Ambitions – Live and Learn

Never again! Unless I can devote an entire 2 or 3 days to baking, never again will I think it is a splendid idea to pick two bushels of apples with my family. I have been baking like a mad woman. My laundry has piled up, social engagements have become stressful, my organizing appointments have not been as enjoyable as they should be and my son STILL doesn’t have his cub scout uniform -- all the while $48 of apples slowly rot in my basement fridge and call my name. They want to be more than just rotting apples. They call me to be made into more applesauce, more pies, more apple hermits, more scalloped potatoes and apple gratins. I have already made several batches of applesauce which my kids have devoured, I have 5 or 6 pies in the freezer and several have been consumed, we have eaten batches of apple cookies and apple / potato gratins with two gratins in the freezer. But STILL there are more apples! So if you have ever contemplated getting TWO bushels instead of one because one seems to disappear too quickly DON’T DO IT.

I did come up with a fabulous new cookie recipe though so I will share that with you. I modified an Apple Hermit cookie recipe I found on allrecipes.com to make them more guilt-free:

Apple Hermits

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
Handful of flaxseed meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup softened butter
¼ cup FF plain Greek yogurt
¾ cup cups packed brown sugar
¼ cup agave nectar or honey
1 egg, beaten
1 cup chopped walnuts (chopped fine so undetectable to kids)
1 cup chopped apples
1 cup raisins

1. Soak raisins in hot water while mixing other ingredients.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together flours, flax seed, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Mix in yogurt, sugar, agave or honey and egg. Stir in flour mixture, and mix thoroughly. Fold in nuts, apples, and drained raisins.
4. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto prepared cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

YUM!

Thank you!

Recently, I was invited to speak at the local MOPS group about home organizing. I was a nervous wreck with anticipation of talking in front of the group but I survived. The women were very nice and thankful that I came. They even gave me a cute little rose plant. I just want to say thank you in return for having me there to speak. My kids had a blast in the sitting room and I enjoyed praying with a new group of moms. I hope I left the group with some organizing ideas and and not just an impression of "that crazy lady." Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

I am not a Pickle Jar Wiper!

You know what a “Pickle Jar Wiper” is although you may not have thought of it in those terms before. I am describing a kind of person that is an anomaly to me. The kind I often want to be like but just never really can be. You know the type. Their houses are always immaculate and everything is in order and they always possess a sense of calm, even when kids enter their lives. They seem to live in a magic world of dustless order where things never get messy and certainly not sticky. They always wipe the bottom of their pickle jar before returning it to the refrigerator (so have I have coined them “Pickle Jar Wipers”) as well as the tops of their ketchups. Their good habits are too many to list and include always wiping their shoes on the doormat before entering the house. I am not a Pickle Jar Wiper. It just is not me even though I realize that people think this is the kind of person I am since I am so fond of organizing topics and other household workings. I think I enjoy organization because it is something I HAVE TO DO. (and rather enjoy), and not something that comes naturally. My house gets messy like any one else’s with three young kids. I have recently come to the realization that I have stopped having people over as often as I used to because I seem to have developed this reputation for having that perfectly orderly appearing house. It has been brought to my attention by my wise friend, Tracy, that my house ought to be messy because it means that I am spending time with my kids or doing something more valuable with my time than scrubbing my floors every day. This idea goes right along the same thought as my husband's who never wishes to have a perfectly maintained house. He says that is NOT how he plans to spend his free time once he has it and is retired. It is an impossible image to try to keep up as a Non-Pickle Jar Wiper. Now, it’s true, my spices are always in alpha order and my budget is balanced and I seem to have eliminated paper chaos from my life but my house gets messy and I need to start being ok with that. I hope my friends will be too. My good neighbor-friends who stop in regularly, already know about my frequently messy house but I just want to get it out there to all my friends so that I might feel better.

DO IT NOW!

Doesn’t everyone strive for a joyous stress-free Christmas Season filled with the true meaning of Christ-mas? An entire season dedicated to celebrating God’s gift to us should not be bogged down with tons of “to dos", rushing around and stress. So often this is how our Christmas goes no matter how hard we try. You CAN have a wonderful joyous Christmas filled with baking with the kids, feeding the hungry, adding to your Church’s "needy family gift tree", or doing whatever generous act the Holy Spirit calls you to do without worrying about your Christmas cards, shopping, beating post office deadlines and scheduling get togethers by doing it NOW! That’s right, in October! Give yourself a Halloween deadline to get your Christmas card address list updated, select your family photo or take it to be copied for your cards, purchase your cards or schedule the portrait for your cards NOW! NOW NOW NOW! How can I motivate you to set a deadline of Halloween to be ready for Christmas? Only you can do it. I know a few people who have mastered this skill for years. If you know someone similar, just think of the peacefulness they seem to enjoy during the Christmas Season. Don’t you want that? Don’t you want to be able to show your kids the TRUE meaning of Christmas? Recruit some friends to take on this challenging goal with you and check in with each other regularly. Think of how much more fun Halloween will be to celebrate this year!

October 2009 Menu

October 2009 Recipes

I am not finished posting the recipes but I will get it done. I feel bad that I haven't been on top of it since I promised some people I would have them up last week. I'm getting it done. This is what i have so far.

1st Grilled Chicken w/ Spicy Orange Marmalade sauce & cous cous & Brussel sprouts


3rd Meatloaf, mashed potatoes & corn/green beans

Pick your favorite meatloaf recipe. Aren't there hundreds of versions?


6th Mac & cheese spaghetti w/ veggie & salad

7th Taco Soup w/ cheese quesadillas
Cheese quesadillas are just flour tortillas grilled in a little oil in a non-stick pan with a cheese of your choice in the middle. It's really just a grilled cheese sandwhich made with tortillas instead of bread. I usually use a mild cheddar and sometimes I'll throw in some Mexican cheese mix if I have it.

9th Grilled Flank w/ Granny Smith & Smoked Cheddar Gratin & Salad

11th Pork Noodle Salad w/ Soy-Buttered Sugar Snap Peas

13th Crockpot Orange Chicken w/ Brussels

14th Chicken, Red Grape & pesto pizza

15th Grilled Salmon w/ smokey tomato salsa & yellow rice

17th Classic Minestrone Soup w/ hearty bread

18th Cranberry Pork roast w/ side veggie & rice

19th Spaghetti With Best Ever Bolognese Sauce & Salad

21st Chicken Paprikosh w/ salad

22nd Crockpot Flank Steak Stuffed with Apple, Feta & almonds w/ broccoli

23rd Jerk Spiced Shrimp & pineapple w/ skewered grilled veggies & cous cous

25th Tangy Sirloin strips (allrecipes) w/ salad & pesto pasta

27th Crockpot Jamaican Salmon w/ leftover pasta

29th Pineapple Pork Tenderloin w/ rice & side veggie

30th – Stuffed Jack-o-Lantern peppers x2 to freeze

More Great Uses for Binders

The usefulness of binders is nearly endless when it comes to keeping order with just about any kind of paper. I thought I had exhausted all possible uses for binders in my house until my friend, Denise, said to me, “Now, you DO have a binder for each of your kids don’t you?” I said, " No,” and thought that I wouldn’t know what to put in a binder for my kids. She explained that she keeps schedules and activities and medical information in her kids’ binders and I thought that was great but I didn’t have a need for such a thing. Shortly after that conversation the school year truly commenced. Oh boy. Papers from school were flying! Then, I recalled the kids’ binder idea and got some old binders out and organized some of the kids’ papers. My two school aged kids now have a binder with their name on it. In the front of their binders I put academic reference materials that are helpful to both them and me concerning how their teacher wants homework completed and returned and a letter and number chart, home address, phone number, etc., for my kindergartner to glance at. The binders also have tabs for each subject that they study in school and I have put some math, reading and writing sheets that I printed out for free from online websites behind each subject tab and some “Parent Tips” sheets that have come home for a few subjects. I now have a place to put all the religion papers that we can review regularly. I even put a tab marked “$$” so they can keep track of their bank accounts and such all in one place. Behind a “Misc.” tab we can find girl scout fliers, boy scout papers and flag football information. (A list of team members and plays their coach wants them to learn). All the papers are easily visible in those handy-dandy clear sheet protectors. It is one of those organizing projects that brought me such peace and when I showed my husband where he can find such things he didn’t laugh at my organizing for once. He nodded so as to say “Good! Now I know where to look for those things.”

September 2009 Menu

I have finally gotten back to posting the recipes that go along with my monthly menu. It wasn't even that hard or time consuming. We will be trying a new veggie Boboli recipe inspired by my friend Megan. I have tried to incorporate a lot more veggies in this month's menu. Maybe there were loads of veggies in the past months but this month there was a real effort to load up on them so hopefully you can see that. There are lots of new recipes that I am excited to try. Thanks to my sister-in-law I got a subscription to Cooking Light of which my friend Barb is a big fan. That magazine may be part of my inspiration to load up on veggies. The recipes look great and healthy. I used to have the mistaken belief that Cooking Light was for people who dieted and ate bland and uninspired meals. It is clearly not true. I have already recommended it to people looking for recipe ideas to feed their family healthy. I too am a big fan. Thanks sil!

September 2009 Recipes

1st: Italian Sausage Pasta

I just throw onions, peppers, garlic and whatever I have together with some Italian sausage and cans of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes from my garden if I am so lucky). Throw in some basil and whatever herbs I feel like and spread over pasta.



2nd: Roasted Corn, Pepper & Tomato Chowder w/ Grilled tomato/brie/arugula/spinach sandwiches
I didn't get around to the Chowder but I did try the brie sandwich. Why on earth did that sound good to begin with? Yuck. And this is coming from a familly that loves brie!



3rd: Veggie Pizza & Poor Man's Caviar

It really is so easy to make your own pizza crust if you have a food processor. I wouldn't have the time or patience to deal with it if it wasn't for the food processor. I have been gradually increasing the whole wheat flour in this recipe and it seems that I can get away with 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat. My husband LOVES the summer veggie medley. I cut way back on the oil, it just isn't necessary.



4th: Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta

Always a favorite:



















5th: Sirloin Steak w/ roasted fingerling potatoes & asparagus

My kids will NOT eat potatoes other than french fries. For some reason they think that fingerlings are near enough to french fries that they will eat them (dipped in ketchup of course).


8th: Thai Curry in the Crock

9th: Veggie Pasta
Basically I do the same thing as with the Italian Sausage version (see the 1st of the month) except I try to step up the variety of veggies and omit the meat.

11th: Manhattan fish chowder w/ corn bread

13th: Spicy Sweet & Sour Pork w/ broccoli over rice
I can seem to make a stir fry of any kind without loads of veggies. I am going to add broccoli and maybe some carrots and whatever else my fridge has or my budget permits.

15th: Slow-cooked tex-mex chicken & beans w/ wraps & salad fixings
We wrap the chicken and beans in flour tortillas with salad fixings (leaves, tomatoes, salsa) and sour cream (light of course).

16th: Pasta w/ sun-dried Tomato Pesto & Salad
This is the yummies and freshest and most simple thing ever. A definite keeper! I am too cheap to buy fresh pasta and it was wonderful on the box dried type.


17th: Hummus & Veggie Boboli Pizza
I am not sure if I can bring myself to buy pre-made pizza dough but I'll give it a try. Hopefully I will find a coupon. Anyone???
This was not a hit. I even warned the kids that it wasn't actual pizza but it was "salad pizza." It was "ok" with me but hubbie didn't even like it. I won't waste $$ on this again.


19th: Eggplant Parm x3 to freeze.
I swore last year when I made 4 or 5 of these meals to freeze that I would never do it again. It's such a pain. But it's so delicious that I can't help but make it and suffer for an afternoon.
Recipe courtesy Ann Shenk
Eggplant
Parmesan
Olive Oil
One eggplant
3 eggs
Bread Crumbs
Red Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Oregano
Salt
Slice eggplant into thin slices. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Dip eggplant slices in whipped egg and then dip in breadcrumbs. Place the eggplant in skillet and cook for about ten minutes on both sides. Slices should be brown on both sides and soft in the middle.Cover the bottom of baking dish with sauce, and layer eggplant mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, and oregano. Bake at 350 degrees for forty minutes. Enjoy!
Notes: 3 Large Eggplants made 4+ meals, maybe could have made 5, I threw some out and several got burnt and were tossed.

I baked my eggplant this time after dredging the slices in egg and breadcrumb/parmesan mix and it was great. Why on earth have I been wasting my time and calories on frying this? Never again. I took this healthier baked version to a pot luck and everyone raved about it.


20th: 3 Bean Chili x 5 for Freezer Friends
This has been a favorite recipe for years. I hope my FF like it.

21st: BBQ Chicken Zucchini Pizza
I just realized that I have that Boboli pizza scheduled 4 days before this one. They are totally different so maybe it'll work. I may try to space them out more though.

23rd: Phili Cheese Steak Sandwiches w/ fries and salad

I looked up another recipe and combined the two. I threw in some garlic and 1/4 cup of beef broth. I only cooked the sirlion tri-tip for about and hour or so b/c the butcher was kind enough to slice it up for me. I didn't want it over cooked. It was delicious. My hubbie had TWO and a HALF sandwiches on those large sub rolls. Geesh.


24th: Veggie Pasta
See the 9th

25th: Gingered Scallops over rice with Salad & Sesame Sugar Snap Peas

27th: Sirloin Steak w/ roasted potatoes & Veggie
Yes, this is a repeat recipe from the 5th. Usually you will only see pizza and pasta repeated throughout the month but I was looking for a red meat dish and this is just so simple and good and we've only had it once, so why not?

28th: Chinese Lemon Chicken over brown rice w/ salad
I have a hard time getting brown rice to cook so it isn't still crunchy. I like to bake it like Alton Brown says to here. I will probably put it together in my oven, program the oven to turn on and bake, so it's ready when I come home along with the crock meal. If I baked it right before dinner then it would take away the convenience of my crock cooked meal, ya know?

29th: Coconut & Basil Steamed Mussels w/ Asian Noodles & Asian snap pea salad w/ sesame orange dressing
Doesn't that salad look fantastic? I can't wait to try it.

August 2009 Menu

Don't worry. I haven't lost interest in this little blog. It's these kids. They keep me so busy in the summer. We've been having a blast. When they are back at school I will get back to this blog. I already have ideas in the works.

Here is our August menu. I am trying to get the most leftovers while still being realistic. Once a week wasn't working out to be enough, twice a week was sometimes leaving us with too little leftovers, so my husband thinks that we can have leftovers every 4 days. So I'm giving it a shot having mindfully filled the 3 days between leftover days with meals that seem leftover-worthy. I may not get to posting the recipes so if there is a recipe that you want just email me and I will get it to you. Oh and as always, asterisk are new recipes and purple meals are slow cooker recipes.