Herbs. You can add any essential oils you might like also. I added 5-10 drops of peppermint oil to each tube.

I used a medicine syringe to fill each tube 1/2 way. Then I added the peppermint oil, and topped each one off. Here's what they look like once they're cooled.

To make the lotion bars, I used a silicone cupcake "tin" that I got in the Target dollar bin. I just used a ladle to fill the holes with equal amounts of melted oil/wax. I added lavender oil to the lotion bars (10-15 drops each) to make them smell pretty...but they are nice plain too.

Once they cooked, I wrapped one up to give to my neighbor. I think I decided what everyone is getting for Christmas this year!!

What I love most about this stuff is that it doesn't leave your hands super greasy. It's a bit greasy (thanks to the coconut oil) when you first rub it through your hands, but it is absorbed very quickly and just leaves the skin soft. If you prefer a softer bar, add more coconut oil. If you prefer a firmer bar or if you live in a warm climate, add more beeswax.

I also wanted to point you in the right direction for obtaining these ingredients in case this is something you'd like to make. I did a little shopping around and found that the prices seemed best at the following places:

Coconut Oil - Azure Standard

Beeswax (1 lb) - Mountain Rose Herbs

Shea Butter (2lbs) - Astrida Naturals (an Etsy shop)

I still have enough of each to make at least 2 more batches. From 1 cup of each ingredient, I got 6 very decent sized bars, and 10 chapsticks. Yippee! Here's to soft skin!

Norwex: A New Way to Clean!

2011-05-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

I was recently introduced to a line of cleaning products that have seriously revolutionized the way I clean my house. The company is called Norwex, and their products are unlike anything I have ever used to clean before. I've been trying so hard to reduce the number of toxic chemicals and cleaning agents in my home over the past 2 years, and to be honest, most of the time I just found myself getting frustrated. The bottom line is that 9 out of 10 times (in my experience) the toxic stuff is just plain easier to use and requires far less effort on my part (and let's be honest...at 8 months pregnant, I'm ALL about cutting corners right now!) There are a million reasons why I don't want to use chemicals to clean, and why I kick myself every time I pull out one of those expensive, toxic, wasteful Clorox wipes...and now I don't need to any more.

These pretty little cloths are all I need. They are Antibac microfiber cloths and they are INCREDIBLE. Norwex uses an antibacterial silver-based agent within the microfiber towel. What does this mean for me? It means that I can clean ANYTHING in my house with TAP WATER. Yup. You read right. All I need to do is run this little baby under the tap and wipe, wipe, wipe to clean everything from kitchen counters covered with raw chicken, to greasy stove tops, to bathroom sinks and tubs. It is effective against all sorts of scary stuff including:

E. Coli

Klebsiella pneumoniae

Proteus vulgaris

Salmonella typhi

Staphylococcus aureus

Streptococcus faecalis

Streptococcus pyogenes

MRSA

SARS coronavirus

Not only that, but they are about as environmentally friendly as you can get. They virtually eliminate the need for chemicals in your home and the need for disposable cleaning products like paper towels.

They can be used wet or dry, depending on what you are trying to clean, and they even clean glass...with TAP WATER. I cleaned all the glass in my house in 20 minutes using a window cloth and a dry antibac cloth. And the results were enough to make my skeptical hubby say, "wow...no way!"

Norwex also has other products available in their catalogue to help steamline the cleaning of different parts of your home. For example, there's floor cleaning pack that works in much the same way as the expensive and wasteful Swiffer...except it works with tap water and you just throw the cloths in your washer when you're done.

I'm so impressed with these cloths that I've decided host a demonstration to give my friends a chance to see how cool they are too. Here's the basic info...

Friday, June 17th

10am-12 noon

My house

If you live in Vegas and you're interested in coming (you should at least come to watch my friend Jenna do her awesome raw chicken demo!) post a comment and I'll be sure to send you an email with my address and more specifics.

Color in the Garden

2011-04-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

I've gotten pretty excited about flowers this year. It seems like such a long wait for my garden to turn green. So to add a bit of color to the garden, I planted some flowers in pots and throughout the beds. Boy, what a difference it makes!

Addison loves to help water all the flowers in buckets.

She's actually gotten pretty good at it.

Here's a shot of the whole garden. The flowers make it so cheery! I love hanging out in the yard :)

Wyatt found this bench on the side of the road a while back (yes, he tends to bring home other people's junk on a regular basis...gotta love it :) The wood was really old and tired looking. But a fresh coat of paint gave it some new life.

I think daisies are my favorite flowers.

WOW, the peppers taken off! All three bell pepper plants have fruit on them. Yippee!

The corn is sprouting tassles already too.

The parsley and cilantro are rockin'. I've already been able to use some in the kitchen.

Zucchini! I'm hoping to have better luck with these guys this year. I planted them in a different bed, so we'll see if they like this spot better.

The tomatoes are flowering...well half of them are.

Dill...can't wait to make PICKLES this summer!

I've used some thyme in my kitchen too :) I think fresh thyme is one of the best smells!

These little guys are moving right along too. I need to get out there and thin them soon...one of my least favorite jobs. How can I decide who gets to live and who will die???

These are the accidental garlic. They sprouted in a huge clump in the corner of the bed. I must have forgotten to dig one bulb up last year, and they re-seeded and sprouted again. So I dug them up and transplanted the individual cloves. They look like they're gonna make it!

I love it when this happens. This little sunflower sprouted with the seed still stuck on tight.

On a seperate note, we decided to give our last 2 chickens to a friend. Two chickens was not enough to provide eggs for our family, and I was still having to purchase a carton weekly at the store. They also did not seem very happy in the coop arrangement that we had going on in the garden...and our yard is just simply not big enough/secure enough to let them free range. We decided they would be happier elsewhere. So they are gone. It was certainly a fun, educational little project, and I would love to have them again someday when we have more room/better chicken accomodations :)

Bye bye!

Homemade Playdough

2011-04-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a recipe for homemade playdough I found HERE. It is WONDERFUL! I hate store-bought Play-doh. It's too crumbly, and lord only knows what's in it. So I decided to give making my own a try yesterday when Addison looked ready to "make something" in the kitchen. (She put on her apron, pushed a chair over to the counter, climbed up, and yelled, MOM!")...I got the hint :) Rather than make a snack, I thought something to play with would be even better. So here's the recipe:

Homemade Play Dough

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 Tbsp. cream of tartar
1 Tbsp. cooking oil
1 cup water

Method:
Mix dry ingredients together.
Stir in wet ingredients.
Transfer mix to a saucepan and heat over medium flame stirring constantly.
The dough is ready when it pulls away from the sides of the pan, and it starts to look dry throughout.
Dump the dough onto the counter top and knead until the texture is smooth...it will be warm so be careful not to burn yourself.
Divede the dough into balls and let it cool a bit. Add a few drops of food coloring to the balls and knead again to evenly distribute the color. Wear an apron for this part :)
Store the dough in ziplocks in the fridge, and it will keep for MONTHS. This is the greatest playdough ever!

Orzo Pasta Salad with Sundried Tomatoes

2011-04-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

We had this pasta salad with some grilled lamb the other night, and the recipe was too good not to share. I made the salad a couple hours before we sat down to eat and the flavors all had time to blend...it was FANTASTIC.

Orzo Pasta Salad with Sundried Tomatoes

Ingredients:
6 cups cooked orzo pasta ( 2 cups uncooked)
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup olive oil
2 cups sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
2 cups kalamata olives or 2 cups oil-cured olives, pitted and halved
1 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/4-1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Method:
In a large saucepan, cook pasta in boiling water until just tender, about 8 minutes.
Drain.
Place garlic, salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar into a food processor.
Process well.
Add oil, process briefly until well blended.
Pour over orzo while pasta is still warm.
Add tomatoes to pasta along with olives and chopped parsley.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Toss again and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
Serve immediately, or refrigerate for later use (can be made earlier in the day).
Best served at room temperature.

The leftovers are delicious too :)

Easter Bird's Nests/Haystacks

2011-04-23T07:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a recipe for a sweet Easter treat that was always a tradition in my house growing up. I couldn't find the exact recipe my mom used to make, but this one is yummy too, and very similar to the one I remember as a child. So here ya go!

Easter Bird's Nests

Ingredients

12 oz bag chocolate chips or butterscotch chips

4 cups Fiber One All Bran Cereal

1/4 tsp. canola oil

1 bag jelly beans, chocolate eggs, or even peanuts

Method:

Cover a cookie sheet with waxed paper.
Melt butterscotch or chocolate chips and oil in a double boiler.
Stir until smooth. Remove from heat. With a spatula stir in cereal until coated.
Drop by spoonfuls of the mixture onto the waxed paper to make a tiny haystack.
Top with robin eggs. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Makes about 24 depending on how big or small you make the stacks.

Even the littlest littles can help with this one :)

We've Got Sprouts!

2011-04-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I updated our garden progress, so I thought I'd take you on a little tour to see what's up out there.

We've got some itty-bitty Swiss Chard. Addison helped me plant these about 3 weeks ago. When I say "helped" I mean that she really did most of it herself...so I really wasn't sure whether they would come up or not. Little hands can be a bit clumsy with little seeds :) But watching her concentrate so hard to put the seeds in the little trenches was worth it!

I planted my newspaper pots. Some contain peppers and some contain tomatoes. I have no idea if they're gonna make it, but it was time to get them out of my kitchen. The beauty of these newspaper pots is the seedlings don't need to be transplanted. You can just plop the whole pot in the hole and the paper will decompose.

The zucchini and yellow squash are up. Still waiting on my cucumbers...hopefully they won't be far behind.

Yes, you're seeing right. It is only the first week of April and I have a PEPPER! Actually, I have a bunch of them...

I also have a bunch of herbs planted. If you'd like to see them, head over to my Etsy shop. I've got pictures of the herbs with the spoon markers I'm selling :)

The corn has doubled in size already.

I still need to get my sunflowers in the ground too...somehow I keep forgetting about them.

I know this is not edible, but I mentioned before that my mom brought me part of her lilac bush from my childhood home in Massachusetts. Here it is! It's THRIVING...and so are the cute little African Violets that she tucked in with it.

And I just realized that I didn't take any pictures of the tomato plants...not to worry...there's not much happening with them yet. I'll be sure to post pictures when they start flowering :)

What's growing in your garden so far? If you're still snowy, what are you planning to plant this year?

Spring Crafts for Kids

2011-04-07T07:06:00.000-07:00

I'm overwhelmed by the amount of CUTE spring craft ideas for littles that I've seen floating around out in bloggy land. We've tried a couple here and Addison has been having a ball. Here's a little peek at what we've been up to:

First, Addison had a play date at her friend Giana's house where they made these ADORABLE stained-glass crosses. The idea came from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

Thanks for pulling the materials together Sarah!

Then, we made coffee filter butterflies. I got the idea here...but rather than use food coloring (which appeared to be a LITTLE messy for a 2 year-old...) we used watercolor paint. I would also suggest using white coffee filters. The only ones I had in the house were the unbleached kind.

The Artist!

I love the concentration :)

Addison was only interested in painting one coffee filter, so ours is a little plain, but she had fun mixing colors. And it was good practice in naming colors too. I wonder what else we could make with coffee fiters...?

And lastly, I found a little kit to make foam Easter animals at Michael's a while ago. Today Addison got it out of the drawer and asked to make one...so we did. Most of the pieces are sticky on the back, so this is perfect for little hands...the only thing we had to glue was the google eyes.

We talked about where eyes, noses, and ears go... and with a little help, she got all the parts almost in the right places. She's been carrying these little cuties around all morning, so I guess it was a hit :)

I'm always looking for more crafty ideas...got any to share??

Using Bee Pollen to Fight Allergies

2011-04-06T10:35:00.000-07:00

I've been suffering horribly with allergies this year. Actually, it seems that each year we live in Vegas they get worse and worse. Allergy season combined with pregnancy is worse yet. So goes another spring full of sneezing, raw noses, and drippy eyes. I've always heard that raw, local honey was a natural way to combat allergies, but recently, I learned of an even better option: Bee Pollen.

So what is Bee Pollen? Well, we all know that pollen is a yellow/orange powdery substance made in the stamen of a flower in order for the plant to reporduce. Bees produce an enzyme to roll this powder into small pellets, coat them with raw honey, then take them two at a time back to the hive as a total food for the rest of the swarm. Pollen processed by Nurse Bees is the only food fed to the queen during her 5-7 year lifespan while she produces up to 2,000 eggs PER DAY. This pollen is known to contain all 22 amino acids, more than a dozen vitamins, and all the known antioxidants, among other things. (This info came from the bee keeper who sold me the pollen at the Garden's Farmer's Market)

So how does this help us fight allergies? Well, apparently, by ingesting the very thing you are allergic to (the local pollen of seasonal plants and trees) in small doses, you actually help your body become immune to the allergens. The pollen is absorbed directly into the blood stream. Once you become immune, you will not have any allergy symptoms. Pollen should be taken daily, just as you would take any other dietary supplement. The bee keeper instructed me to take 6 granules the first day, and gradually increase the amount to 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per day. It will take approximately 60 days for my body to become immune, and after that, if I continue taking the pollen, I should be allergy-free for as long as I continue to consume the pollen.

Now, I understand that in 60 days, allergy season will be over. I found the source of bee pollen too late for it to really help me this year. But by continuing to take it daily, I will be immune once next year's allergies strike. To me, it's worth it. The pellets can be taken directly on the tongue (and they don't taste bad), or you can add them to your coffee, tea, oatmeal...whatever.

So what do you think? Would you consider ingesting bee pollen to fight your seasonal allergies?

Martha Stewart's Apple Pie

2011-03-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Erika made me one of these pies when she came to visit a couple months ago. I made one again today and decided the recipe is too good not to share with the masses (although it is readily available on Martha Stewart's website). This crust recipe is PERFECT...

Pate Brisee (Pie Dough)

YieldMakes 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter chilled and cut into small pieces

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions
1.In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

2.With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

3.Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

Old Fashioned Apple Pie

Ingredients
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

Pâte Brisée (see above recipe)
12 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (I used 8...12 seemed like WAY too many for my pie plate)

3/4 cup sugar, plus additional for pie top

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch ground cloves

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large egg, beaten

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pate brisee into two 1/8-inch-thick circles to a diameter slightly larger than that of an 11-inch plate. Press one pastry circle into the pie plate. Place the other circle on waxed paper, and cover with plastic wrap. Chill all pastry until firm, about 30 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, combine apples, sugar, lemon zest and juice, spices, and flour. Toss well. Spoon apples into pie pan. Dot with butter, and cover with remaining pastry circle. Cut several steam vents across top. Seal by crimping edges as desired. Brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle with additional sugar.

NOTE: I HATE rolling out pie dough. So to prevent me from having to make it pretty and uniform, I rolled it out haphazardly and used a small circle cookie cutter to cut the dough. I then folded up the bottom crustto cover the edges of the filling and placed the circles on top. Overlap them slightly so they adhere to one another and hold the filling in place.

3. Bake until crust is brown and juices are bubbling, about 1 hour. Let cool on wire rack before serving.

Goodnight Moon - Day 2 & 3

2011-03-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the only thing we did with Goodnight Moon is read the story. I had jury duty all day, so my time with Addison was pretty limited.

Today, on the other hand, we spent about 30 minutes working on couple different activities. First, we sang the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle" (with the help of Wee Sing). Then Addison colored her Hey Diddle Diddle book, and glued the parts and pieces together. For each blank space, I asked her to find the ____, and stick it on the gluey spot. She was able to do it pretty well, despite being very distracted by the glue stick.

Next, we played with the beloved CLOCK. I swear, this kid is obsessed with clocks. Sadly, she can't SAY the word quite perfectly yet...it comes out as "cock". Which is fine and adorable...unless we are in public when she decides to shout it and point...but I digress. Here's what we did to talk about numbers, and to practice counting to 4:

I printed and laminates this clock. It only has one hand since the idea is NOT to teach your child to tell time, but to become familiar with numbers. Addison had fun making the hand move. Then, I put the hand on 1, and gave her 1 shiny gemstone to put in the first spot in the cupcake tin. Next, we moved the hand to 2, and she placed 2 gems in the second space. Despite being very excited about the pretties that mom was letting her play with, she followed instructions very well. We counted to 4.

Then it was a free-for-all with the gems. They were fun for her to move and sort as she wished.

That concluded our Goodnight Moon stuff for the day. Once she went down for her nap, I attached the completed items to her lapbook. Tomorrow I think we will look at all of it again.

Here's what we ended up with:

Oh, one last thing I forgot to mention. Yesterday, we read the Three Little Bears, and watched a video of Goldilocks. Then, we looked at these cards and talked about big, medium, and small.

As I anticipated, this matching activity was a bit over Addison's head at the moment. She couldn't get past saying "daddy" and pointing at the daddy bear picture. Nevertheless, I included it in the lapbook. We will come back to it another time :)

Goodnight Moon - Day 1

2011-03-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

Now that Addison is getting a little older, I've been looking for a way to incorporate a little more sturcture in our day. I discovered a book while searching through the blogosphere the other day called Before Five in a Row. After reading a bunch of reviews, and looking at how other families use the book (especially here over at Delightful Learning), I got very excited and decided this was exactly what I was looking for. Let me give you a quick, big picture view of what Before Five in a Row (BFIAR) is all about.
First, let me start by saying that I am by no means and expert...in fact, my manual hasn't even come in the mail yet. I'm just sharing the info I've gathered through a couple days of internet reserach. BFIAR is not a strict academic-type program. In fact it appears to be just the opposite. Jane Claire Lambert has gathered a bunch of ideas and activities together that all revolve around solid, wholsome pieces of literature for the very young. As the cover of the book states, the ideas are aimed at inspiring learning readiness. Basically, it's a treasury of things to do with your children to build wonderful memories, and to get them excited about books. There are activity ideas for about 20 titles in the manual. You may be wondering what the title is all about. The idea is to read the same story every day for five days. Each day choose one or two activities to go along with the book. It's completely flexible and completely open for creativity on your part (which I love).

I decided to give this a whirl, and got out our copy of Goodnight Moon. Addison has not been all that interested in books (much to my dismay), so to get us started, I found an animated reading of the story here. She wanted to watch it 3 times in a row. Then, once I tried to read the book to her, she was hooked. Over the last couple days, we must have read this book 50 times. She asks for "more more" after it's over. So I guess we're on to something here!

This morning, I decided to try some of the activites I put together over the weekend. I made a very simple lapbook out of a file folder to hold all the parts and pieces of our Goodnight Moon experience. Here's what we did today:

On the back of her lapbook, I attached little pieces of velcro. And I found little pictures online of all the items mentioned in the story...all the things we say "goodnight" to. I printed them out, laminated them, and put the other half of velcro on the back of the pieces. As we read the story the second time, Addison had to find the items as I mentioned them and stick them to the folder. She did great! She found almost all the items on the first try, and was happy to stick them all down...except for the clock...she's obsessed with clocks and didn't want to let go of that one. Ah well :)

Then she helped clean up and put all the pieces in the attached envelope for next time.

Then we talked about circles...since the moon is sometimes a circle, of course!

I printed some pictures of items that are round and Addison attached them to this pie. I found all the resources for this activity here. The pie then gets turned into an I-spy wheel...see the last picture for the final result...

This all went smoothly until I tried to take the glue away. Yeah...we've got some work to do here...

Thankfully it was short-lived and she was happy to color with her crayons instead.

The coloring sheet she worked on was to help her identify colors...what color was the balloon in the story...

Basically I asked her to find each color, and then I pointed to the balloon with that label on it and she "colored" it in. While she was working on this, I attached her I-spy wheel to her lapbook. Here's what we've got so far:

Ok...I have NO idea why this picture is upside down...and I can't get it the right way. So, just this once, please stand on your head to view. You can see the I-spy wheel, and below...I mean above it, is a little flip book with "M is for..." and 4 items that all start with M.

Here's the front of the lapbook. Nothing fancy, just a picture of the cover I printed from the internet :)

So, not too bad for the first day! I think she had fun doing all the parts and pieces. Tomorrow I have a couple more things planned, so we'll see if the enthusiasm continues. I'm off to check my mail to see if my BFIAR manual came!!

Planting Time Again!

2011-03-11T20:01:00.000-08:00

Spring is officially here! By the afternoon it was 80 degrees at our house...and Addison and I took full advantage of it. She's been helping me plant the garden this year which has been really fun. Yesterday we planted all the transplants we got from the nursery, and today we planted most of our seeds. Here's what the progress looks like so far:
Addison of course had to gear up in mom's gloves first...

Here is the parsley. We also planted cilantro, dill, purple basil, and thyme.

This bed has mostly peppers, red, green and yellow bells, as well as banana peppers. I also planted 6 corn plants at the very far end of the bed. This bed gets the brunt of the harsh afternoon sun, and in the past, the corn has done a great job of breaking up that sun a bit. Even if I don't get to eat any of the corn (usually much more needs to be planted in order for it to germinate properly) at least I will still get the shade.

And here are the tomatoes. I planted 4 varieties...Ace, Early Girl, Heatwave, and Hawaiian. The far end of this bed also contains most of the herbs. The plants look so tiny now that they are in the ground because I plant them laying down in a shallow trench. I buried all of the plant except for the upper-most leaves. All those little white hairs you see on the stem of a tomato plant turn into roots when planted, and the more roots the plant has, the healthier it will be. I've had great luck with this method in the past. We'll see how it goes this year. I also rotated the tomato bed this season. In years past, I'd planted them in the western-most bed. It's the 4th season for me gardening here, so I decided it was time to rotate to make sure the soil doesn't get drained of nutrients.

And here is one of my favorite parts. This is the lilac bush my mom brought me from my childhood yard in Massachusetts. My mom brought it out for me when they moved back in November. I wasn't sure if it would survive, but so far, it seems to be doing great! Yippee! I hope it gets some flowers this summer. It would feel like a little piece of home :)

Bunting Baby Doll

2011-02-11T18:04:00.000-08:00

I got this adorable pattern from Etsy this morning. So my mom, Addison, and I set out for JoAnne's to pick up some fabric. Instead of using cotton velour as the pattern stated, I used some super soft "Ultra Cuddle" fleece. The pattern was VERY easy to construct...I made the entire doll during Addison's nap. Here's how it turned out.

And here's a view from the side:

Most of the doll was constructed with hand stitching, so even if your machine sewing skills are limited, this project would be totally possible. Addison is in love. I handed it to her after her nap, and she hasn't put it down yet. Love that :)

Montessori Container Activity

2011-02-07T12:42:00.000-08:00

I've been reading up on some Montessori principles these last couple days. I'm embarassed to say that until I started investigating, I really had no idea what Montessori was all about. I knew that there are Montessori "schools", and from what I hear, they cost a small fortune. But I didn't know any specifics. What makes this type of education better, worse, or different from a traditional education? Well, I like a lot of what I've learned so far. Here are some of they key ideas that really appeal to me at this stage of my parenting journey:

Children can and should be taught to function independently in their world as much as possible.
Children respond best to order and predictability, and organization.
Children enjoy beautiful things, and if exposed to them, will develop respect for beauty.

I have summarized these key points from the book How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way. These are just three of the ideas behind Montessori, but they are three that are very applicable to where my child is at right now.

One of the activities I keep reading about is the container activity to help a child understand the concept of open/close, and to help with fine motor skills. I knew Addison would like this activity because she's fascinated with containers as is, but what I really wanted to see is wether I could encourage her to keep all the parts and pieces in one place...on a mat on the floor. Most of the time, she will stay put with an activity for a few minutes then take off to another location to play with part of it somewhere else. I'm constantly having to track down pieces and things are always getting misplaced. Montessori says that by providing a very specific work area, either on a child-sized table, or on a rug on the floor, children will learn to keep the activity contained to that one area. They should also be taught to pick up all the pieces and return them to the proper basket or bin before moving on. Oh my gosh. If I can train Addison to do this it will be a miracle. I know it's possible. And I also know the only reason it's NOT happening is my fault, not hers. So together, we're making strides to change that.

Here's what I started out with on the tray:

I placed some little pom-poms inside to encourage her to open them up.

She got right to work.

I'd say she worked pretty intently for about 20 minutes. A couple times she tried wandering away with a container and a handful of pom-poms, but she came right back and sat down when asked (which is a great step!)

Clean up time was a little trickier...she was not very excited about putting everything away...but with strong encouragement, she did it...and was very proud of herself afterwards :)

I really, REALLY like the idea of putting down a mat for her to work on...not for everything, but just for structured activities that have lots of parts and pieces. I'm just using my yoga mat for now, and it seems to be working great.

One of Addison's favorite outside activities is watering the garden. And since Montessori suggests allowing children the opportunity to function independently as much as possible, I though these might help.

Boy were they a hit! She kept asking for more water, and went straight to the garden to try out her new tools.

Do any of you use Montessori methods in your home? If so, I'd love to hear about it.

Butternut Squash and Vanilla Risotto

2011-01-31T20:50:00.000-08:00

Here's a different and delicious way to enjoy butternut squash. Risotto dishes are a little bit time consuming to make (mostly because they require constant attention) but they are well worth it in my opinion. In this dish, the sweetness of the squash is enhanced by the flavor of vanilla bean. Combine that with the savory parmesan cheese and sauteed onion, and you've got a delicious combination.

Butternut Squash Risotto

Ingredients:
4 cups vegetable broth **I find that the rice actually needs more than this** (I use homemade chicken stock for added nutrition)
1 large vanilla bean
3 cups peeled, cubed (1 inch) butternut squash, about 12 oz.
2 Tbsp. butter
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cups arborrio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp. fresh chives, chopped

Method:
In a medium saucepan, warm the broth over medium-high heat. Cut the vanilla bean in half. Scrape the seeds out and add them and the bean itself to the broth.

Bring the broth to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low. Add the squash and cook until tender (about 5 minutes)

Use a slotted spoon to remove the squash to a seperate dish. Turn the heat down to very low to keep the broth warm.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onion and saute until tender but not brown (3 min).

Add the rice and stir to coat it in butter.

Add the wine and simmer until it almost completely evaporates.

Add 1/2 cup broth. Stir until the liquid is almost completely absorbed. Continue adding the broth in this way until the rice is thick and creamy, and the kernels are tender.

Discard the vanilla bean. Turn off the heat, and gently stir in the squash, cheese, and salt. Top with chives if desired.

Living Wreath

2011-01-31T15:26:00.000-08:00

I've become fascinated with succulents lately. I think they're so pretty and unique-looking. And the best part is that they actually LOVE this climate! The thought of something thriving in Las Vegas with very little effort on my part is sort of appealing. So I decided I wanted to try making a living wreath out of succulent plants. Turns out, my mom had instructions in a book she bought ages ago, and it's something she'd always wanted to try too, so we made it our mission today to give it a whirl. If you decide to try it yourself, here's what you need:

Materials:
Wire wreath frame
Sphagnum moss
Potting soil
Florists wire & cutters
Assorted succulent plants such as hens and chicks. Here's a picture of what we chose:

Step 1:
Lay the sphagnum moss under the wire frame. The moss should be wide enough to pull up and wrap around the frame. Clip the edges so it will lay nice and smooth.

Step 2: Fill the frame with potting soil.

Step 3: Bring the moss up around the frame and soil so it overlaps on top.

Step 4: Wrap wire around the frame to hold it all together. We found it easiest to work in 4-6 inch sections...and it's definitely easier with 2 sets of hands.

Step 5: Water the wreath thoroughly.

Step 6. Poke small holes in the moss and insert plants carefully.

Step 7: Press soil firmly around roots to hold the plants in place.

Once you get all the plants in place, you're left with a beautiful, one-of-a-kind piece of living art to hang wherever you wish!

This picture is kinda crummy...the sun was not working with me. I will be sure to post another picture once I decide where to hang it.

On a separate note, I also decided my yard needed a little bit of color. We have a great park bench that hubby rescued from the side of the road, but it's just been sitting there. And let's face it...it's pretty blah. I decided it's going to get a face lift...I mean, a fresh coat of paint. It was too windy to paint today, but I did add some color anyway. These little buckets are perfect! And they were only two bucks at Target! Yippee!

I didn't get enough plants to fill them all yet, so it's a work in progress. But check out these daisies! Have you ever seen anything so beautiful??

I just fell in love with them :)

Spring is in the Air

2011-01-28T11:38:00.000-08:00

Although it's not quite time to plant here in Vegas, spring is definitely right around the corner, if not here already. I've been taking advantage of the nice weather these last few days to get the garden in order before the seedlings arrive at the nursery. Last week I bought a large bag of manure to add to the existing soil. I'm not sure what the rule is about adding manure, but I figured the soil hasn't really been supplemented all that much and this will be the 4th year of use. It can't hurt. Once I got the bag home and took a good look at the beds, I realized most of them looked about 6" low on soil. This happens every year, and every year I forget. As the compost breaks down, it settles and compacts. So every year I end up running to Star Nursery for a truck load of their organic compost to top the beds off. It's about $30 for a truck full (which is roughly a yard of soil). Here's what I'm looking at now:

They're all still empty, but they're ready to go...and so is my little raggamuffun gardening helper :)

My mom decided to come along for the ride to the garden center, and she ended up helping me spread the soil in the beds as I unloaded the truck.

Addison had a ball playing in the fresh soil. I think we probably changed her clothes three times over the course of the day...

Addison and Grandma also planted tomato and pepper seeds in the newspaper pots I made. I decided to try starting some from seed this year...not sure how it's going to work. I'm also planning to buy tomato and pepper plants from Star to be sure I get some kind of crop this summer.

If you're interested in learning how to make these pots and you live in Vegas, stop by Pinkpeas on Thursday February 3rd at 1pm for my Grow Your Own Food class. We'll be learning how to make them that day.

Finally, I planted one more non-food item. My mom used to have these GORGEOUS lilac bushes in her yard in Massachusetts. When they moved to Vegas, she took some with her...and she gave one to me! It doesn't look like much now, but if it takes, it should be beautiful!

Lazy Gardener's Seed Starting Chart

2011-01-12T08:25:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again...time to start dreaming big about all the deliciousness that will come from the garden this year. I was reading one of my favorite blogs this morning, Homestead Revival, and Amy posted a link to the most amazing gardening tool. It's an Excel chart that will calculate the planting date for at least 20 veggies based on your location's last frost date. Hooray! No more guessing and trying to keep track with sticky notes and lists that just get lost. This tool is really amazing. Check it out for yourself. Just click HERE then download the excel sheet and enter your last frost date (for those who live in Las Vegas, it's March 7th :)

My garden is a disgrace at the moment. I gave up on my winter garden (I guess the first trimester of pregnancy just got the better of me) and I let the chickens free to do their chicken thing. Stay tuned for pictures of the carnage...

My seeds should be here any day now, so I'm hoping to begin regular posts again once they get here growing season gets a little closer. Until then, do you have plans for a garden this year? What do you hope to plant?? If you're looking for a great place to buy heirloom seeds, check out Baker Creek. They have some REALLY unique stuff!

Cookie Exchange!

2010-12-15T09:35:00.000-08:00

Cookie exchanges have got to be the best idea EVER. What could be better than making one kind of Christmas cookie, and going home with a beautiful assortment that you DIDN'T have to make. This year I'm lucky enough to have two exchanges to go to. My mom and I made a batch of a new recipe yesterday. They turned out delicious, and they were very simple. Here it is (I found it on Food.com).

Buttery Sugar Cookies

INGREDIENTS
COOKIES
1 cup butter, softened ( no substitutes)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (I didn't have any so I doubled the vanilla)
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

FROSTING
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar ( the sugar must be sifted)
1 tablespoon milk ( adding in more if needed for proper spreading consistency)
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (I left this out...mine was rock hard. I guess it's been in the cabinet for a while!)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract ( can use 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in place of the almond)
food coloring ( use your choice of colours)

Directions

For cookies; in a large bowl combine butter with sugar, eggs, vanilla and almond extract; beat using an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy.

In another bowl combine the flour with baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually stir into the butter mixture until well blended.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.

Set oven to 400°F.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper (do not grease cookie sheets use parchment paper only).

On a very lightly floured surface roll out the dough into about 1/4-inch thick

Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters.

Place cookies 2-inches apart on cookie sheet.

Bake 4-6 minutes.

Remove cookies to wire racks to cool completely before icing.

For the frosting; in a small bowl mix the confectioners sugar with milk (start with 1-2 tablespoons, you will likely need more milk for the perfect spreading consistency).

Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until the icing is smooth and glossy (if the icing is too thick add in a small amount more of corn syrup).

Divide into as many separate bowls as you wish for different colours.

Add in food colouring until desired intensity is achieved.

Paint the icing over the cookies using a brush, or dip edges of cookies into icing.

Allow to set on waxed paper.

As you can see, I didn't add food coloring, and I placed a pecan in the center of each cookie. YUM!

5 Minute Artisan Bread...and some other stuff...

2010-12-05T11:41:00.000-08:00

I appologize for vanishing from Blog-Land temporarily. There has been a lot going on here to say the least. I'm happy to announce that Baby Burden #2 will be arriving sometime in early July! Yipee! So that accounts for part of my vanishing act. It's been a struggle to find the energy to get through the day, much less participate in any extra-curricular activities :) Add on our Thanksgiving travels and my parents' move to Vegas, and I've been tuckered out. But, alas, this too shall pass. Enough of my excuses....here's a FANASTIC recipe that I've been making for a couple years now. It's about time I post it.

I originally got this recipe from Mother Earth News magazine, but it is also on Food.com

5 Minute a Day Artisan Bread

Ingredients3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast ( 2 packets)
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt or 1 1/2 tablespoons other coarse salt
6 1/2 cups flour, unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose

Method
Preparing Dough for Storage:

Warm the water slightly. It should feel just a little warmer than body temperature. Warm water will rise the dough to the right point for storage in about 2 hours. With cold water it will need 3-4 hours.

Add the yeast to the water in a 5 quart bowl or, preferably, in a resealable, lidded (not airtight) plastic food container or food-grade bucket. Don't worry about getting it all to dissolve.

Mix in the flour and salt - kneading is unnecessary.

Add all of the flour at once, measuring it in with dry-ingredient measuring cups, by gently scooping up the flour, then sweeping the top level with a knife or spatula. Don't press down into the flour as you scoop or you'll throw off the measurement.

Mix with a wooden spoon, a high-capacity food processor (14 cups or larger) fitted with the dough attachment, or a heavy duty stand mixer fitted with the dough hook until the mixture is uniform. If you're hand mixing and it becomes too difficult to incorporate all the flour with the spoon, you can reach into your mixing vessel with very wet hands and press the mixture together. Don't knead, it isn't necessary. You're finished when everything is uniformly moist, without dry patches. It takes a few minutes, and will yield a dough that is wet and loose enough to conform to the shape of its container. (It's also a great workout if you mix by hand :)

Allow to rise. Cover with lid (not airtight or it could explode the lid off). Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flattens on the top), approx 2 hours, depending on room temperature, and initial water temperature Longer rising times, up to 5 hours, won't harm the result.

You can use a portion of the dough any time after this period. Fully refrigerated dough is less sticky and easier to work with than dough at room temperature.

On Baking Day:

Sprinkle a plate or a pizza peel with cornmeal. Sprinkle the surface of your refrigerated dough with four. Pull up and cut of a grapefruit-size piece of dough (c 1 lb), using a serrated knife.

Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won't stick to your hands. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all 4 sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Most of the dusting flour will fall off - that's fine, it isn't meant to be incorporated. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will sort itself out during resting and baking.

The correctly shaped final product will be smooth and cohesive. The entire process should take no more than 30 - 60 seconds.

Rest the loaf and let it rise in the form, on the plate/pizza peel, for about 40 minutes Depending on the age of the dough, you may not see much rise during this period. That's fine, more rising will occur during baking.

Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450°F Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on any other shelf that won't interfere with the rising bread.

Dust and Slash. Dust the top of the loaf liberally with flour, which will allow the slashing knife to pass without sticking. Slash a quarter inch deep cross, diagonal lines, or tic-tac-toe pattern on top using a serrated knife.

After a 20 min preheat you're ready to bake, even though the oven thermometer won't be at full temperature yet. Put your loaf in the oven. Pour about 1 cup of hot water (from the tap) into the broiler tray and close the oven to trap the steam.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch.

Store the rest of the dough in the fridge in your lidded (not airtight) container and use it over the next 14 days. The flavour and texture improves, becoming like sourdough. Even 24 hours of storage improves the flavor.

Starbucks Pumpkin Scones

2010-11-13T15:23:00.001-08:00

Let me just preface this recipe by saying that there is nothing healthful or redeeming about it in any way. I am fully aware of that. Sometimes you gotta live a little, right? And I'll admit, I look forward to these every fall...and now that I've found this recipe, I can make them ANY TIME I WANT! Yippee! And at least when I make them at home, I know what ingredients are used, right? Right. So here we go...

Starbucks Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients

Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg

Powderered Sugar Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk

Spiced Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 pinch ginger
1 pinch ground cloves

Method:

TO MAKE THE SCONES:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line with parchment paper. (or use a nifty scone pan if you have one...I got a cast iron one, and I love it!)

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Using a pastry knife, fork, or food processor, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture is crumbly and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, and egg. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form the dough into a ball. (If you're using your nifty scone pan, just smoosh some of the dough into each little triangle)

Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle (about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide). Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough. Place on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 14–16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

TO MAKE THE PLAIN GLAZE:.

Mix the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp milk together until smooth.

When scones are cool, use a brush to paint plain glaze over the top of each scone.

AS THAT WHITE GLAZE FIRMS UP, MAKE THE SPICED ICING:.

Combine the ingredient for the spiced icing together. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a whisk.

Homemade Soft Pretzles

2010-11-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to try this recipe for a while now. I'm always on the lookout for healthy snacks that can live in my diaper bag.Well, today is the day. Rather than reinvent the wheel, I will just link up to one of my favorite blogs so you can follow her recipe. Just to make sure you really do head over there, here's what they look like fresh from the oven. Notice one is already missing? Mmm...yeah. guilty :)

I'm now thinking that perhaps I didn't roll my "snakes" thin enough. These are some seriously bloated pretzles! But they taste perfect. Give them a try!

Sweet Potato Bread

2010-11-05T14:52:00.000-07:00

I hesitated to post this recipe. I baked two different loaves of sweet potato bread from two different recipes yesterday, and I wasn't thrilled with either one. But I tasted this one again today for lunch, and I changed my mind. Perhaps the reason I didn't like it as well yesteday is because I didn't follow the recipe's suggestion to let it cool completely before cutting. Today the flavor and the texture were delicious, and I decided this is a recipe I will make again. So if you have as many sweet potatoes in your pantry as I do right now give it a try!

Sweet Potato Bread

Ingredients:

• 2 envelopes (1/4-ounce each) active dry yeast

• 1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees F)

• 1/4 cup sugar

• Pinch of salt

• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1 small sweet potato, baked, peeled, and mashed

• 3 1/4 cup flour plus 1 tablespoon

• 1/4 cup raisins (I didn't add raisins...I wanted to serve this with savory dishes)

• 2 tablespoons butter

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly grease a mixing bowl and baking sheet.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the yeast and water together, until the yeast dissolves.

Add in the sugar, salt, pepper, and butter. Mix well and let rest for 15 minutes.

Stir in the eggs and sweet potatoes. Mix the flour and raisins together.

Fold in the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, working with your hands until all the flour is incorporated.

Form the dough into a small ball and sprinkle the dough with the remaining tablespoon of flour.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning the dough once to cover with the oil.

Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch the dough down and roll into an oval loaf about 8 inches by 3 inches.

Place the loaf in the center of the prepared baking sheet. Cover and let rise until double in size, about 45 minutes.

Bake the bread for about 40 minutes, or until golden. Remove the bread from the oven and transfer to a wire baking sheet and let cool.

Slice the bread and serve with butter.

Apple Rice Stuffing

2010-11-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

Although this dish really isn't a "stuffing" as we all know stuffing to be, it's a DELICIOUS side dish that tastes perfect with roasted chicken. If you've come upon an abundance of apples this fall, here's a way to use a couple of them up.

Apple Rice Stuffing

Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice
2 1/3 cups apple juice (use the real, natural stuff here...)
1-2 Tbsp butter
1/2 large onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 large, unpeeled appled, diced
1/2 cup walnuts, or other nuts
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp dried herbs of choice (basil, oregano, thyme) (I used fresh thyme)
1/2 tsp dried summer savory (I didn't use any)
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Cook rice in apple juice until tender (about 40 minutes)

Melt butter in a large frying pan. Add onion and celery. Cook until soft.

Add remaining ingredients, including cooked rice to the onion and celery. Mix well.

Bake in casserole dish (covered) for 45-55 minutes at 350 degrees.

Apple Lentil Salad

2010-11-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

I had a dear friend over for lunch yesterday, and she has two really tricky dietary restrictions at the moment...soy and dairy. I found this recipe that fit all the criteria, AND I had all the ingredients on hand. I LOVE it when that happens! The recipe was a pretty random combination of stuff, but it actually turned out really good. Here it is:

Apple Lentil Salad

Ingredients:
1 cup lentils
1/4 c. olive oil
2 Tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp salt
2 c. water
2 tart apples, cored and diced
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
2 potatoes, cooked, cooled, peeled, chopped (I used one white and one sweet)
1/2-1 onion, thinly sliced (I don't like raw onion, so I sauteed mine with the lentils)
Parsley (optional)

Method:
Soak lentils for 15 minutes in hot water.

In a large saucepan, heat oil. Add salt and curry powder. Heat until bubbly. If you like your onions cooked, add them to the oil. Drain lentils and add to saucepan to fry briefly.

Add water to the lentils and cook until absorbed (add more water as needed to cook until lentils are tender), about 20 minutes. Cool.

Combine apples and vinegar in a large bowl. Mix with cooled lentils. Stir in potatoes, (and onion if you like them raw).

Salt to taste, garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Curried Beans and Potatoes

2010-11-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

I thought it was only appropriate to include a different way to use up some green beans after my marathon bean-canning session yesterday. So here ya go:

Curried Green Beans and Potatoes

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp oil (I used coconut)
1 tsp mustard seeds
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. tumeric
1/8-1/4 cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp pepper
1 medium potato, quartered and thinly sliced
(I added 1/2 an onion since I had it on hand)
4 cups green beans (whole or cut)

Method:
Heat oil over medium heat. When hot, add mustard seeds.

As soon as they begin to pop, add garlic. Stir until golden.

Add potato, onion (if using), tumeric, cayenne, and pepper. Stir one minute.

Continue stirring and add a bit of water if potatoes seem to be sticking. Once they are cooked most of the way though, add green beans. Allow everything to cook together until beans and potatoes are tender.

Salt to taste. Increase heat to evaporate any remaining liquid.

I served this with my favorite meatloaf recipe.

Green Beans!

2010-11-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

I bought a case of 40 lbs of green beans from Bountiful Baskets this week. Call me nuts, but green beans are SO good...and the thought of not having to buy them all winter made me happy. So I went for it. I had NO idea how many beans 40 pounds really was.

Thankfully, two of my amazing friends who volunteer at Bountiful Baskets with me on Saturdays wanted to come over to help. Hooray! Many hands sure made light work! It would have taken me SOO much longer to do it all by myself. We started at 9am and I just pulled the last of the jars out of the canner right now...at 3:30. And we had 2 canners going!

We spent the first hour at least sorting and breaking the beans into pieces. Then we filled the jars. We did a raw pack (meaning you put the raw beans straight into hot jars and then fill the jars with boiling water). Beans must be processed in a pressure canner since they don't have any natural acid. We processed the jars at 11 pounds of pressure for 20 minutes (pints) and 25 minutes (quarts).

Then...I ran out of jars. So I blanched the rest (boil for 3 minutes then place in cold water to stop the cooking). I strainded them all and then packed them into quart-sized ziplocks. The total tally is as follows:

26 pints (canned)

7 quarts (canned)

7 quarts (blanched and frozen)

My friends took 18 pints home between the two of them. Not bad for a day's work! Green beans for dinner tonight!

What to do with parsnips...

2010-10-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

This week's Bountiful Basket presented a challenge that I don't think we've encountered yet: Parsnips. I was actually surprised by the number of people who asked me what they were while picking up their produce on Saturday. Parsnips are pretty uncommon root vegetables in this day and age, but not all that long ago, they were a staple in the winter diet. This delicious veggie tastes a lot like a carrot and can be used in much the same way. Here's a recipe we tried tonight from the cook book Simply in Season.

Wild Rice Vegetable Bake

Ingredients:
1 cup wild rice
2 cups onion, diced
1 cup pearl barley
2 cups each sweet potatoes, winter squash (which I didn't have, by the way...), and parsnips, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 lb. mushrooms (optional)
1 cup cider or apple juice
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Method:
Boil wild rice gently in 4 cups of water for 10 minutes. Drain.

Saute onion in 2 Tbsp oil or butter until tender. Add rice and barley. Mix.

Place onion and grains in a large casserole dish or 9x13 in baking pan (make it the biggest one you have...mine was too small and made a mess :(

Spread veggies on top of grains. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Pour cider/juice and stock on top. Cover with a tight lid or foil. Bake at 375 for 1 hour or until rice is tender.
Note: Place a baking sheet under your casserole dish to keep your oven clean :)

YUM!

Here's what it looks like inside. Tastes like autumn...mmm!

Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos

2010-10-25T18:44:00.000-07:00

It's the end of the month, and my Azure order comes tonight! That means it's slim pickin's around the kitchen these days. Here's a recipe made entirely with ingredients I already had on hand. And it turned out delicious! Even though it doesn't contain any meat, it was hubby approved!

Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos

Ingredients:
3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 onion chopped
2 cups cooked black beans (I try to always have these ready to go in the freezer)
1 tsp cumin
1/3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp salsa (this wasn't included in the original recipe, but I thought it needed a little something...)
flour tortillas
shredded cheese

Method:
Saute onion and sweet potato in a large frying pan until tender. If you find they are sticking to the pan, add some water, apple juice or cider to loosen them.

Add beans, spices, and salsa. Cook until heated through.

Divide mixture and cheese between the tortillas and roll them up. Place in a 9x13 inch pan. Lightly spray with olive oil.

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. Garnish with sour cream (we use Greek yogurt), salsa, and cilantro.

Not bad for empty cupboards!

Beef Bourguignon

2010-10-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

Fall is in the air, and that means it's time to break out the hearty stew recipes. This is one of our favorites. It's the "Barefoot Contessa" version of the recipe that made Julia Childs famous. For the depth of flavor you get from this dish, you'd think it had to cook all day. The total time including prep for this one is only about 2 hours.

Beef Bourguignon

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced
2 1/2 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 lb carrots, sliced diagonally into 1 inch chunks
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic ( 2 cloves)
1/2 cup cognac (I didn't use this when I made it this time around...didn't have any and didn't feel like going to the store. It was still DELISH without.)
1 (750 ml) bottles good dry red wine, such as cote du rhone or 1 (750 ml) bottles pinot noir wine
1 (2 cup) cans beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves ( 1/2 teaspoon dried)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 lb frozen small whole onions (I didn't use these...I'm not a fan...)
1 lb fresh mushrooms, stems discarded caps thickly sliced

Method:
Preheat the oven to 250°F.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven.

Whole Wheat Vanilla Wafers

2010-10-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

When I first discovered this recipe, I thought there was NO WAY these could possibly taste good. After all, whole wheat cookies are usually not the best idea (at least according to my family :) But I've been looking for snacks to keep in the diaper bag for Addison...something other than cheerios and graham crackers (that contain all sorts of horrible stuff). I figured that, yes, these are still cookies, but they at least have all REAL ingredients in them. And I was able to make them in a mini size that's perfect for my little one.

Check them out. They don't look bad, huh?

And guess what? They're GOOD! I was shocked.

Interested? Here we go with the recipe:

Whole Wheat Vanilla Wafers

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sucanat or brown sugar

1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Method:
Cream butter and sugar.

Add egg and vanilla, beat until combined.

Stir in remaining ingredients.

Now you have 2 options:
1. Fill a pastry bag with dough and pipe into little tiny piles (about the size of a quarter) on a parchment lined baking sheet.
2. Make your own pastry bag and proceed with above directions. Check it out...

I saw this on Rachel Ray once and always wanted to try it out. It works! Just put the dough in a ziplock bag, cut a tiny snip off the corner, and voila! You have your very own piping apparatus!

Once you get all your little blobs made, stick the sheet in the oven for 15 minutes at 325. They crisp up beautifully, and they taste delicious!

Now all I need to do is fill a little tupperware and stick them in my bag. Hooray for snacks!

Stuffed Tortillas

2010-10-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

This recipe was a hit. It's extremely easy and flexible, and it goes together quickly. Basically, it's a fancied up quesadilla. Give it a try with whatever you have in the fridge...

Stuffed Tortillas

Ingredients:
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cups corn
1 small - medium zucchini, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp cumin
2 cups cooked black beans
1 cup chicken or veggie broth
6 Tbsp salsa
1-2 cups cooked, diced chicken (optional)
1/2 cup chopped green onion (optional)
fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
shredded cheese...any type you like
flour or corn tortillas

Method:
Saute onion and pepper until tender. Add garlic.

Add corn, zucchini, and cumin. Saute until all veggies are tender but not browned

Add beans, broth, and salsa. Cook until there is no excess moisture. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste.

Add green onion and cilantro if desired.

Preheat frying pan and place tortilla in (use oil if using corn tortillas). Add a thin layer of cheese to the tortilla, add a few spoonfulls of filling, and top with a bit more cheese.

Either fold in half, or place another tortilla on top.

Flip, and fry crisp.
Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Here's the filling....sorry no pictures of the completed tortillas. They didn't last that long!

How to Stay Motivated to Keep a Clean House

2010-10-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

photo credit: click here

Keeping a house clean with a toddler (or more for some of you!) can be a daunting task. In the last few weeks, I'd felt like giving up entirely. It seemed like no matter how fast I worked or how hard I tried, the dirt, dog hair, and general clutter would pile up faster than I could make it disappear. Without fail, as soon as I'd put the vacuum away, Addison would walk in from outside with a shovel full of sand and make "sand art" on my kitchen floor. Or the dog would come in with a filthy stick...or Hubby would come home with an office full of coffee mugs that had accumulated over the week and throw them in the sink. But I digress...

The truth of the matter is, we LIVE in our home. It is not a museum, and it will NEVER be spotless. But the more important truth is that with a little bit of work each day, the chaos that can occur so quickly can be somewhat avoided. I found something last week that helped me realize this. It's a cleaning schedule. I know, you're laughing at me right now and saying to yourself, "how stupid. When something is dirty, clean it. You don't need a schedule." Those of you who know me, also know that I NEED a routine. I can't function without lists and plans. So this schedule is exactly what I needed to get me out of the "overwhelmed..not gonna do it" zone, and into the "little bit at a time" zone. Guess what? It's WORKING. I feel like I'm finally getting a handle on the mess...a little bit at a time. My goal is to get to the point where I don't panic if someone stops by unannounced. After all, the whole idea of being homemaker is to keep a home that is inviting enough for people to want to come to. I'm hoping that becomes the case here.

I found the schedule here at a great little site called Motivated Moms It's a very simple concept, but I needed someone to spell it out for me like this. Below is a screen shot of one of the pages. It's tiny, so I'll explain exactly what's on the page...

The left-hand column contains a list of chores to be done DAILY. They include:

Make beds

feed pets

load/run/unload dishwasher

sweep kitchen and entryway

clean kitchen sink

clear and wipe kitchen counters

plan/cook dinner (if you meal plan, this will be easy :)

wipe out bathroom sinks

empty trash

do laundry

read to children

exercise

quiet time

take vitamins/medication

prepare tomorrow's clothing

Then, underneath that, there is a list of Bible passages for the week (you can also get a version of this without that part if you so choose). It's about 3-4 chapters per day. Since I have this printed right on my "to-do list" it makes me much more likely to actually do it DAILY.

On the right side, there is a section for each day of the week. It lists some other, more specific tasks that don't have to happen every day. For example, here is what was on my list for today:

Wednesday October 20th:

Clean out lower half of kitchen cabinets

Wash porch rug

Pull dead leaves off houseplants

Dust master bedroom

Clip children's nails

Make dental/doctor's appointments

Now do all these things apply to me and my family? No. But these are REALLY manageable little tasks that, over time, will lead to a much more tidy, peaceful home for all of us. Wanna look at tomorrow?

Thursday, October 21st:

Change dish towels

Clean microwave, inside and out

Clean refrigerator door shelves (oh man do I need to do this one BAD!)

Mop kitchen

Change hand towels in bathroom

Sweep/mop bathrooms

I can't tell you how helpful it has been to me to have little tiny, in some cases, 5 MINUTE tasks that really make a difference. If you think I'm nuts, please disregard the post. But if you're feeling overwhelmed by the thought of getting your house clean, check out the site Motivated Moms. Perhaps it will give you the direction you need to get started too.

Golden Carrot Bake

2010-10-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

Here's another one from Simply in Season.

Golden Carrot Bake

Ingredients:
3 cups carrots, shredded
1 1/2 cups water
2/3 cup uncooked brown rice (I used wild rice)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups jack cheese
1 cup milk
2 eggs (beaten)
1/4 cup onion, chopped
pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 cup jack cheese

Directions:
Combine carrots, rice, water, salt and pepper in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes. Do not drain.

Stir in cheese, milk, eggs, onion, and nutmeg. Transfer to a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Sprinkle top with cheese. Return to oven long enough to melt cheese.

Broccoli Gratin

2010-10-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

I borrowed the cookbook Simply in Season from a friend of mine this week. It is amazing! It provides recipes for each season using ingredients that are fresh during that particular time of year. Tonight we're having two of them. Here's the first one:

Broccoli Gratin

Ingredients:
5-6 cups broccoli, lightly steamed
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1/4 tsp pepper
pinch each nutmeg and ground red pepper
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp dried parsley

Directions:
In small saucepan, saute onion in oil until fragrant. Add garlic.

Sprinkle flour on onions and garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes without browning.

Whisk in 2 cups milk. Bring to a boil.

Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook 5 minutes.

Stir in cheese and remove from heat. Combine with steamed broccoli.

Transfer to a 2 quart casserole dish.

Combine breadcrumbs, butter, parmesan cheese, and parsley. Sprinkle on top of broccoli mixture.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Baked Quail - Yup...It's Hunting Season

2010-10-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

Hunting season is upon us. And that means my challenge is finding ways to prepare all of the creatures that my hubby brings home wanting to eat. I actually like quail. I usually prepare it like chicken. But I found this recipe that is specifically for quail, so I thought I'd give it a try. Here it is:

Baked Quail

Ingredients

8 quail ( cleaned and rinsed)
1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon seasoning salt
3 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon scallions, minced
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, minced
8 orange slices ( for garnish)
cooking spray

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 325-degrees F.

If the quail have been shot in the wild, inspect them all for lead shot, removing any shot with tweezers or the point of a paring knife.

Lightly rub all the quail, inside and out with the seasoned salt. (ours was in pieces, so I just threw some seasoning salt in the bag and rubbed it in.)

In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter and saute the mushrooms, bread crumbs, and table salt until the mushrooms tenderize a bit. Stuff the quail with this mixture. (Since our quail were in pieces, I put the stuffing on the bottom of the casserole dish and placed the quail on top of it. Then I poured the sauce over the top.)

Using the same skillet, make a roux by pouring in the olive oil and browning the flour in it.

Then, add the chicken stock, scallions, red pepper, and parsley to the roux and saute the mix for about 5 minutes, until the onions are tender.

Next, spray a baking pan or large casserole dish with cooking spray and place the stuffed quail in it.

Pour the sauce over the quail.

Bake, uncovered, at 325-degrees F. for 45 minutes, basting 2 or 3 times during the baking process.

Serve two quail to a person and garnish each plate with two orange slices.

This Week in the Kitchen

2010-10-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

I've had a few people ask me what I'm planning to do with the various items I received in my Bountiful Basket this week. So I thought I'd dedicate today's post to sharing my meal plan. A couple of the recipes are brand new to me, so I don't have them typed up and photographed yet. If you want to give them a try, you'll have to check back tonight. (how's that for a hook?) Here' a look at the meal plan..that I proceeded to spill water on while it was sitting on the table.

It's a bit small, so here's a list of the produce I need to use up:

Lettuce

Tomato (3)

Cucumbers (3)

Green onion (2 bunches)

pomegranates (4)

broccoli

Mexican squash (4)

carrots (2 bags)

red pepper (from the garden)

We also got a bunch of fruit but that's more for breakfast and snacks, so I won't include it in the list.

Sunday:

Pecan Crusted Chicken

Salad (Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, pomegranate seeds)

Honey Mustard Dressing (with green onion instead of shallot)

Monday:

Baked Quail (yes...it's hunting season again :)

Golden Carrot Bake (from the cookbook Simply in Season...I'll post it tonight)

Broccoli Gratin (also from Simply in Season. Check back this evening :)

Tuesday:

Zucchini, Chicken & Rice Casserole

Wednesday:

Super Stuffed Tortillas (recipe coming soon...basically it's a deluxe quesadilla with veggies, black beans, and chicken.)

Thursday:

Its MOPS night so we'll be enjoying leftovers.

Friday:

Beef Bourguignon

with sourdough

I also wanted to share a really handy link. I've always wondered how the heck to get at all those delicious little pomegranate seeds. Well, here's a great little video to show you how.

Hope these recipes help you use up all the goodies in YOUR Bountiful Baskets this week!

What's a-growin'?

2010-10-16T11:41:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted a garden update. The main reason is because I've been battling some horrible pests that have almost decimated the newly planted crops. The garden is not all that pretty at the moment. Check out some of the damage...

The culprit? Cabbage Loopers. Little monsters are eating everything is sight! Here's what they look like...

Yuck! I did find a remedy which seems to be working as long as I keep up with applying it. It's called BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis). It is a white powder that you just dust on the plant. Apparently when the little monsters eat it, they die. If you'd like to read about it, click here. I hardly ever have problems with pests, but then again, this is the first time I've grown cabbage and broccoli. So we'll see if the plants make it. Right now, they're not looking so hot.

Looks like it snowed, huh?

On the bright side, the other stuff in the garden is doing great!

Purple Pole Beans drying for next year.

Celery...that I forgot I planted! I had to smell it to figure out what it was.

Melons..thought they were honeydew, but they look like this:

What IS it??

Lettuce

The peppers came back to life a bit now that the temperature has dropped.

We even have orange ones growing. YUM!

"Whatchu lookin' at?"

Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress: DONE!

2010-10-14T07:40:00.000-07:00

It's done! Hooray! I've been trying to get this little cutie done since Friday, and it didn't happen until today. Boy am I happy with how it turned out. For those who missed the other posts about the dress, I was paricipating in a Sew-Along over here at From an Igloo. Basically, she picked a pattern and asked readers to make the dress along with her. The great part is she posted pictures of the project as she went, so it was VERY helpful for people like me who are visual learners :)

I'm a little bummed that it's too big for Addison right now (of course I wanted to dress her in this TODAY!) but she will grow. At least it's not too small.

The pattern was really easy. And the finished product is very clean.

The best part? There is not a single raw edge anywhere in the dress.

See the French seams?

Maybe I'll make another one...

Carrot Apple Nut Muffins

2010-10-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

I came home with an extra bag of carrots this week from Bountiful Baskets. And we all know it's the peak of apple season...SOOO, this recipe seemed like the perfect treat to have for the MOPS Table Leader meeting I'm hosting tomorrow morning. I love making muffins and quick breads because you can pretty much throw anything in them and they turn out great. But this is a combination I would not have originally thought would be good together. Here's the recipe (courtesy of my FAVORITE magazine, Mother Earth News):

Carrot Apple Nut Muffins

Ingredients:
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped (I left out the nuts...Addison has a hard time with them still..)
2 cups raw carrots (about 2-3 large carrots), grated
1 large apple, grated (I left the peel on so the fiber is still in tact)
2 cups all purpose flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
1 cup sugar (I used sucanat)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil (I used coconut oil)
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tins or use liners.
Grate carrots and apple. Set aside.
Whisk together eggs, oil, ginger, and vanilla.
Fold in carrot and apple.
Fold in dry ingredients and mi only until evenly moist.
Divide batter evenly between cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
Makes 9 standard muffins or 12 small ones.

Tomato Sauce

2010-10-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

Here's another yummy-sounding recipe I found to use up my case of tomatoes. I've been on a quest to find the perfect tomato sauce recipe...one that doesn't use any canned ingredients. Well, this may be it. Here it is:

Basic Multi-Use Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
10 plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped

10 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped (I used all the same kind from the case I bought)

4 large garlic cloves, minced

2 large celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 large zucchini, chopped

1 sweet green pepper, chopped

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

2/3 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

2 bay leaves

1 Tbsp. pickling salt

2 tsp each: dried oregano and basil

1 tsp granulated sugar

1/4 tsp each: cinnamon and parsley ( I did not use cinnamon...not a fan of it in sauce like this...)

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Combine tomatoes, garlic, celery, carrots, onion, zucchini, and green pepper in a very large stainless or enamel saucepan. Add 1 cup water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently, covered, for 25 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken, stirring occasionally.

The shredded zucchini on top is still partly frozen...oh well :)

2. Soak sun-dried tomatoes in boiling water until soft. Drain and dice. Add to sauce with wine, vinegar, bay leaves, salt, oregano, basil, sugar, cinnamon, and pepper. Continue to boil gently until desired consistency, stirring frequently. Discard bay leaves and stir in parsley.

3. Ladle into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Process 35 minutes for pints, and 40 minutes for quarts.

Just a note...If you prefer the consistency of marinara sauce, throw this in the food processor or use an immersion blender (oh how I want one of those someday!). This is a pretty chunky sauce. We're trying it out in calzones tonight. I left it chunky for the inside of the calzones, but I blended it for dipping. Next time, I think I'll blend it all prior to canning. If you decide to try it out, let me know what you think!

Spiced Apple Sauce

2010-10-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

We took a family trip to Gilcrease Orchard yesterday to pick pumpkins and apples.

It was a gorgeous day outside! And Addison had a blast running all over the farm. She found all kinds of treasures...

like golden eggplants...

and beets...which she somehow thought should be a necklace...weird kid.

I didn't really PLAN to pick apples, but once I saw them all hanging from the trees, I couldn't resist. They just don't get any fresher than that! I found this recipe on a blog I really like called Food in Jars. Here is is for your apple canning pleasure :)

Spiced Apple Sauce

Ingredients:
about 4 lbs apples
1/2 cup apple cider
2 pieces star anise
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
sugar to taste

Method:
Quarter apples. Do not peel. Place in a large pot. Add cider. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 20 min. Skins will peel off easily and can be lifted out with tongs...or just peel and core them like you're making apple pie. **I tried this method and found it to be more time consuming than just taking the time to peel them in the first place...just FYI...

Mash apples with a potato masher until desired consistency is reached. Add spices and stir well.

Fill hot, sterile jars. Process 15 minutes for pints, 20 minutes for quarts.

Italian Sausage and Peppers

2010-10-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

This is one of our most favorite go-to meals. It's super easy to throw together, but it tastes like you slaved in the kitchen all day. Next time you're looking for some good comfort food, give this baby a try...

Italian Sausage and Peppers

Ingredients:
1 lb Italian Sausage (if it's in links, you need to remove it from the casing)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. penne pasta (or whatever kind you like)
Parmesan cheese

Method:
Brown sausage in a large skillet. Break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.

Drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Add oil to pan. Sautee onion until tender. Add peppers and sautee 10 min more.

Add garlic, tomatoes, sausage, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until peppers are soft. (sometimes I add a splash of red wine here if I'm feeling sassy :)

Take a big whif... your house will smell amazing at this point :)

While the Italian goodness bubbles away, start your pasta water. Cook pasta to al dente. Spoon sausage and peppers over pasta and top with cheese.

Sew-Along Update

2010-10-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

Not much to say here...I'll let the picture do the talking. Almost done! Tomorrow I'll finish it up. Hooray!

Apple Plum Chutney

2010-10-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

I had another marathon canning day today. I started with a double batch of salsa. You can find the recipe here. Even after doubling this recipe I still have 26 tomatoes left. UGH! Here's a quick look at the salsa mission:

A sea of red...

A little soak in a cold bath to get ready for peeling...

A big pot of peeled tomatoes.

Filling the jars...

And a soak in the hot bath :)

Here's the finished product:

6 quarts and 2 pints. Not bad!

Then I moved on to the Apple Plum Chutney. We've been getting tons of apples and plums from Bountiful Baskets, so I found this recipe to use them all up. Here it is:

Apple Plum Chutney

Ingredients: (I doubled the recipe)

5 cups apples, chopped, peeled, cored (about 5 medium apples)

2 1/2 cups chopped peeled tomatoes (about 3 large tomatoes)

2 cups chopped pitted blue plums (8-10...I used both blue and purple plums)

2 cups raisins

2 cups cider vinegar

2/3 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 1/2 cups dark brown sugar (or demerara)

2 tsp. curry powder

1/4 tsp. ground allspice

1/4 tsp. pickling salt

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Method:

Combine apples, tomatoes, plums, raisins, onion, garlic, and vinegar in a very large stainless steel or enamel pot. Bring to boil. reduce heat and boil gently uncovered for 30 minutes.

Add sugar, return to boil. Boil gently for 30 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

Add curry powder, allspice, salt, pepper, and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring frequently.

Ladle into hot jars. Leave 1/2 inch headspace. Process for 10 minutes for half-pints, and 15 minutes for pint jars.

I ended up with 5 pints and 2 half-pints.

I haven't tasted it yet...but we'll be having it on chicken this week. I wish there was a way to send a smell electronically because this stuff smelled HEAVENLY when it was cooking. It smelled like fall in a pot....sweet, spicy, warm, and delicious. YUM!

And as if I didn't spend enough time in the kitchen today...

We'll be enjoying these after dinner!

(We're having carmelized onion, cauliflower, and bacon fritatta...very experimental :)

What's on the menu at your house?

Sew-Along!

2010-10-05T08:14:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of the Sew-Along that's happening over here at From an Igloo. The pattern is called Oliver + S Ice Cream Dress. And I saw it and fell in love. Working on a project like this for a sew-along is great for me. It breaks the work up into really managable chunks. I was able to get today's steps done before Addison got up. And it's so helpful to see photos of each step in case I have questions... which I already did :)

So here's the fabric I chose:

I traced the pattern pieces on seperate paper so I could keep all of the sizes in tact on the original pattern. The pattern goes up to 5T so I figure, if it turns out cute, I can make more as she grows.

Here's as far as I got today. Doesn't look like much yet, but they are cute little pockets, huh?

More tomorrow :) I'm off to can some more salsa and some Apple Plum Chutney...recipe soon to come :)

Pom-Pom Baby Beanie

2010-10-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

I worked up the next pattern I bought from Inner Hooker. Here it is.

Aren't the polka dots cute?

And I learned a new stitch in order to make this pattern. The ribbing on the edge is something I've never done before, but I really like the effect.

Here it is on my trusty melon (I'm sure it will be even cuter on the little melon I made it for...and NO, it's not for Addison :)

Maybe I'll try it in some boy colors next...

Another Hoot...

2010-10-03T06:21:00.000-07:00

I did it again...

I made another owl hat. This time, It actually fits Addison's little melon. And I used some leftover fuzzy yarn from another project (love it when I can do that!). The only bummer is that I didn't have enough to do the ear flaps. Oh well. Guess I'll just have to make another one!

Here's another look. Addison was sleeping, so I used a stand-in melon :)

I think it's safe to say, I'm"hooked". (hee hee)

Hoot Hoot!

2010-10-01T09:15:00.000-07:00

I felt the urge to dust off the crochet hook the other day. Mostly I'm procrastinating. I should be working on Addison's Halloween costume (which will be revealed as soon as it looks like more than a fur ball..) I found this ADORABLE pattern for an owl hat in this great Etsy shop called The Inner Hooker (funny, right?)

The Pattern was SUPER easy to follow, and it hooked up very quickly.

How cute is that??

Unfortuantely, it's a little big for Addison at the moment (I should have known better and made a size smaller...my child has a pin head!)

Sorry this picture is crummy. She had NO desire to sit still long enough to pose for a photo!

If you crochet, you should definitely go check out The Inner Hooker. SUCH cute stuff!

Acorn Squash and Feta Casserole

2010-09-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

I've come home with acorn squash in my Bountiful Basket two weeks in a row. This week, I was on a mission to find a recipe to make with it that didn't taste like dessert (not that dessert is a bad thing...) Most of the time, acorn squash is roasted with maple syrup or brown sugar and butter. It's devine that way, but very...sweet :) So here's a savory dish that is equally as good.

Acorn Squash and Feta Casserole

Ingredients:
2 large acorn squash ( about 1-1/2 pounds each)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped green peppers
1/2 cup chopped sweet red peppers
2 eggs
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 dash cayenne pepper
1/4 cup sunflower seeds

Directions:
Cut squash in half; discard seeds.
Place squash cut side down in a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan.
Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until tender; cool slightly.
Carefully scoop out squash; place in a bowl and mash.

In a skillet, saute onion and garlic in butter until tender.
Add peppers; saute until crisp-tender.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and yogurt until blended.
Stir in squash, onion mixture, feta cheese, salt, pepper and cayenne if desired.
Transfer to a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish.
Sprinkle with sunflower kernels.
Cover and bake at 375° for 25 minutes.
Uncover; bake 25-30 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Sorry this picture is not the best...we'd already cut into it and eaten half at the point when this was taken...oops!

Purple Pole Beans Have Arrived!

2010-09-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, let's not get too excited. This is all I've got so far...

But aren't they NEATO! I've been waiting so patiently for these plants to make some beans. And now they have :) I decided that I would only pick 2..one for me and one for hubby. The rest I plan to leave on the plant to dry. I want to save them to plant next year.

For those who don't know, only one of the plants survived the brutal chicken attack that occured earlier this summer. Since I don't have enough plants to actually harvest, I thought saving them for a "do over" next year would be a good idea. I got the seeds from Baker Creek Seeds, so I know they'll be perfect to save. If you're interested in saving seeds yourself, go HERE. Very cool website.

Here's one more look...with some regular green beans this time :)

Okra?

2010-09-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

We got some of these little guys in our Bountiful Basket this week.

I've never cooked with okra before, and I was a little worried about figuring out how to use this veggie in a way that my family would like. While hunting arounfd on food.com, I found a recipe that looked perfect. The best part was that I already had EVERY ingredient ready to go in the fridge. How often does THAT happen? Here's the recipe I'm making for dinner tonight:

Chicken Gumbo Soup
Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, deboned, cooked, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 onion, diced
(I also added a carrot)
4 cups chicken stock
1 (16 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tsp salt
1/3 cup green peppers, diced
1/3 cup long grain brown rice, uncooked (I used 3/4 cup cooked brown rice I had in the fridge)
1 cup okra
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 dash Worcestershire sauce

Method:
Put all ingredients in a stock pot.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until all veggies are tender.
Remove bay leaf.
Serve with crusty bread.

Just Another Reason Why I Love Cloth Diapers

2010-09-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

At least one person in our home has been sick for the past week. And poor Baby A has had it the worst. Without going into all the raunchy details, I'll just say that as a result, our little Punkin ended up with her first diaper rash (at the age of 14 months). I think it's safe to say that the reason she's never had a diaper rash up until this point is because we use cloth diapers.

When I tell people that we "do cloth" the usual reaction is that I'm crazy. (Unless the mom I'm talking to also happens to use cloth) But people don't seem to understand that cloth diapering has come a LONG way. It's not nearly as nasty as one might think. I purchased my stash of diapes at Green Mountian Diapers. I would HIGHLY recommend this company. The website is extremely helpful, and the selection is very extensive. Here's what we use:

100% Cotton Prefolds. I have both bleached and unbleached. The unbleached are softer. Addison has worn Newborn, Small, and now she's in Mediums. There is no pinning necessary. I use one of these nifty gizmos...

It's called a Snappi. And it works much like an Ace Bandage clip. There are little teeth that cling to the diaper and hold it in place. Brilliant! Here's what it looks like in action.

And we use these covers.

They are made by Thirsties, and they are AMAZING! See the leg gussets? Yep. That's the trick right there. Those gussets keep everything in that's supposed to stay in. We've NEVER had a blowout with these covers. And look at all the fun colors!

So now the question is...
Why did Baby A end up with this HORRIBLE rash? Because I got lazy. I was sick too, and didn't feel like doing diaper laundry. I went to Target, and came home with a case of these:

BAD IDEA. Within HOURS, Baby A's butt was horribly irritated. I thought it was just because of all the diaper changes. But something in the back of my mind said it was the diapers. Should have listed to my gut from the beginning. As soon as I put her back in cloth, the rash started to go away. Too bad I waited a whole day to do it. I could have saved her a lot of pain and tears if I had just stuck with our tried and true method of diapering from the beginning. I will NEVER buy this product again.

After doing a little research about Pampers Cruisers, I was reminded that there was a "sort-of" recall on this particular brand earlier this year. Duh. I guess all the petrolium products used in disposable diapers really do harm babies. Go figure.

Do you use cloth dipes? If so, what method works for you? If you don't use them, would you consider making the switch? What's holding you back?

**All photos in this post are from Green Mountain Diapers.

Tattle Reusable Canning Lids Giveaway!

2010-09-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

One of my most favorite blogs, Keeper of the Home, is doing a great giveaway this week for anyone who is interested in home canning. This giveaway is for these nifty caning lids. They are BPA-free, which is always important, and they can be reused year after year! Until recently, I didn't realize that the traditional metal lids actually contained BPA. Darn plastics! They're everywhere! So here's a great alternative. I keep seeing these babies pop up this canning season, so I just may have to splurge and buy some if I don't win the giveaway.

So get on over to Keeper of the Home and enter to win some of these lids! Heck, enter even if you don't can...you could give them to me if you win :))

Learning to Love Oatmeal...blech!

2010-09-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

Oatmeal is a food that's very nutritious, but I have a hard time getting excited about it. When I make it, the texture is never right, and I feel like I need to use a pound of sugar to make it taste good. So many people really enjoy this morning staple that I felt like I must be doing something wrong. So, I decided that I would go on a mission to find a way to eat oatmeal and ENJOY it...and yes, I realize oatmeal cookies don't count ;)

Here's the recipe I decided to try this morning:

Baked Oatmeal with Apples and Raisins

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups oatmeal
1 cup raisins
1 cup milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 apple, chopped
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped (I omitted these during baking since I will be sharing with one who only has 4 teeth :)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix everything together in a greased 1 quart casserole.

Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until milk is absorbed.

Serve with milk or cream. Add more sugar or other toppings to your heart's desire.

This is a little slice of HEAVEN. I didn't add milk, cream, or any other toppings before eating...and it was PERFECT. I'm thinking this recipe will find a permanent place in the breakfast line-up. Mission accomplished!

Go Fish!

2010-09-19T07:11:00.000-07:00

I saw an adorable idea for a game/gift/craft idea over here at Little Page Turners. (I appologize, I tried to find the link to the exact post, but I couldn't and I didn't feel like searching through 2 months of her posts to find it...) Here's what mine looked like at completion:

What is it, you ask? It's a bucket o' fish and some magnetic fishing poles! I sewed the fish using scraps of fabric I had on hand. Then I attached buttons for eyes, and a metal washer on the "mouth".

Hubby cut some dowels in half for me and drilled a hole through one end. I put a ribbon through the hole and knotted the end to make the fishing line. And I used a hot glue gun to attach a magnet at the other end. (make sure it's a strong magnet...I learned the hard way!)

Finally, I used Mod Podge to decoupage the first initial of the little boy who received the fish game (he's the son of a dear friend...and he just turned 5).

Cute, huh?

I also planned to give this book as part of the gift.

But sadly the postal service let me down...and it didn't come on time....Ok, maybe I just didn't plan very well :)

Anyway, I hope Q enjoys the gift as much as I enjoyed making it!

Zucchini, Chicken, and Rice Casserole...for People Who Hate Casseroles

2010-09-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

I feel the need to start this post by stating that under normal circumstances, I am NOT a fan of casseroles. Something about throwing a bunch of processed foods into a dish and baking it just doesn't appeal to my appetite. And they usually contain some form of "cream of yuck soup" that I am just not comfortable feeding my family. To find a casserole recipe that doesn't have at least one ingredient that makes me cringe is a rare occurance. Well, it happened. And the result was one of the most flavorful meals I've put on the table in a long time (As stated by dear hubby). The beauty of this recipe is that it can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge. Just pull it out a little while before baking to take the chill off so you don't crack your casserole dish.

Zucchini, Chicken, and Rice Casserole

Ingredients

4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 cups onions, chopped 1
garlic cloves, minced
3 cups zucchini, diced
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
3 cups cooked chicken, diced
1 cup brown rice, uncooked
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme or1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper
2 cups tomatoes, chopped
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large sautee pan and saute 1 cup of the onions with the garlic for 2 minutes.

Add the zucchini and mushrooms and saute for 3 minutes more.

Combine the vegtables with the cooked chicken, rice, broth, spices, and cheese. Mix and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place mixture in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and saute the remaining cup of onions for 3 minutes, then add the tomatoes and chili powder. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spoon the topping over the rice and chicken mixture.

Bake for 1 hour.

Amazingly, I had all these ingredients on hand thanks to a great Bountiful Baskets week. I'm sure other veggies could be substituted as well as long as you keep the method the same. YUM!

Homemade Chicken Stock

2010-09-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

As I stood over my pot of homemade chicken stock this morning, I realized that I haven't bought the kind that comes in the nifty cardboard box or can in over a year. Making my own has just become part of my food-prep routine. Normally when we eat a roasted chicken for dinner, I just throw the bones, skin, organs, and anything else nasty that ended up in the bottom of the roasting pan into this bad boy...

(she's a beauty, isn't she ;)

Then I add some onion (skin and all) carrot, celery, salt and pepper. Pop the lid on and let it cook for 24 hours on low. It's completely fool-proof, and low maintenence, and it creates DELICIOUS and NUTRITIOUS broth to be used in so many ways. I freeze it in 2 cup portions in zip-lock bags. When I need some to make rice or whatever, I just cut the bag off, and throw it in the pot frozen. It works every time.

But tonight for dinner, I'm making a recipe that called for COOKED chicken as well as broth. So I decided to try making stock a different way. I pulled a chicken out of the freezer at about 7am...rock hard...like the kind you really don't want to drop on your foot...

I ran it under warm water until I could slide the plastic off. Then I threw the WHOLE chicken in a big pot along with some onion, leeks, carrots, and celery. I added salt and pepper, and filled the pot with water. Then I cranked that baby up to a full boil. About 2 hours later (maybe a bit longer...) I had a fully cooked chicken with meat so tender it was falling off the bone. Part one of dinner prep: DONE.

I pulled the bird out of the pool and let her cool on the counter. Taking the meat off the bones was a breeze because it was so tender.

(I'm only gonna need 2 cups of this for dinner, so I can freeze the rest to use later)

As I seperated the meat, all the icky stuff got put back in the pot. I cranked it up to a boil again and let it go for a couple more hours. This ensures that all the healthy nutrients in the bones end up in my broth.

Looks delish, doesn't it?

The next step is to strain all the bones out by dumping the pot into a big collander (make sure to put another large pot underneath :). If you want, you can set the strained stock in the fridge and let the fat rise to the top. It's easy to skim it off that way. BUT if you're using an organic, pastured chicken, the fat is actually GOOD for you...so leave it in there...grandma never strained HER stock :)

Do you make your own chicken stock? Do you have a different method? If so, I'd love to hear about it.

The Best Chili You Will Ever Taste...Really!

2010-09-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

I love this recipe. I made it again tonight and had a dear friend over to enjoy it with us. The list of ingredients is lengthy, but WELL worth it. I guarantee this is a keeper. Give it a try!

Ok, I know the picture isn't much, but I forgot to take one before we ate...this is a photo of the leftovers :)

The Best Chili You Will EVER Taste

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons oil

2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb lean ground beef
3/4 lb beef sirloin, cubed
1 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 can dark beer
1 cup strong coffee
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
1 can beef broth (use a couple cups of homemade if possible)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons chili sauce (I use powder)
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne (I use 1/2 tsp...to make it baby-friendly)
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon salt
4 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans (I use 3 cups dried beans, soaked, and cooked in the crockpot prior to making this recipe)
4 chili peppers, chopped

.Directions: Prep Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 2 1/2 hrs

1 Heat oil.
2 Cook onions, garlic and meat until brown.
3 Add tomatoes, beer, coffee, tomato paste and beef broth.
4 Add spices Stir in 2 cans of kidney beans and peppers.
5 Reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
6 Add 2 remaining cans of kidney beans and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Garnish with cheese, sour cream, and green onion.
Serve with corn bread and salad. Oh YUM!

The Ultimate Beef Stew

2010-09-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

Fall is in the air! Ok, not really, but here's to hoping. The calendar at least says fall should be in the air. So to gear up, here's one of my favorite cold-weather dishes.

The Ultimate Beef Stew

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp. butter
1-2 cups flour for dredging
2-3 lbs beef chuck shoulder roast (also called shoulder pot roast) cut into 2-inch pieces
salt and pepper
1 bottle good red wine...don't use one you wouldn't enjoy drinking
8 fresh thyme sprigs
6 garlic cloves, smashed
1 orange, zest removed in 3 1-inch strips (use a pearing knife for this)
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 bay leaves
2 1/2 cups beef stock
1 onion, diced
2 cups diced potatoes
1/2 lb carrots, peeled and sliced
1 pound mushrooms, chopped
pinch of sugar
1/2 pound frozen peas

Method:
Preheat large, heavy bottomed stock pot or dutch oven with oil and butter.

While pan is heating, arrange flour on a dish. Salt and pepper the cubed beef. Dredge in flour and place in the pot in a single layer. Do not crowd the pan...work in batches. Brown on all sides and remove to a plate.

Add the wine to the pan and bring to a simmer. Scrape up tasty bits on the bottom of the pan. Once the wine is hot, add the browned meat, thyme, garlic, orange zest, cloves, salt and pepper to taste, bay leaves, and beef stock.

Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until mixture starts to thicken (15-20 min).

Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, add potatoes, carrots, onions, and mushrooms, along with a pinch of sugar to mellow out the acid from the wine. Turn up the heat slightly and simmer uncovered for 30 min or until the veggies are tender.

Add the frozen peas during the last few minutes of cooking. season with salt and pepper, remove thyme.

Serve with crusty bread and a salad.

Sewing Projects Galore!

2010-09-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

I decided it's time I make some clothes for Addison. She's not growing as fast now that she's a little bit older, so it seems more worth my time since she'll get a bit more use out of the things I make. AND...I keep finding all these adorable patterns I can't pass up. I decided to participate in a "sew along" over here at From An Igloo.

The dress you see above is the dress I'll be making. SO CUTE! I got the pattern at Plum Project Studio.

I also got this pattern today...

Here's another color option.

Mama Stellato's Etsy shop has some ADORABLE patterns!

And I was on such a roll...and feeling very confident in my time management abilities...that I got this one too.

How stinkin' cute is that?? I can't wait to make these for Addison. The patterns were emailed to me as a pdf within HOURS of my purchase. And they look really clear and easy to follow. I'll be sure to post pictures once I get them done. For now, go check out her shop!

Click and Print Menu Planners!

2010-09-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, I think I've got this figured out. If you click HERE, you should be able to download the menu planner I wrote about here a couple days ago...

Here are a couple more you might find helpful:
Monthly Menu Planner - if you find that your family eats many of the same meals, plan to put them into a monthly rotation using this nifty planner. Then just hang it on the fridge so there are no dinnertime surprises.

Weekly Meal Planner - includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, 2 sides, and and area for prep work. I have used this one quite a bit, but I found myself wishing it had a place for me to write the produce I already had on hand.

I also have a bunch of documents for my homemaking binder that I will upload and include in a post soon in case anyone wants those too :) Happy planning!

Dal: Curried Lentils

2010-09-13T20:19:00.000-07:00

I think it's official. I'm on a major lentil kick. I was just looking back at my meal plans for the past couple weeks and we've been eating a lot of these little buggers.

I'm not sure why they keep finding their way into my kitchen...my sister jokes that it's because I buy in bulk :) I think it's the fact that they cook relatively quickly as far as dried legumes go...and they're so versitile. So here we go...another delicious way to prepare them. I made dal tonight because Wyatt was at a work function for dinner...and he HATES curry. So the only time I get to enjoy it is when we eat out, or when he's not home :) Apparently Addison loves them too...

I couldn't keep her tray full! Looks like daddy is outnumbered :)

So here's the recipe:

Dal: Curried Lentils

Ingredients:

2 c. dried lentils

1 yellow onion, diced

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 bunch cilantro, chopped (I leave this out...I'm not a fan)

1 large tomato, diced (I use 2)

1 can coconut milk

1 can tomato sauce

2 Tbsp curry powder

1/2 tsp. tumeric

2 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. ground clove

2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (I didn't use this much so it would be baby-friendly)

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp brown sugar

2-3 cups water (or more)

Method:

Saute onion in oil until soft. Add tomato and cook until softened.

Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until the lentils are tender. This takes about an hour. I simmer uncovered but I check often and add more water when necessary.

Serve over jasmine rice and with some naan if you're really feeling sassy. This is SOO yummy and it freezes perfectly (which is great because it makes a big batch). I hope you'll give it a try!

Quilting Day at Pinkpeas!

2010-09-13T14:53:00.000-07:00

I'm teaching a free quilting class at Pinkpeas this Wednesday. If you live in Las Vegas and you've never been over there, you gotta check it out. There are TONS of free classes for moms, kids, and families. The part I love best about it is that kids are always welcome there (and the moms are awesome!) But I digress...

Here's a look at the quilt I made to use as a demo...

It's a super easy, FREE pattern. You can find a copy of it here.

From the first cut to the last seam of the border, this only took me 2 hours. Not bad, huh? If I had to do it over, I would have gotten a different fabric for the border just to frame it a bit more. But it's still cute as is. Here's a better look at the main fabric. I just fell in love with these little birdies!

The quilt is baby/toddler sized. And goodness knows Addison doesn't need any more quilts! So I'm thinking I'll end up giving this one away. If you've been wanting to try your hand at quilting but you haven't taken the plunge, print the pattern, head to the fabric store, and come join us on Wednesday from 9am-1pm!

Getting Started with Meal Planning

2010-09-10T11:03:00.000-07:00

The more moms I talk to, the more I've come to realize that planning meals for the family is something we ALL struggle with. How do you stay organized? How do you plan enough so you're not running to the grocery store 3 times per week? How do you make sure you use up the food in your fridge before it spoils? After much frustration, I've come up with a method that works for me, so I thought I'd share it here. I do not claim to be any sort of expert, nor do I promise that this will work for you. But I have found meal preparation to be much less stressful now that I approach it in this way.

I have a section in my homemaking binder dedicated to meal planning. I created a template based on one I found here. I couldn't figure out to print from this site, so I just created my own. Here's a look:

The left column is to list all the produce I have on hand. When I get my Bountiful Basket on Saturday mornings, I come right home, pull out one of these sheets for the week, and I write down what's in my basket as I put everything away. This way, I know from the moment the stuff enters my fridge what's there, and what needs to be used up.

The center is for listing what I'll make for dinner each night of the week. One night is always dedicated to leftovers/clean out the fridge night. As I find recipes to fill the days of the week, I can cross out the items on the produce list. That way I know I've found a way to use everything I already have.

The right column is my grocery list. This is self explanitory. But I find that using this method of meal planning significantly cuts down on the number of items on my grocery list. On any given week, I only purchase 5 or 6 things at the store. 99% of my produce comes from Bountiful Baskets. I buy my poultry in bulk from Costco, and we get our grass-fed beef from Wyatt's boss (lucky us!). We've got 1/3 of a cow...easily a couple hundred pounds of meat...in the freezer now, so we're set for a while! All of my pantry goods such as rice, beans, and other grains come from Azure Standard, along with most of my cheese, baking supplies, and honey.

The next question I usually hear is, "where do you get your recipes?" The next section in my homemaking binder contains about 30 of the recipes I make most often.

They are printed out and put in plastic sheet protectors so I can just pull one out and keep it on the counter as I cook. If I splash or splatter on it, a quick wipe with a towel will clean it up. The recipes in my binder come from a variety of places. Some are family recipes, some were given to my by friends, some I found on blogs. My most favorite place to get recipes is http://www.food.com/. I love it that I can search by ingredient. So if I'm struggling to figure out what to do with the cauliflower sitting in my fridge, for example, I just type it in, and hundreds of recipes show up.

By taking 30 minutes or so (sometimes it takes me a little longer), I'm able to plan our meals for the entire week. There is no stress when 4:00 rolls around, Baby A is up from her nap,and I have no idea what we're having for dinner. By having a plan, I also know what prep work I can do early (like when she's napping or before she's up in the morning), and I can figure out how to use leftovers and turn them into a brand new meal later in the week. Less money is spent because there's less waste, I'm at the store less, so there are fewer impulse buys, and we're eating healthier because I can plan on making things from scratch rather than relying on the convenience of packaged foods. It's been a lifesaver for me. If you don't meal plan each week, try it out. Maybe it will help your family too! If you'd like the template I use, drop me an email and I'll send it along. I'm hoping to have it linked to this post shortly...working out some technical difficulties :)
What struggles do you have with meal planning? If you DO plan, what method works best for you? Any tips you could share to make it even better?

UPDATE: If you'd like to click anbd print planners for your own use, click HERE.

And as always, thanks for visiting!

Mexican Sweet Potato Salad

2010-09-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

We got oodles of sweet potatoes this week (and last) from Bountiful Baskets. Here's an interesting and different way to enjoy them.

Mexican Sweet Potato Salad

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, cubed
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 red peppers, chopped (I used one red and 1 green)
1/2 bag frozen corn (I used some of the corn I froze a couple weeks ago)
3 large stalks swiss chard including stems, chopped (I used the rest of my head of cabbage)
1 jalapeno, minced (I omitted this...Baby A is not a fan :)
olive oil

Dressing-
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/8 cup water
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1.Heat 2 Tbsp oil in large pan. Add chopped sweet potato. Cook until tender (20 min). Transfer to large bowl.
2. Heat 2 Tbsp oil. Add onion. saute until soft. Add garlic, stir, cook 1 min longer.
3. Add rest of the veggies to the bowl with the potatoes.
4. Blend dressing ingredients. Toss.
5. Serve warm or room temperature.

We enjoyed this with a couple of grilled grass-fed ribeyes. It was delicious and very easy to put together.

The Planting Continues...

2010-09-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

Our high temp today is only supposed to be 87 degrees! I took this opportunity to get out in the garden again. I planted the next bed this morning with Addison's help :)

We planted rainbow chard, and three varieties of lettuce in the bed where the peppers are. I left the peppers there for the time being and just planted on the other end of the bed. We'll see what happens. Last winter the lettuce was SO easy to grow. I actually forgot I planted it. I went out in the yard one day and I had a bed full of salad waiting for me. Let's hope it happens again!

Addison enjoyed sampling some basil right off the plant.

And she met her first worm...

And she couldn't resist sampling some delicious soil. Ick.

At the other end of the garden, the bed I planted just a couple days ago already has sprouts.

Here are some teeny tiny carrots.

And some beets...

Broccoli...

Cabbage...

And the rain we got the other morning (yes, I said RAIN!!!) was all these random beans needed to sprout too. They seeded themselves aparently, because I didn't plant beans this season.

I also found some celery burried beneath the honeydew. I didn't even know they were under there.

And speaking of honeydew, check these babies out!

This next one is actually growing on the fence. The vines are pretty strong. We'll see how big they get!

So all in all, a pretty productive morning!

How's your fall planting going? Any sprouts yet?

Lentil Stew

2010-09-08T11:17:00.000-07:00

I'm itching for fall. As a result, I keep throwing cold-weather comfort foods into my meal plan each week as if to coax fall to get here a little bit faster. So far it's not working...but we've had some yummy dishes! Here's one to try...

Lentil Stew

Ingredients:
1 chopped onion
2 stalks chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
6 c. water
1 c. barley
1 c. dry lentils
1 carrot, shredded
2 c. tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. dry basil
1/2 tsp. marjoram
salt/pepper

Method:
Saute onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic until soft.
Add water, barley, and lentils. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer, stir, cover, and cook for 30 min.
Add the remaining ingredients. Cook 30 min more.
Serve over potatoes or rice...or with a big chunk of crusty sourdough (which is what we did :)

The Making of an Autumn Garden

2010-09-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

Don't let me fool you. It is NOT fall here yet. We are going to be in the tripple digits for another 4 days or so. Joy. Nonetheless, I decided it was time to start prepping my fall garden. See, these little lovelies came in the mail a couple weeks ago, and I'm itching to get them all in the ground.

By the way, I'm keeping all of my seed packets from now on. Usually I just chuck them in the trash once the seeds are planted. But I realized that they contain tons of valuable info that's worth keeping. So I bought some 4x6 photo pages for my homemaking binder, and they will live the garden section until the produce is harvested.

Wyatt got me a truck-load of soil a couple days ago, and I've been working to spread it in the beds that needed a little topping off. The soil really breaks down and settles over time, so to keep the beds full, we need to add some each fall. I just mix it in well with the existing soil and add my organic fertilizer, and it seems to work well.

I've been tearing out a lot of the summer crops that have stopped producing too. the zucchini are all gone. So are the tomatoes (which were eaten down to STICKS by tomato hornworms. ICK! These guys are NASTY. But the chickens love them.

Here's what it looks like out there now. Keep in mind, this is a work in progress...

This bed is the only one I've planted so far. It's got 2 varieties of carrots, beets, broccoli, and cabbage.

The peppers have finally started growing again now that it's cooling down a bit.

My honeydew melon looks beautiful on the wall, and there are tons of flowers and tiny marble-sized melons, but that's it for now.

And I have flowers on my purple pole beans. Aren't they cute?

It's sure fun to work out in the garden now that Addison wants to be my little helper.

Quiet Book Pages 3-6

2010-08-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

I've been a busy bee working on the next few pages for Addison's quiet book. I'm really having fun putting this thing together. Here's a look at the newest additions...

Page 3

This is a shape matching page. I made the shapes out of double felt layers stitched together. They stick to the pages with velcro.

Pages 4 & 5

The little pockets contain crayons and paper for Addison to color a picure or "write a letter".

Then on the next page, she can put it in the mail slot.

Page 6

Here Addison can try on the mitten.

That's it for now. I'll be sure to post more photos when I get some more pages done. Any ideas for other pages? I think this is such a cute concept I might keep making them to grow with her and change the pages out as we go. If you've got any suggestions, throw 'em my way!