THE KIDS

thought we should start with the reasons I am a mom. Sierra my 16 year old(who is gonna love that i posted this picture, after all what teenage girl doesnt want such a flattering photo of themselves posted on the internet for the whole world to see!?!?) on the left is Brady the 5 year old and Hugh, the 3 year old. This photo was taken at one of our favorite breakfast spots, Panera....= coffee(or as i call it, the elixir of life) for mom, cinnamon crunch bagel for the kiddos....we took them out before Brian and i escaped for the first night ALONE, OVERNIGHT, BY OURSELVES in 10, yes i said 10 years!!!!! as you can see they were gonna miss us very much! We went to the most lovely Inn, Tara, a country inn in PA. although I am not quite sure we knew how to act in all that peace and quiet....there was a lot of sleeping, doing nothing and soaking in the hot tub in our room....i missed the kids like crazy, the time away was great, but being home was better! remind me of this sometime during future rantings about how they are driving me crazy.... <heart> all three of my babies

Bradys Turtle Book

Bradys Turtle Book

     
   Brady found some pictures of Turtles he liked in an add in one of my magazines. So, I decided it would be fun to let him practice with his scissors, which then transpired into the idea of having him make a mini art book! I found some oversized index cards to glue the turtle images to, it was important that i let him do all the work himself! After he made a seperate card for each turtle, I set him free with some colored pencils to do his own artwork on each page. I spelled out the word turtle for him to copy,( as he cant fully read and spell yet) and he decorated a cover. I then showed him how to punch holes so we could hook them together to form a book. I tied the cards together with some string and voila! his own turtle artwork book!!!!

Pork kabobs with peanut sauce

Here is the recipe I found to accompany the box pad thai!

Pork Kabobs with peanut sauce

1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2 in. slices

1 t. reduced sodium soy sauce

2 t. Thai seasoning

sauce:

1/4 c. peanut butter

1 T. honey

2 t. reduced sodium soy sauce

to make kabobs:

1. Heat broiler. Thread pork on 8 skewers. brush with 1 t. of soy sauce, and sprinkle with 1 t. of thai seasoning. Broil 3 to 4 in. from heat, turning once.  

to make sauce:

in a microwave safe bowl, combine peanut butter, 2 t. of soy sauce, 1T. of honey, and 1/3 c. water. Cook on high 30 seconds.Whisk; cook 15 seconds more. Serve with kabobs! :)

does this sound easy or what?! I am so about simple but yummy homemade(as much as possible)

I am trying out a new chicken recipe tonight, more to come on how that all turns out....

Chicken and Sun Dried Tomatoes

I have to admit I am a total foodie. There is just something so satisfying about making a meal that everybody loves. We have old fashioned dinners at my house where everyone sits at the table and eats, almost every night of the week. There is something to be said for us all gathering around the table and sharing our  days events  and renewing our sense of family  I tried this recipe over the weekend and it was a huge hit!!! I served it with steamed broccoli with garlic butter.  We will definitely add this to our repertoire of regulars.

Chicken and sun dried tomatoes

3 T. olive oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup thinly sliced sun dried tomatoes

1 T. red wine vinegar

2 T. chopped fresh basil leaves

4 cups hot cooked extra wide noodles

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese(optional)

1. Heat 2 T. oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 10 minutes or until well browned on both sides. Remove chicken from skillet.
2. Heat remaining oil in skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and cook and stir 2 minute. Stir soup, water, tomatoes, vinegar and basil in skillet.
3. Return chicken to skillet and heat to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cook 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. serve chicken and sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with cheese and thinly sliced basil, if desired.

weekend journal making with Sierra

 Weekending At Home

 Sierra recently admired some pretty covered journals in a local shop we were visiting. Me being the thrifty mom I am, discreetly let her know that we could make those ourselves! Sierra picked some lovely paper from 7 Gypsies. I also picked up some of the new line of scrapbooking materials from French General for Jolees Boutique.(If you have never seen French General, check out their website, I gaurantee you will be hooked) We first started with Blank composition books.(which can almost always be found for 1 dollar each) We then decorated them using plain old elmers glue sticks and created our own designs with paper and scrapbooking items. the 3rd picture down is Sierra spinning the tunes via laptop while we created! This kid of mine has some pretty good taste in music!We listened to lots of her Indie faves....I think our finished products are absolutely delightful- perfect to tuck into a backpack or pool bag this summer and jot down our ponderings. Sierra is getting quite good at poetry and writing...

Hummus!

South Beach diet hummus recipe
 1 can(15 oz.) chickpeas
2T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 c. tahini(sesame paste)
1/4 c. chopped yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 t. extra virgin olive oil
2 t. ground  cumin
1/8 t. ground red pepper
1/2 t. salt
chopped fresh parsley(optional)
I add, 1/2 a 12oz jar of roasted red peppers, chopped

Drain the chickpeas, reserving 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the liquid.
combine chickpeas, lemon juice,tahini,onion, garlic, oil, cumin, pepper, and salt and roasted red pepper in a blender or fodd processor. Puree until smooth,adding the chickpea liquid if needed to thin the puree.
Refrigerate 3-4  hours before serving to blend the flavors. Garnish with parsley if using.

serves 5
16 fat grams, 251 calories

*tip*  I ALWAYS use fresh lemon juice! and I just read in Cooking Light magazine "those cute little plastic lemons DO contain lemon juice, but after its reconstituted and mixed with preservatives the taste is notably off." -Jason Horn

I took this delish treat to my bible study last week, its good with chips and healthier with veggies to dip!!!!
WHAT KIND OF HUMMUS DO YOU LIKE?

MUD PUDDLE DAY

Mud Puddle Day

"Let's go for a walk," I said to the boy

He replied with a scowl;turned back to his toys

"and what if I promised fun on the way?"

"what if I told you it's mud puddle day?"

-Liza Rosenberg

and mud puddle day it was!!!!

When my boys saw the torrential downpour on Fathers day,

They couldnt help but run around in it!

Accross the street they discovered the deepest, muddiest, most amazing mud puddle ever!

even though the a part of me wanted to scream,

"no! too messy" the mama in me prevailed and i sat and enjoyed the pure joy they found in their discovery!

right now the house is quiet, little boys are sleeping, and the big girl is at vbs....

(I miss that girl and cant wait to hug her)

I feel oddly lonely and empty at this silence...which usually beckons me to read or write,,,,

or fold another load of laundry...but this time something is different....

and I realize time is passing entirely too fast...I feel something slipping away... then I remember that when 7 am rolls around my busy world will be reawakened and sigh with relief.....

life is good, better than good 

lookee here what I made!!!! a birdfeeder!!!

I have been seeing these made all over the place and I have been wondering just how to attach the dishes together.Then a friend told me E-6000!!!! you simply glue the dishes together! E-6000 is pretty much a forever adhesive! I just took some leftover dishes from the Junque girls sale and assembled this beauty while the kids were swimming! I let it set for 24 hours before putting it out with the seed, and the top little birdie bowl is filled with water! the birds must be loving it because I put it out the day before yesterday and I had to fill it already! next up, I will find an organic hummingbird food recipe to fill my new hummingbird feeder that I purchased at wal-mart!
P.S. these would also make great serving trays for an afternoon tea!!!!

Hugh En Plein Air

Just had to share my sweet little boy as he intently painted the other day. There is something that sparks the imagination and creativity about creating art outside.....getting in touch with the earth on the most basic level... and no one is more perceptive of this than children. It was such a joy to see Hugh deep in thought and creating....<3 Just another reason to love summer!

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GREEN TOMATO GRATIN

Monday, October 1, 2012

GREEN TOMATO GRATIN

what to do, what to do....its the end of the season and you have boat loads of delish green tomatoes just begging to be cooked... my mom gave me this recipe( and the tomatoes) and it was YUMMY!!!!
I served it with some garlic and olive oil couscous, and I could not imageine a more delightful late summer meal!!!! so try it out friends, its easy to whip up on week night or add some protein for a weekend feast!!!

GREEN TOMATO GRATIN

2 lbs green tomatoes(about 8), sliced 1/3 inch thick

salt

3T. extra virgin oil, plus more for baking dish

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 t. red pepper flakes

18 butter flavored crackers such as Ritz, crushed* i just used the herbed breadcrumbs that i already had*

2 oz. finely grated parmesan(about 1/2 cup)

2 T. chopped fresh marjoram

1. preheat oven to 425 degrees. Meanwhile, sprinkle tomatoeswith 1 1/2 t. salt. pat with paper towels. place tomatoes in a single layer in an oiled 9 by 13 in baking dish. Drizzle with oil.Sprinkle with garlic and red pepper.

2. In a small bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Sprinkle over tomatoes. Bake in upper third of the oven until tops are browned, 12 to 15 minutes. ENJOY!!!!!

cranberry love

i have a fondness for cranberries that is beyond words...i dream of  standing knee deep in a cranberry bog in New England...harvesting these red beauties(maybe there is some sort of vacation for that?) soooo, in short i decided it is way past time to learn how to make my own cranberry sauce...

a quick google search....and to my amazement(and joy) it is quite simple! Here is the recipe I choose from www.savorysweetlife.com

(simple and amazing) cranberry sauce recipe

ingredients:

12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries

3/4 c. orange juice

2/3 cup of brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

directions:

place all of the ingredients in a saucepan(I made a double batch) and cook on medium high heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is reduced. You'll hear the cranberries popping, dont worry, that's what you want them to do. Remove from the heat and serve. Cranberry Sauce can be mad days ahead of time, then warmed to room temperature or heated slightly.

yummmmmmmmmmmmm! 

also on that website, there is an apple cranberry crisp recipe with this cranberry sauce as a base

Happy New Year with featured artist Jamie Griffith

 

 Happy New Year friends! and today, I decided to kick off the new year by featuring an artist whose gorgeous crochet creations, I absolutely love!!!

 

 

Here is the first thing I ever purchased from the lovely JAMIE GRIFFITH. I met Jamie through her equally fabulous Mom- Renee, who is a friend of my own mother-

How cute is this!?!?!?!

 

 

 

Next up, this endearing cup cozy! Which is also amazing for your travel mug- She has 2 different styles and lots of  gorgeous yarns and colors...I fell in love with this soft pink...

 

 

 You can see why I had to have this grey hat!!!! I love everything about it!!!!

and the black infinity scarf was a gift from Jamie- since you cant  feel it, I will tell you it is made from the softest most lovely black yarn I have ever seen!!!!

 

 

 Last but not least....a Jamie specialty- the classic shawlette-

 

 

I just happened to have this cool vintage pin that fits perfectly with this sumptuous chocolate brown shawlette Jamie custom made for me!

 

 

 want to see more from Jamie?  check out her etsy shop @www.jaimemade.etsy.com

she has great prices and truly unique and quality goodies- all handmade by her!

 

next up, I am going to attempt to transfer over all my blog posts from my previous blog- don't know if that's even possible but I was thumbing through and I have lots of great recipes and pictures of the kids!