Oh Where Have I been

I have been busy learning to knit, working on some new designed toad stools, cloth play things for the kids, canning and getting things ready for school.

Our family summer came to a quick halt this week, as my husband returned to school in preparation for the students to arrive after Labor Day. As for myself, I have been going through closets moving too small out and too big in for winter growth. I have been analyzing the shoe situation and what what we are going to do for winter gear. Oh my gosh I know it is only the end of August, but as everyone in the US knows that Minnesota can get snow in October.

My garden growth is slowing and I am realizing that canning is almost done, but I seem to have a lot of jars left. Yesterday was a bad canning day. I had one jar that busted opening in the water bath and another that did not seal. I think that when I look back, my kitchen was very busy at this time and I did not take as much time placing lids as I typically do.

On Thursday I made 4 loaves of bread for my husband to take to his last night of golf, as they have an end potluck where all 40 guys bring something.

My second born, Evan is so hungry for friendship other than his siblings that he brings me the phone everyday asking to call someone to play with, I think are neighbors are a little tried of our phone calls, but the kids love to play together. Our direct next door neighbor has 2 girls a little older than Sidney and they played all day long here, with no issues what so ever. Everyone played so nicely together it was a brake for my sanity. She came over to retrieve her kids at 5:00 and apologized for them being here all day and I thanked her for them being here all day. She with 2 doesn't really understand the mom with 4 and that adding more pretty much doesn't change anything but bring more happiness.....

As for me in the next few days, I will be working all 4 days. This is tiring but overall not so bad, as then I have a few days off.

4 things

Thanks Annika. sounds fun....

4 things I was doing 10 years ago...
Moving into my first home
Starting college
Trying to figure out life
Questioning my decisions

4 things on my to do list for today...
Make bread
Attend the farmers market
Love my kids
Take the kids ice skating

4 things I love about my husband...
He answers pretty much every question I don't know
He thinks the same as I
I can trust him without a doubt
He LOVES his kids

4 jobs I have had...
Checker at HY-Vee
Wedding Gown Sales Person
HouseKeeper at Hotel
Nurse

4 movies I have watched more than once...
Dirty Dancing
Star Wars
Borne Series
Steal Magnolis

4 places I have lived...
My parents home
My first Home
El Paso, TX
My present home

4 places I have been...
Alaska
Hawaii
Hondurus
Mexico

4 places I want to visit...
Japan
China
Europe
Brazil

4 t.v. shows I watch...
UMMMM>>>>

4 things you may not know about me...
I have a lizard tattoo on my foot
I have breastfeed all my babies
I wish I was a stay at home mom
I live across the street from my parents

4 people I tag...
Texan Mama @ WhoPutMeInCharge
Sabrina@ Mamacraft
Kristin @ homemakersatheart

Pizza Sauce

Oh thank you, thank you Annika, my blog friend, for posting the pizza sauce recipe, yummy yummy. I adapted the recipe she posted to what I had for tomatoes at home.

A little BOYS attire.

This is Shafer, my child who rises in the am and head outside with either his crocks on or his Giraffe Boots and stays out all day long until it is time to come in.......... Rather it is raining, snowing or shinning, the adventure is awaiting him outside the sliding door........and he never forgets his hat.

KIDS.....In the summer

When Life gives you APPLES!

A friend of mine deposited 3 large grocery bags full of apples on my front porch the other day and this is what I did with them.....

APPLE PIE FILLING

-Peel core and cut apples and fill 6 quart size jars

-3 1/2 cups white sugar
-1 c brown sugar
-1 cup cornstarch
-1 T 1 t teaspoons ground cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-1/4 t clove
-1/4 t all spice
-2 teaspoons salt
-10 cups water

Mix all above ingredients and bring them to a boil until thick, add 3 tablespoons lemon juice once removed from heat. Pour sauce over apples in jars and seal with lid and ring. Place with water bath and bring to boil for 20 minutes.

APPLE SAUCE

Well...........peel, core and cut, if you are like me your doing this all by hand. I need one of the peel corers things. Peel, core and cut as many as you wish........Place in large pot add enough water to bottom of pan to prevent sticking, but truly not to much, because this makes the difference between thick and watery applesauce. Cook down until soft and then puree. I guess at this time you can add spices, ect. If you want chunky apple sauce puree some and then smash the other part. Place in jars and seal, process in hot water bath for 20 minutes while at rolling boil.

Garden Salsa

Cherry Tomato Salsa- Mild, kids will like

4 cups cherry tomatoes
1 large shallot, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 T minced fresh coriander
1 T white wine vinegar
1/2 cup green pepper
2 tsps fresh lime juice
¼ tsp salt
2 T. minced fresh Parsley


Corn Salsa- Warm
1 can corn or 4-5 ears of cooked corn cut from cob
1 can chopped green chiles, undrained
1 jalapeño chili, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup minced onion
2 T white wine vinegar
1 T. oil
1/4 t. salt

Sorry, no pictures, it was eaten really fast. I made burritos with pulled pork and these salsas.

Surfers!!

Hello to all whom visit. I would love to visit your site as well, so give a shoutout. Thanks.

How to: Cleaning Product

I have tried numerous "green" cleaning products and have decided to use what my grandmother has used since the beginning of time, well her time.

• Empty Spray Bottle


• Vinegar


• Distilled Water


• Essence Oil


• Food color, if you wish


• Measuring Cup

Ok, so now take the spray bottle and pour is about 1.5 cups of vinegar and water. The put in the essence oil. I use orange, lemon, eucalyptus, lavender, and peppermint, just depending on where I am going to use the spray. I then put food coloring into the bottles, depending on what smell it is. Lavender of course gets purple, Peppermint gets blue, Eucalyptus gets green, Orange get orange and so on. The coloring makes it fun for the kids to use the bottles to help clean. This cleaning option is good for windows, counters, tubs and floors.

Garden Produce

Cherry Tomatoes, galore. What to do with these red beauties?

• 3 cups of Cherry tomatoes, roasted: 350 degrees-15 minutes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T fresh oregano, minced
• 1 T fresh basil, minces
• 1/2 cup Monterey Cheese
• 1 Pound of Penne Pasta

Roast tomatoes, smash, combine with cooked pasta. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and enojoy.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

I guess from the title you can just about guess what I am about to write....... Well from the sore nipples post birth to the engorgement 72 hours later to the leaking, what else can go along with breastfeeding???? With not my first, nor second and not my third, but my forth breastfeeding experience I have now taken on a new understanding to teeth.... My other kids did not sprout their first teeth until 8 months and at this time they understood, bit means no food. Well good ole Soren has no idea that bitting leads to removal of the breast, I think he just understands that when he bites, mommy dances. Oh but those shinny new teeth are oh so beautiful and wonderful he just wants to use them. So the other day he got his first go at it, rice cereal and rice cereal with pureed necterines. YUMMY. Yummy may I repeat. I even enjoyed it. I must admit I have tasted everything that I have put in my children's mouths, I must repeat, everything that "I" put in their mouths. Yes even breastmilk and colostrum. This is how I figured I was pregnant with my 4th. Oh I will tell the story sometime. They do taste slightly different and to a nursing 14 month old, they taste quite different.

For lunch I search around the house and threw together a wonderful bean soup.

1 bag of 15 bean soup mix, throw out the package of spices.
1 small minced onion
3-4 T. minced garlic

Saute both and then add, 1 T. Thyme, 1 T. oregano, 1/2 t. red pepper flakes, 2 T. Balsamic Vinegar, salt and pepper, then simmer until beans are soft.

Ladle into soup bowls and place generous amounts of your choose of Cheese on top

Prep Day

Today was a late start to the day, we all stayed up and watch Nims Island, great movie.

I started today out with making 3 casserole dishes to keep my family feed while I am gone long hours Monday through Thursday. I am attending a Perinatal conference and have to leave my home each morning at 5:15 to get to the facility by 7:15. Oh my will I be tried, and my personal milk supply both at the breast and in the freezer will take a big hit.

I was able to can another 6 pints of beans and prep both lunch and dinner so that the afternoon was free to play.

The casserole recipes listed below, and they will keep in the fridge for a few days, otherwise they can be frozen.

Casserole #1 Tuna Casserole
3 Cans of Tuna
1 cup frozen peas
1 box of noodles, cooked

3 T butter melted with 3 T flour, add 1 1/2 cups milk to mixture, salt and pepper. When thick, add 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Pour over Tuna, peas and noodles,

Warm in oven 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. You can crush up Ritz crackers if you wish.

Casserole #2 Poor man's Lasagna
1 Can of Sauce
1 pound of Hamburger, plus cooked sausage that I had in fridge
1 box of noodles, cooked
1 T oregano
1 T Basil
1 bag of mozzerela cheese

You can add chopped peppers, pepperoni, squash, ect if you wish

Warm again in oven 15-20 minutes, 350 degrees.

Casserole #3 Tator Tot Hot Dish
1 pound hamburger, cooked
2 cans of green beans
1 can of corn
1/2 cup of sour cream
2 cans of cream of mushroom
1 cup of cheddar cheese

Mix above ingredients then place an entire bag of tator tots on top, cook in oven 350 degrees, 30 minutes or until tator tots are crispy.

Farmers Market

Today was filled with attending the local farmers market, bring home the goodies and prepping them for canning, freezing, ect.

I ended up getting enough chopped J-peppers to fill 2 quart jars and just added vinegar and put in the fridge. The best way to chop is to hold onto the stem and chop away, then taking tongs and placing into the jars, this way you do not get the stuff on your hands.

I bought a califlower as big as a basketball, no kidding and then chopping 2/3 and froze, the other will be in the fridge for this weekend cooking.

I picked enough green beans from the garden to can 5 pints today alone.

I have baked 3 loaves of bread, all from the new book of mine, but I have got comfortable enough to tweek a few recipes to satisfy me and my family. I have changed a few ingredients, taken things that were to be free form loaves and placed into a bread pan, and vola sandwich bread. Right now I am baking Granola bread, recipe in book for both granola and the bread, but I made my own granola from a combination of recipes and that is what I am using.

I bought baby new potatoes that I will use this weeked to make ham, beans and potatoes, Yummy. And of course some homemade bread.

Don't Cry Over spilt Milk

Well, where has the time gone since I last posted???? All I can say is that it has been busy, busy and more busy. I have canned, made more jam, preserves, work and wiped the floor numerous times since my last blog post.

Three days ago, my 2 year old reached into the Fridge and out came not only the juice jug but the juice as well, all over my floor, two towels later and no tears at this point I felt like I should just wipe down all the tile, 30 minutes later, I was done.

Two days ago my 4 year was helping himself to some juice but this time while pouring it into a cup, it ended up all over the counter and floor, needless to say, the floor was then again cleaned, this time by all of the kids and myself, 1 hour later. Yes I did say 1 hour.....Lets see, soap, rags, buckets and more soap, rags, buckets and of course bubbles.

Well finally I came to understand fate a little better in life at this time and knew that my daughter would soon spill something tragic on the floor, and of course today it happened, my tea all over the floor, from her coming and going out of the cup cabinet, she did not even know that the hit the tea pot and spilt it all over the ground, soap, rags, bucket... you get the picture.

I made cinnamon rolls from so dough I wiped up the other day from the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day, but this time did a spin on my own. I made the sweet bread and then turned it into cinnamon rolls, made powdered sugar frosting. Well 7 are missing from the photo. No I did not eat all, just 2... The kids had the rest, plus my mom and neighbor.

Some other photos of bread that I have made over the past few days.

Callah Bread

Crusty White Sandwich Loaf

We made the Sandwich Loaf for egg salad sandwiches.

8 Large Hard Boiled Eggs, shredded with cheese grader

1/3 Mayo

1 T. Dijon Mustard

3 T. Pickle Relish

1/4 Cup Celery, chopped small

1 t. pepper

1 t. salt

Oh Yes and the yummy jams and preserves, I have photos of some Kiwi Jam, peach preserves. I did make pear jam, but it did not make it into the photo.

And the pickled beets.........