Hello delicious...

These turned out AMAZING! I sure hope one lasts until dad gets home.

The directions were easy to follow and she included a link with more photos.

I used half whole wheat flour and half white flour because that is what I do.

The only fresh herbs I had on hand were chives and cilantro and garlic. Sweet, tangy and YUMMY.

You have to try this, I love the mini loaves idea. We had to share these, too I have a lot of little people. But, in a dinner setting each person could have their own (germ free) pull apart loaf. Next time I am only going to put eight squares in each loaf and I might add pepperoni's. Can you imagine cinnamon and sugar and apples? Oh my goodness...

Sneak peek

This happens to me every summer. I tire of cooking. I dread heating up the kitchen, messing up the dishes, kneading the bread with my hands.
Then one day, a couple of months later, I remember I love cooking. Then I decide to cook everything. It started on Monday. First, I made LOTS of zucchini bread.

 

Then my neighbors came over and we put up over 100 bags of corn.

This morning I had to use up the tomatoes that have been SLOWLY ripening in my garden and QUICKLY ripening in my mom's. So I made 4 quarts of salsa. Then I was hungry and I needed to try out this calzone recipe for sensible sisters. Here is a sneak peak...

Ryan said they were sort of crooked so I should make them again to practice the shape. "Make them again tomorrow," he said. I filled these with homemade salsa, sweet corn, ground beef, and marble cheddar cheese. Yum. Next time I want to make broccoli and cheese, I think or maybe chicken...

Fettucini alfredo with ham, mushrooms and snow peas

Eat your heart out Pioneer Woman. This is what I do when I have lots of interesting (wierd) ingredients that I need to use up in the fridge.

 Saute.

 This is a beautiful shot of frozen snow peas out of order :)

 Add ham (according to my internet research ham is the common ingredients in South African dishes).

Add milk.

 Oops, forgot to add the garlic earlier and here is my fat thumb.

Bring everything to a boil, I prefer crunchy veggies so I waited to add my snow peas.

Add the cheap parmesan cheese :).

 Dump all the sauce and ingredients over the pasta and cheese.

 Stir gently.

Serve

to chapped cheek chilluns.

Hasn't the weather been gorgeous. Our skin is still adjusting:)

Ingredients:

1 box fettuccine (any pasta will work)

6 T butter
2 cups sliced cooked ham
1/2 pound sliced portabellini mushrooms

1-2 cups snow peas (mine were frozen)
1 cup cream (I used 2% milk :))

1 T. minced garlic
1 cup finely grated parmesan

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

fresh parsley for garnishing


Directions:

1.Cook the fettuccine in a pot of rapidly boiling salted water until the pasta is al dente (not soft and mushy).
2.While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Fry the mushrooms and the garlic then add the cream, ham, and snow peas and bring to the boil.
3.Cook until sauce has reduced, or for about five minutes, stirring gently.

4.Remove from the heat.

5.Place pasta in a serving dish, sprinkle with the parmesan cheese then pour the sauce over the pasta to melt the cheese.
6.Gently mix the pasta and sauce together.

7.Season with salt and pepper.
8.Garnish with parsley and a little parmesan. Serve to chilluns:)

Snow Day

I tried this new recipe for my cookie exchange it was a long and tedious process for dainty cookies. I don't know if I would do it again. The checkerboards gave me heck and I ended up making striped cookies and then marbles with the rest of the dough.

Marble cookies:)
Salted nut chews. Ryan's favorite.
8:30 am. The kids were out sledding in a blizzard.

They lasted 15 minutes.

bountiful

This morning I put the cukes on ice so I could pickle them. Within minutes my neighbor called and said she was doing corn today and would we like to help. So six hours later I had three quarts of pickles and over 100 bags of sweet corn. Schwew!

Next cooking project...SALSA!!!!!

Mom has been dropping of some amazing tomatoes. They are HUGE. They taste delicious, too. But they are funny looking. She is using seed savers seeds and there are no hybrids in the mix. So when she brought in this tomato I almost couldn't believe it. Maleah calls it the Thumbs Up tomato. Thank goodness. Um, yeah, I had something other than a thumb in mind. We'll just leave it at that.

it's cool enough so I will be

making this banana bread today.


I really want to try these s'mores cookies, though.

Snow, skating, and soup... I'll call it alliteration Wednesday.

It's snowing. We are supposed to get another 5 inches or so. It's falling straight down right now, it looks pretty cool, but the weather man is predicting icky stuff. Most of the schools to the West of us are closed today. The kids were disappointed...but we still have a chance of something happening tomorrow so they are holding on to the hope that there is a late start or a snow day and they get a few extra minutes of Webkinz in.

Last night we had fun skating...indoors. Here is a fun activity if you are home from school today with a house full of energy and no caffeine for yourself. Sorry about the low light photos...my sports setting has no flash. Gotta give credit for this fun idea to Frugal Family Fun Blog.

Get out your wax paper, I only had the press and seal, and wrap the kids feet. Use a rubber band to keep the regular version on their feet. Then, slide... The kids went through about three wraps worth. It was fun and it got them moving. Let's just say they slept well last night.

I had a honey baked ham bone in the freezer and decided to use it up today. Soaked the beans last night and put it together in the crock this am. I wanted a recipe with veggies and this particular one adds carrots and spinach at the end. If it's worth anything I will let you know. I almost did this yesterday but I forgot to soak the beans. It never fails that I am so in tune with food that I serve the exact meal that the kids eat at school, yesterday was ham patties...

Happy alliteration Wednesday all...

Babies don't keep.

One year ago, tonight, I was lying the hospital trying to enjoy the free movies through contractions. Tomorrow morning my littlest will be one year old. It seems like this year went SOSOSOOSO fast. It feels like only a few days ago I was pregnant.

Today, while Addison slept, I played peekaboo and chase with Nora for a long while in the living room. She is so full of joy... and the giggles:) I adore her. I don't know where the time went this past year. She was just a tiny baby in my arms and now she is a little line-backer pushing her way to the front of the action. I studied her face her dark eyes and her chubby cheeks and I thought to myself how much longer do I have with her? How many more rockabye nights? How many more games of peekaboo? Not enough, I fear.

Every time I look at her, or anyone of my children I am reminded of how blessed I am. In the same moment my heart aches with the responsibility I have been trusted to. Last Sunday, Pastor reminded us of our responsibility as parents, as adults in society. He spoke from these verses.


And Jesus called a little child to Him,
set him in the midst of them, and said,
"Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and
become as little children, you will by no means
enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one little child
like this in My name receives Me.

But whoever causes one of these little ones
who believe in Me to sin,
it would be better for him
if a millstone were hung around his neck,
and he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
Matthew 18:2-6 New King James Version

Did ya catch that last part? Train up a child...what a responsibility? I have a lot of work to do.

I finally moved the crib out of our room. I am almost too embarrassed to write that, I never kept a crib in our room longer than the first few months with the older kids and with Addison and Nora we just waited too long. Dad is working nights this week so I thought I would put the girls in a room together and see what happens. Tonight is the first night. I put them both to bed, we prayed and I turned the light off. They gabbed a bit, it was so cute, and then silence. I hope the quiet means the night will go smoothly.

Listen to me mommies, they do grow up fast, too fast. Hold them tight while you can:)

I am thankful for all four of my beautiful little blessings, but tonight I am thinking about my little Lou Lou. Thank you, Lord, for Nora. Thank you for helping her grow (even if it seems like it is happening too fast)and for keeping her healthy and so adorably giggly and happy. Please bless her tonight in her 'new' room. Be with her and comfort her. She is an amazing and special blessing to our family. Help me teach her about Jesus so that she, too, can enjoy the gift of heaven. In your Holy Name, Amen.

stockin' up

The lack of posts should be evidence enough but we have been super busy here at the homefront. I have to clean out a closet today to make room for all my canned goods, it will be a tummy filled winter this year.

My awesome neighbors got in on the fun with corn yesterday. We shucked near 200 ears and put up 40+quart bags of the yummy sweet corn for later.

The community garden will have LOTS of yummies to share this year so get uptown on Saturday mornings early to get the good stuff!

The pickles are almost done for today and I got squash to freeze yet...have a great weekend!

Peter Rabbit, eat your heart out.

We put up 18 quarts and 6 pints of community garden carrots. I had to borrow not one but two pressure cookers from my neighbor. It takes a village to put up carrots.

Farmers Market

These were growing in the community garden last night. This morning they were in bags on Main Street. By noon, they were sizzling in a pan ready for my tummy! God is so great!

where in the world is the cumin?

This morning as a made a shopping list I checked the spices for cumin. There was a thin layer of the yellowish powder in the tiny jar that just wouldn't add up to the two teaspoons necessary for my white chili.

I went about the morning. I quick soaked some navy beans. I made some dough for french loaves and did some laundry and dishes. I ran to the store and bought the cumin,or so I thought, and about 30 other things.

Soon the time came to assemble the chili. I chopped the onions the celery.I made some chicken broth from bouillon. I put the frozen sweet corn and the green chilies. I searched for the cumin. I didn't remember putting it away with the other groceries. Did it even make it to the checkout counter? It probably fell on the floor. Oh, well at least I have a small dusting to use. I went to the spice cabinet. No cumin. I looked on the counter, no cumin. I searched the laundry room, the bathroom the living room. No cumin, back to the spice cabinet. Can I substitute with curry? Nah. How about chili powder, not if I want white chili...

I opted for a few squirts of Tabasco sauce. Hope it tastes okay.

I can't for the life of me find that !@#$ cumin.

What a fiasco.

Nesting...

The weeks are flying by, even in my present state of aches and pains and exhaustedness (yes,that's my own word).

My son was watching me get dressed for school last week and said, "Mom, when are you going to be straight again?",as I watched him move his hand up and down his torso. "You know straight like me and dad and my sisters?" I giggled and thought to myself, probably never son.

'By the book' we have about six weeks left, which means I have just about a month before my doctor will induce. I am getting antsy. #3 is still sleeping in our room. She sleeps through the night but we just can't seem to get her moved. The rooms are in utter disarray. I have no place for toys. I am out of space. Finishing the downstairs was great but I lost all my storage. It will all find a spot, I assume. It always does.

Dad was home yesterday and we made 18 pints of salsa. A friend from school had graciously dropped off peppers for me and I was anxious to use them up. The peppers were beautiful. Do you ever look at a veggie and think, wow, that comes from a tiny seed? It is a miracle what a little dirt water and sunshine can do. These pale orange peppers were particularly beautiful. I had never seen the likeness of them. My son's favorite color is orange so I was showing them to him. I started chopping and they smelled so sweet. It wasn't until I finished them and started in on the green peppers that I felt the heat. It started in my fingers and I scolded my husband and told him he must have slipped me a jalepeno. I NEVER chop the jalepeno's, that has been his job since our first salsa years ago. I kept on cutting and I even got out the gloves because my hands were on fire. Soon, I had a runny nose. Then my eyes started burning. I took off the gloves and scrubbed my face and hands with soap. While I was panicking and started to get short of breath I remembered my friend saying, "would you like some habeneros?" I told my husband to taste them. Um, he shouldn't have listened to me. He had a hard time choking down. My hands are still warm as I type today. I am such a moron, Wikpedia defines them as 'one of the most intensely spicy species of chili peppers', and I touched them with my bare hands, the same hands I change the baby's diaper with. So, if you get one of my jars of HOT salsa, don't expect anything less than hot. I'm serious. It's good, but it's spicy.I also made 8 quarts of marinara sauce for winter pasta nights. MMMMM. It tasted ridiculously bland after making all that salsa. I hope I didn't ruin it:)

Daddy got the full time weekend job at the hospital. Beginning in October, he will be working every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday until April. It will seriously cut into my blogging time. Of course, having another baby won't help much either. I am still pondering if the extra money will be worth the loss of weekends. I will get back to you on that.

My mom brought her lights and camera after church today for some belly shots. I have been wanting a belly photo since my first pregnancy. It was hard to get a shot that I was happy with. My belly is big and ugly now. The kids wouldn't keep still. But, I hope that when I look back at the photos I will remember what an awesome blessing it was to be pregnant and how lucky I am to be a mother. It will make those 1150 days so worth it.

It's been a few posts since I had a photo so here's a couple pre-photo-shop to tide you over...them there stretch marks are the real thing.