Busy

Is everyone running like crazy this time of year?
I am terribly busy these days. Especially for someone who doesn't like to be 'busy'.
Between schooling, church, scouts, 'co-op' and regular household stuff, we will be out of the house most of this week! This is so unlike me. Usually I schedule trips/events so that we are home at least 3 full days a week. Some may find that odd, but it works best for us.

Last weekend was jam-packed also. Saturday we had a side-job which occupied most of the day plus I had a hair appointment (don't ask). Sunday was church of course. Sparky was gracious enough to teach for me since I was unprepared. After church we made a trip into the city to pick up a cake for my father-in-law's SURPRISE 70th birthday party! It was a success and so sweet. My talented s-i-l created a great slide show set to a sweet song. It was fabulous! Most of the pictures I had never seen. At the first lull, we scooted out to get back to church for a meeting. Then of course, it was Monday. Monday's are always tough, but Sparky actually joked that he would be glad to get back to work so he could get some rest!

Since the holidays are just around the corner, I'm thinking I should just get used to the busy-ness.

In honor of Fall

Our temps are dropping. From the 90's to the 60's overnight. That's a big drop, People. We were wearing shorts and sweating on Sunday. Monday's temps brought out the sweats and socks!

This book* is on my rotating list of cookbooks to check out from our local library. It's fabulous! It's contains the recipe for my all-time favorite pumpkin recipe. Starbucks Pumpkin Pound Cake. Pumpkin. Pound Cake. What's not to love?
So in honor of the long awaited arrival of Fall, go make this. Now.
DEVIN ALEXANDER’S VERSION OF
STARBUCKS PUMPKIN POUND CAKE

Butter-flavored cooking spray
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt (not artificially sweetened)
3 egg whites
1 cup canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mist an 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2 inch nonstick loaf pan with cooking spray; set aside.

Sift flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves and nutmeg into a mixing bowl, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, yogurt, and egg whites. Using a sturdy whisk, mix until thoroughly blended. Stir in the pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture. Stir until no flour is visible. Pour into the reserved pan.

Bake for 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake to the rack to cool completely. When cool, cut into 8 slices.

Nutritional Information:
Per serving: 246 calories, 5 g protein, 57 g carbohydrates, trace fat, trace sat fat, 2 g fiber.

Alexander’s version saves 64 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 1.5 grams of saturated fat over the original.

Yield: 8 servings

*In case you have a fear of linking: Fast Food Fix: 75 Amazing Recipe Makeovers of Your Fast Food Restaurant Favorites by Devin Alexander

Cooking, lots of cooking

I just recently returned from a short trip to visit with my dad and grandmother. I cooked, cleaned, cooked, visited, cooked, watched a little CABLE! TV!, cooked, laundry, and then I cooked some more. Oh, and then there was the cooking. Lots of cooking, folks. Did you catch that?
Basically, I simply double my standard recipes that I know freeze well. When fully cooked, I freeze into indiviual portions in handy dandy FoodSaver bags. Oh how I love thee, FoodSaver! This is the model we use. This is the newest version. Much sleeker and more modern looking. It also claims to have an 'Advanced Design'. However, I'm not rushing out to replace my 'older' model. So far it's worked wonderfully for me.

While there are several cookbooks and websites listing recipes for bulk cooking, I find it best to use my own. They are standard family friendly recipes. Nothing special, but so nice to have in the freezer. Here's a list of what I recently stocked: taco soup, minestrone soup, turkey chili, beef pot roast with potatoes and carrots, lasagna, sausage balls, chicken spagetti, chicken and rice, soft sugar cookies and brownies. It only took two days of cooking to store about 3 months worth of food!
So, if you have the urge to start freezer cooking, get to it! The weather is perfect. What are you waiting for? A recipe? Oh, ok. This is my favorite version of Taco Soup.
4 lbs ground beef or ground turkey
2 onions, chopped
4 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes (Diced tomatoes with green chilies)
1 large bottle V8 juice
3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large bag frozen whole kernel corn
3 packages French's Chili-O seasoning
3 packages Ranch Style dressing mix
Enough water to make it 'soupy'.

Brown ground beef or turkey with chopped onions. Drain if necessary.
Add all other ingredients to meat/onion mixture. Stir well. Simmer over low heat 20-30 minutes. Cool and freeze in individual containers.
Enjoy!

My new love....

Standing in line at the market yesterday, I pawed this little beauty for what seemed like a whole 12 seconds! Strangely, I found myself wishing the checker would have forgotten the code for broccolli crowns or perhaps the pomegranate. Pomegranate, now that's an easily forgettable fruit. ANYway, as I waited for the whole 12 seconds, I found myself intrigued with this mag. Now, I couldn't purchase it because I have a deal with my husband regarding magazines. It seems my collection is slightly 'out of hand'. Whatever. I didn't buy it, but I will next week. Oh yeah. Check it out if you haven't already - I do realize I am occasionally often behind the times....

Doing my part....

Go here to find a recycling center on your area!

Obligatory Momsense

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A child to dress

Would it be so terrible if say, someone, considered having another child for the solitary purpose of making this dress seen on rostichery?

Festivedaisy made it too!

What's that you say? What if it was a boy? Well, that's easy! I'd make him a BLUE pillowcase dress!

This is perplexing

Chris over @ Notes from the Trenches posted about this a few days ago. It's just too much for my pea brain to comprehend. At first I could only see her spinning clockwise. Only one cup of coffee at that point. However, several hours & mugs o'java later she was spinning in both directions! Freaky! My two kids & husband could see her spinning in both directions the very moment they glanced at her. This morning, I can only see her spinning counter-clockwise. Go figure.
Go here to see it for yourself! Which way is she spinning?

How will you vote?

Which candidate best represents your political views? Take this quiz. You may be surprised!
Select a candidate

Tasty Peas

We did in fact have peas again last night. I think I could eat them 'round the clock. Of course, fresh peas are always best, then fresh/frozen, THEN grocery store peas. These are my favorite store bought brand if I happen to be out of fresh/frozen:

Smokey bacon flavor and onions already in there! What a deal! All the work is basically done for you. Now, if you try these, don't salt before tasting.

On to cornbread. Usually I make it from scratch using an altered version of my Grandmother's recipe. Yesterday I was in a hurry & feeling particularly lazy since the peas were so easy. Here is my favorite cornbread mix:

Martha White Yellow - NO sugar. If you put sugar in your bread - it's then cake. Whew. Glad we got that out of the way.

Those muffins I was talking about yesterday....I'm not feeling it today. Hopefully in the next few hours we can finish school & I will be in the right frame of mind to cook.

Dinner will be sandwiches and fruit.
Supper will be Sloppy Joes and coleslaw.

What are you eating today?

*I couldn't find a picture of the peas online, so I pulled this bag out of the trash. Yes, really. I did. Just keepin' it real.

What's for supper?

Tonight we are having grilled ham & cheese sandwiches with peas & cornbread. Hey, it's been a busy day. I'm not feeling particularly creative. The peas & cornbread were served at lunch, so I'm sure the kids will prefer the sandwiches. The Man, on the other hand, will love the other.
Side salads will also grace the table.

Tomorrow I'll be making some sort of muffins and possibly cookies. No, not for supper, silly! I've no plan for that. Dessert is first on my list!

On the highway....

A few weekends ago we travelled a bit outside our town to a scouting event. On the way we saw many things that made us chuckle. The best was an advertisement painted on the window of a "Dollar Store". It said: " SALE $1.19" No kidding. I so wished I had my camera with me - for the scouting activities as well as the painted window.

Hola Internet Peeps!

Here's my imaginary Q & A:

Why did you start a blog?
This blog was crated on a whim. A silly whim. (Anyone catch that reference?)

What makes you think you can 'write'?
I don't. It's a blog, daily or weekly entries of my homeschooling / toe picking / basket weaving / trying new recipes / etc. not a novel.

Why do you homeschool?
It's the best method of legal torture I could imagine: making them spend 24/7 with the mother they've caused to lose her mind.

Do you seriously weave baskets?
Why do you ask? Do you doubt me?