from Chapel Hill to Chickenville

Candyland Birthday Party

2012-02-10T23:15:00.001-05:00

WARNING - this post has LOTS of sugar and photos! You may need a toothbrush or a cup of coffee just to read it!

Oh how I adore Candy Land!! I loved playing it as a kid (actually I love playing it still). It was one of the first games I got for my kids. I mean it says right on the box, "A Child's First Game". I love that it doesn't involve reading, only color recognition. A while back in Taste of Home on the back cover I had seen a Candy Land birthday cake that I knew I HAD to make. I just had to convince one of my kids to let me. Finally this year, Banana Girl was bouncing from idea to idea, not really committed to anything and I said, "what about Candy Land?" She was not convinced saying, "Mommy, Candy Land is for three year olds!" But then I showed her the cake idea and she was on board. What kid wouldn't love a cake full of CANDY??

The prep work for this party was pretty easy since I started right after Christmas. I picked up a bunch of Christmas clearance items to fill the goody bags. You know, the candy and cupcake makeup/ bath items? A very inexpensive way to go and I knew I didn't want to send them home with more candy. I also tucked a toothbrush in the goody bag as a thanks to the parents.

We used one of Banana Girl's Christmas presents for a craft. It was a little American Girl kit that made a bunch of button rings. I figured they looked enough like candy, that it would work.

I picked up some fluffy socks that are always around at Christmas time. These I got from the Target dollar spot. I saw this cute idea on Pinterest and made them as favors for the girls...sock cupcakes.

We decorated around the house with all of our play kitchen candies, sweets and desserts like ice cream, cookies, cupcakes, etc. Of course, we also used the Candy Land game box, board and pieces to decorate.

We also made these adorable giant lollipops for the walkway. They are a white paper plate wrapped in colored cellophane and tied with a bow (or you could use colored paper plates and clear cello). My husband set them on sticks for the party, but the wind proved too much. The next choice was this beautiful piece of rusted rebar - which definitely help them. You could go all out and put them up with white pvc or slide a white painted wrapping paper tube over the rebar.

I also made giant candies to hang around the house.

So easy, you blow up a balloon and wrap it with clear cellophane, then tie the ends with ribbon.

For our fun and entertainment, the girls made the button rings. They also crafted beaded candy canes. I gave them green, red and white tri-shaped beads and a length of pipe cleaner. They strung the beads however they liked and I just bent up the ends to keep the beads on. It's an easy Christmas ornament and went perfectly with the Mr. Mint part of Candy Land.

The girls also made felt cupcakes. I saw this printable and set to cutting the pieces out. I made icing and cupcakes in a couple of "flavors". Then I cut put the liners and decorations.

The girls had a great time creating their custom cupcake. I will say, don't use white glue as it won't work on the felt. We ended up using Aleene's Tacky Glue, which worked beautifully. I would also recommend doing this activity first, so the glue has time to dry.

We played a version of a "cake walk". I set squares of colored paper on the floor and had them walk around to the tunes of I'm A Gummy Bear, and I Want Candy, and such. Then we stopped the music and drew a card from the Candy Land deck, whoever was standing on the right color, got to pick out a piece of candy from a huge bowl. We played until everyone won multiple times.

We also played licorice limbo, which was a crack up. Those little girls are LIMBER! Of course, everyone got a giant string of licorice.

The whole menu was determined by the Birthday Girl. She REALLY wanted a rainbow of fruit, since that is her current "favorite food in the world". I didn't want to mess with skewers like I had seen, so I just laid it all out on a platter with marshmallows on the ends for clouds. We also had mini hot dogs wrapped in croissants (like little gems). A rainbow of colored peppers (another of Banana Girl's current obsessions) with dip. Crackers and egg salad.

When the girls saw the cake, their eyes were as big as moon pies. They couldn't wait to eat it. The cake looked like a sugar fantasy come to life. They all wanted " a huge piece with lots of candy". Luckily with this cake it wasn't hard to satisfy their requests. I warned parents in the invite, their kids were going to come back with a sugar high and they needed to eat a good breakfast!

You can make this cake really anyway you like. I thought about it back in October and set aside some Halloween candy. I did have to buy a big bag of Starburst. I used these for the pathway. The only color I couldn't find was blue, I guess they just don't make blue starburst.

I added the real game pieces (after a good washing) for authenticity. You can see the Chocolate House which Grandma now lives in. She used to be Grandma Nut with peanut brittle and there was a molasses swap with Goopy - no longer. I guess kids today don't eat peanut brittle and molasses, well all except my kids :) I made the chocolate with mini Snickers, tiny Tootsie Rolls and chocolate icing. There is a small peppermint area (Mr. Mint has gone the way of Goopy) and some candy hearts in front.

The gumdrop forest was created using toothpicks to stack them high.

Lord Licorice's castle was very pointy and dark looking. Definitely not where you want to land!

The lollipop woods were easy, just unwrap and stick them in. The more random and tilted they were, the better they looked.

I had to make a bridge for the shortcut. I used star sprinkles and mini marshmallows, crowned with Trix cereal. There is also an ode to the Birthday Girl. She LOVES chewing gum and has just figured out how to blow bubbles, so I put a couple of sticks on there for her.

King Kandy's Castle was made from small ice cream cones that I already had, towers of icing and topped with sprinkles and a red gumdrop.

I added sprinkles all over the whole cake at the Birthday Girl's request. I think it made the cake VERY busy looking, but she adored it and I have to remind myself, it is HER cake! All and all this cake didn't require any special skills (I did pipe a border of stars, but you could easier do more candy). It just took some planning because I didn't want to buy all of this candy. Saving a little here and there as the kids got it from Halloween, Awana and the bank, saved me from spending too much.

The party was a roaring success and another confirmation of why I love creating special birthday parties for my kids. There is no place like home!!

Roxanne - The Chicken with Superpowers

2012-02-08T16:47:00.001-05:00

This is Roxanne.

She is always on the move. Hunting worms under the leaves or bugs from the grass, she thinks of food constantly. A girl after my own heart.

I think she's always ranging because she's enormous. She needs to eat constantly to maintain her giant girth. She dwarfs the other chickens.

Roxanne is not a curious, nor is she particularly friendly, but she is a very special chicken. She has a secret super power.

...this is Roxanne's super power...

She lays the MOST enormous eggs I have ever seen!!

They don't even fit into a JUMBO sized egg carton.

Roxanne's eggs are massive and speckly and a little nubbly to the touch. I LOVE her eggs, even more than the special green ones we get from our Americuanas.

Notice the whitish ring around the center of the egg? I wonder sometimes if Roxanne's egg gets stuck and she sits around in the nesting box, patiently waiting for the rest of it to come out, thereby developing the ring? None of our other eggs have a ring like that and not all of Roxanne's do. All I can think of is Pain, but I guess to her, laying eggs the size of a Clementines, is no big deal. It impresses the heck out of me!

That's why Roxanne is featured on my blog badge - she's a Super Chicken!

Cranberry Honey Oatmeal Bread

2012-02-01T21:35:00.001-05:00

I've been in a baking mood, and this is just the start of it. In one day, my three year old, Sausage Boy and I made this bread, the Banana Girl and I made her famous Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and Super Bear and I made...well I can't tell you yet, you'll have to wait until the Secret Recipe Club reveal date later in Feb (around my birthday!!!)

These baking moods of mine, come and go: with life, time, and maybe that time of the month ;) Whatever it is, I'm in the kitchen right now. In fact the preschool teachers already benefited since I sent in extras with a little Valentine's Day note. While I'm a fan of sweet treats for Valentines (can we say Cookie Dough Truffles, Citrus Meringue Pie, Rosemary Chocolate Tart, or My Favorite Molasses Cookies??) there is a time and a place for less sugar. This is the time. I'm feeling large and not in charge. I need to make changes, real ones. If someone could just let me borrow their will power, I promise to give it back when I'm done.

This recipe is from a blog called "Eat Yourself Skinny" if that gives you any idea as to where I'm going. According to the blog, one slice is 196 calories. If that's true, I'd be scared to know what my Zucchini Bread ranks up at. I found this recipe at Pinterest, my new love. Apparently there are a ton of people who are just pinning things and never getting around to doing them. I am determined NOT to be one of those. I want to use this fantastic tool and not just dream about using it. Bring on the pins!!

I pinned this recipe in December and knew I wanted to make it because I love cranberries. I have a go to Cranberry Coffee Cake that I keep cranberries in the freezer all year round to make. It would be perfect for Valentine's Day since it has the red cranberries, but it contains...sugar. This Oatmeal bread only contains a little bit of honey...a very little. I found out how little after I ate a piece. It was pretty sour. I mean, I like cranberries, but I had to change the recipe to make it more suited to me. The original recipe can be found here at Allrecipes. Here is my adapted recipe - and yes, this means it will come in at more than the 196 calories (or 5 WW pts, which Kelly, the author so kindly shares). My helper said our version turned out "really good Mommy", so there it is straight from the expert.

Cranberry Honey Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients

2 1/2 c flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 c oats

1 c honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 c vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/2 c heavy cream or whole milk

1 c fresh cranberries, chopped (or dried)

1/2 c nuts, chopped (I like pecans)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and oats (reserve a sprinkle of the oats for later).

In a medium bowl, mix together honey, vegetable oil, eggs and milk. Pour liquid into the flour mixture bowl, stirring just until moistened. Stir in chopped cranberries and pour into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle whole oats on the top for decoration and fancyness (yes, I'm sure that's a word). Bake for 1 hour if using fresh cranberries and 45 minutes if using dried. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

Slice and serve with cream cheese or butter. Or if you are being healthy like I'm trying, enjoy it plain.

Publix Romantic Dinner Giveaway - closed

2012-01-27T15:29:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to the winner...

AllisonJan 29, 2012 08:34 AM

tweet https://twitter.com/#!/kitraz13/status/163661104101326848
kitraz13 at hotmail dot com

It's HERE AGAIN - Time for Sharing the LOVE!

I really love shopping at Publix, it is a pleasure. I have to say, I go where the deals are, but when they are at Publix I'm very happy. I love their buy one get one free deals!! They are nice to my kids and always help me out to the car. The stores and clean and well stocked. Their produce is wonderful. I also love the discounts I get with their two clubs. One is for babies (Baby Club) and the other is for preschoolers (Preschooler Club). If you haven't signed up, you really should. They send all kinds of great coupons and fun things for the kids. Just yesterday Sausage Boy got a birthday card in the mail from the Preschool Pals Club - how cute is that? The most treasured item they have ever sent us is the Publix-saures computer game. The game is so easy and comfortable that I have taught each one of my kids about the computer starting with it. The cursor is HUGE and easy to find. The questions are completely age appropriate. For example, you can help Pearl the Polar Bear put away the groceries in the right places. You can play hide-and-seek with Chaz the Cheetah or even learn about saftey rules with Barry the St. Bernard. My kids especially loved the coin rewards that the game gives you when you get the right answers. Whoever designed this thing KNEW kids!

I want to share the Publix love for the upcoming Valentine's Day. Publix (through My Blog Spark.com and General Mills) has given me a $25 gift certificate to giveaway to one lucky reader. You can even get multiple chances to win! Please leave separate comments for EACH entry and be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. All of them are easy…you ready?…

•Simply leave a comment on this post (on the blog, not on facebook)

•Share this post on Facebook by hitting the FB button at the bottom of the post
•Like Chickenville on Facebook
•Subscribe to Chickenville by RSS or Email
•Add my blog button to your site(in blog roll etc.)
•Tweet this giveaway with button on bottom of post

Giveaway open to U.S. residents only. All entries must have a valid email in blog profile or leave email address in comments. This giveaway will close Sunday Jan 29th at midnight, in time for purchasing a romantic Valentine's Dinner for two!

The winner will be chosen by random.org and notified by email.

Cookie Dough Truffles

2012-01-25T21:50:00.000-05:00

Are you suffering from sugar withdrawal? After all of those Christmas treats and wonderful parties, I sometimes find January a bit depressing - even if we really like being healthy around here. I was searching for a sweet treat when I remembered this one. I have to say, this really was a recipe for my kids. They are big fans of licking the bowl, but I don't let them when we are cooking with eggs - even though I know where the eggs came from. I actually am not a fan of eating cookie dough *shock* or even cookies 'n cream ice cream. I don't know, call me a cookie snob, but I like my cookies soft, homemade and well... baked. However, I recognize that not everyone falls in this category and some people actually like eating the raw dough. I remember back in college when my roommates introduced me to Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. There was a little store in downtown Chapel Hill on Franklin Street. We would walk there from across campus and get a VERY small, delicious, expensive ice cream cone. That was the first time I ever even heard of someone eating cookie dough - and in an ice cream flavor! I thought it was crazy, but I soon learned there are many "cookie doughers" out there.

These truffles come from Taste of Home magazine. I love the down-home feel of their cookbooks. I figured I could make these for the kids and they would be tickled to eactually eat the raw cookie dough. The recipe doesn't use eggs, but it mimics the taste of cookie dough very well. (I had to taste it to see!) You take a small ball of the cookie dough and coat it in melted chocolate. That's where their recipe ends. I had to add to it. They were SOOOOOO super sweet I felt like they needed some salt, so I sprinkled some course sea salt on top of the truffles at the chocolate cooled.

The dough itself was very easy. Coating them in chocolate takes a little time, but it's not hard (and you really don't have to be that neat - mine are definitely not). No doubt a sweet teacher or students would LOVE these for Valentines Day.

If you need other ideas for Valetine's Day, just click on the label "Valentine's" on the side to get to my other recipes and crafts perfect for this time of year.

Cookie Dough Truffles
from Taste of Home

1/2 c soft butter

3/4 c packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

1- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk - NOT evaporated milk

1/2 c chocolate chips

1 1/2 lbs chocolate melting candy (sometimes called almond bark - find it in the grocery or Walmart) OR you can use melted real chocolate that you know will harden when cool

course salt

In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy and then beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour, alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips. Shape into 1 inch balls, or smaller - these are rich. Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or put in the freezer for 30 minutes. You want them firm so they can be dipped in the chocolate. In a microwave or double boiler (I got one for Christmas - thanks honey!) melt candy coating according to package directions. Dip balls in coating; allow excess to drip off. Place on cookie racks so the chocolate runs off as cooling, sprinkle with course salt. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Store these gems in the refrigerator.

Yield: 5-1/2 dozen.

Old Fashioned Date Nut Loaf

2012-01-18T23:12:00.000-05:00

You know those gifts that somebody gives you and you thank them and you all go on your merry way, only to realize later how incredibly AWESOME that gift really was? This was one of those. We were given a loaf of Date Nut Bread and I thought - "well thanks, very nice". It wasn't until I actually opened this 5 lb brick of a loaf, cut a careful slice and bit into it that I realized what a gift it was. The taste is delicious: sweet, salty, nutty, crunchy and yum! I'm sure the cake was a labor of love to make and an expensive one at that with all of those nuts. I had to have the recipe and the precious givers, Linda and Mario, were happy to share...well Linda was happy to share. Mario might have had other ideas. When he delivered the cake, he told my husband, "if you don't like it - that's okay, just give it back to me". That kinda intrigued me. I mean, these are generous and giving neighbors we are talking about, what's this about giving it back?? Turns out, this is his FAVORITE cake of all time and he just wanted to make sure it was appreciated and not haphazardly scarfed or tossed out. This cake is THAT good. I'm very grateful she twisted his arm because it was delicious - every last bite. I was a little hesitant to share it with my nut and date loving Dad, but it was his birthday, so I relented.

The recipe comes from an old cookbook, which are some of the ones that I most enjoy and least use. I think what throws me off is the lack of pictures. There aren't usually photographs of the recipes and that's what gets my attention. I know the recipes are delicious and I usually enjoy what I make from my older cookbooks, but I just don't do it enough. I figure I might reignite interest in these older cookbooks if I make a few recipes and take some (hopefully yummy looking) photos. I'm really working on my photographs. Everytime I see the one of the hot chocolate cones on pinterest I have to cringe - it's terrible! I did just get a new lens on a girls trip to NYC, I went to B&H photo. That place is amazing! There are at least 47 check out registers - it's busy and big like the rest of Manhattan. Anyway, the lens I got promises to make my food tastier looking, fresher, healthier and all around yummier - that's what the sales clerk told me - really!

Can't you see the delicious difference in this Date Nut Cake? I guess that's cheating since I didn't actually make this cake, but it does look amazing. So if you can spring for the pecans - or you have a pecan tree in the backyard, this is a cake you want to make. It will last a very long time in the fridge and you only need a little slice to go with a cup of fresh brewed coffee. It's perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack. I figure it has the nuts so you've got a little protein - that makes it as healthy as a power bar in my mind! It kinda reminds me of another loaf I just made with nuts and dried fruits in it, only that one I turned into crackers. I promise to share that recipe very soon, but for now enjoy Old Fashioned Date Nut Loaf.

Date Nut Loaf
from Farm Journal Christmas Book
4 eggs
1 c sugar
1/2 c oil
1 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 lb pitted chopped dates
4 c pecans

Combine eggs, sugar and oil in large bowl. Beat well. Combine flour and salt in a bowl and whisk to mix and sift flour. Add flour to egg bowl and mix well. Fold in dates and nuts. Dump in a greased and floured loaf pan. Put loaf in cold oven and then turn it on to 300 degrees. Bake for 2 hours and then cover loosely with foil. Bake for 15 more minutes.

Magic Tree House Birthday Party

2012-01-14T21:07:00.001-05:00

Do you know about Magic Tree house books? They are this wonderful series written by Mary Pope Osborne with titles like The Knight at Dawn, Pirates Past Noon,or Dogs in the Dead of Night. In essence, they are historical fiction for kids. You know learning WHILE they are having FUN??? That's my kind of homeschooling. I love that my oldest will pipe up some fact about Pompeii because he's read Vacation Under the Volcano Magic Tree House (MTH for those in the know) book. They even have these great companion guides (still written to kids) that teach actual history like the Pilgrims books that goes along with Thanksgiving on Thursday.

Can I share a secret? When I was in school I HATED history. I mean really, really did NOT like. I didn't understand why we learned things out of order (I'm kind of obsessive about chronological order). We learned all of these dates which meant nothing to me because I'm terrible with numbers. I remember one of my high school teachers, who looked like Abe Lincoln and smelled like coffee, would just drone on about these events that happened so long ago...really, who could care! I sure didn't. All of this indifference changed after I graduated from college and discovered historical fiction books. Here were actual life stories with incredible things happening to them. How real, how ordinary, yet extrordinary these events were. Imagine living in an underground bunker during the Nazi's reign in Poland (that's what I'm reading about now in Clara's War). Or how about the popular book Flags of Our Father's decribing the Marines' ordeal on Iwo Jima. Suddenly when reading books like these, the history hater in me became an ardent lover of the past. This kind of "ah ha" lightbulb- over- the- head moment, is one of the reasons I homeschool our kids. Depending on how, when and where things are taught affects how those lessons will be learned. When learning is fun - we love it. How many of you folks that are my age remember School House Rock? THAT was fun - that was a great way to learn things. Even today with it's completely dated hippy vibe my kids still love it.

I will get off my soapbox (fyi: they are called soapboxes because people giving speeches to crowds used to stand on soap shipping boxes to be heard better) and get to the birthday party if you promise to at least check out the MTH series. They appeal to kids from K-3 grade and adults like me!

Literally the day after Super Bear's 7th birthday party last year, he told me he wanted a MTH birthday party. The kid likes to get a jump start on planning - gee I wonder where he gets that trait from?? I loved the idea and kept my eyes open for things over the summer. I did find an amazing tree house play set from Hearthsong at a consignment sale. I figured it would make a fun play area for all of the kids since I still have younger ones. Beyond that I discovered the actual MTH website which contains TONS of fun ideas and information. There are games for the kids and they can earn passport stamps when they take quizzes about the books they have read. I printed off a few things for the goodie bags and got the logo for our invitation off their site.

When I first began planning the party I wasn't sure what theme direction to take it in. I mean, you could do a pirate party, an Egyptian party, a polar party. There are tons of directions you could take this them depending on what you kid loves. We decided to have different adventures (called missions on the books) in different book themes.

We started off creating our tree houses with popsicle sticks so the glue would dry before they took them home. I thought I'd let the kids figure out what they wanted to build, but looking back I should have done some examples because they struggled a little with this project. They couldn't figure out how to join the walls together. They still enjoyed their projects. Be sure to do this on a glass table or put down some butcher paper because they WILL get glue everywhere.

Then we travelled to ancient Egypt and talked about how and where the wealthy dead people were mummified. I divided the kids into two teams and gave them three rolls of toilet paper and told them they had to create a mummy. They had to decided who was going to be the mummy and the rest of the team had to wrap them head to toe. It required patience and team work. One team quickly learned you couldn't rush it or the paper would rip. Very fun!

Next they needed to get the wiggles out, so I sent them outside for Olympic foot races. Then we awarded them all with gold medals.

After all of that running, they were "starving" so we headed to King Arthur's court and had a medieval feast. They each received a goblet decorated with gems and jeweled necklaces (which they got to keep). Note to self - use NON washable glue when creating the goblets next time!

We talked about kings and queens liking jewels and huge banquets. We talked about Arthur's round table and the knights. The menu included a whole roasted chicken with potatoes and whole carrots, a platter of sausage, cheese and olives, braunschwiger, salami, bologna, a loaf of crusty bread, whole pears poached in a spiced syrup with pomegranate seeds, and a honey punch. There were many items our guests had not tried, but I was proud of them, they each tried something new. In fact, many of them said how much they liked the pomegranates. They loved the honey punch so much we ran out. It's great fun for me to introduce kids to new things - new sites, sounds, tastes, etc. I see that same joy on my kids' faces as they introduce their friends to new things.

I should mention each room in the main level of our house was decorated with a theme from a MTH book. It was all stuff we had around the house. There were dinosaurs in the dining room, knights in the kitchen, pirates on the porch, and buffalo in the bathroom. Entering each room, the kids squealed with delight over the theme. My kids were so excited to participate in decorating for the party, that setting everything up was a breeze.

The bathroom decorations were from an old set my husband had from childhood called Fort Apache. It's still up and the kids don't want me to put it away!

The pirates on the porch were a great buy from Craigslist. Thank you kind mom who knew exactly what I needed! All of the stuff got played with as the partygoers went from room to room with their activities.

After lunch we sent them on a pirate's treasure hunt complete with a genuine treasure map drawn by my wonderful husband. The kids went all over the yard looking for the treasure. Turns out it was in the family room right by the presents in a huge old steamer trunk..definitely a treasure chest!

We saved the cake for last. Most of the kids (and parents) didn't really know it was the birthday cake when they saw it still on the kitchen table. They said it looked like another decoration and thought it was a toy! That tickled me to no end! It's exactly the effect I was going for - a real tree house! I'm not sure the birthday boy really wanted to eat it. I think he was hoping to leave it up for a few days. But alas, all good things must come to an end. And it was worth the wait - it was a delicious hot chocolate flavor. A combo that I made up and I'll have to share.

This was one of the easiest cakes I've ever made. It's just a square with a little bit of cake carved out for a front door. Then I used piping tip #47all over in chocolate icing to create the planking. The tip has a jagged flat edge, but you could use any flat tip. I was going for a a rough, rustic edge to create boards. I made straight lines and then a couple of slanted lines to mimic boards just nailed up in random places.

My amazing MacGuyver husband created the stick ladder, rope and tree trunk stand. I couldn't believe how well it all turned out, especially with the real leaves. I got the leaf idea from this blog. It was the only other treehouse cake I could find. I'm much better with actual objects than creating artwork on a cake. I am NOT artistic, I can't even draw a stick figure. However this cake took no artistic ability - in fact, the messier it was, the better it looked!

I cannot recommend this party theme enough. So many ways to make it work for you and so many ways to make your birthday boy/ girl thrilled. I was actually shocked to hear my 8 year old declare, "that was the best birthday party ever, maybe we'll have Magic Tree House again next year!!"

Soap Snowballs with a Surprise

2012-01-02T11:07:00.000-05:00

As you may know, my kids are homeschooled, so really that means we don't ever "break" from school. I know it sounds like a drag, but I am vying for the title, "Meanest Mom in the World"! (I need a shirt that says that.) Actually my kids don't really know we are doing school some of the time. In fact, the other day when I was teaching my oldest daughter, Banana Girl, about price per unit in the grocery store, she said, "Mommy, if we don't hurry up and finish shopping, we are never going to get schoolwork done!" I looked at her and was like, "what exactly do you think we are doing right this very moment?" Of course she had no idea she was learning and I just smiled. While I'm not a fan of sneaking in kid's vegetables, I'm a huge fan of sneaking in some learning. It's a beautiful thing!

For our Christmas learning, we have been baking and wrapping and crafting. Banana Girl decided she wanted to make this crafty project from the trusty fave Family Fun magazine. They looked so sweet and snowy and will make the perfect gift on Christmas for the kids in our extended family. You could also keep the materials on hand for winter break in February. In fact, go ahead and pin this right now, get the materials next shopping trip and you'll be all ready for a snowy project, real snow optional.

Here's what you need:

Ivory soap bars
small plastic toys
water
cheese grater

I'll show you the way we did it and then what you should probably do instead! First, we bought WAY too much soap. We bought enough Ivory to keep us clean for a long while. I would say each soap snow ball takes about 1/2 a bar of soap, so you be the judge on how many you need.

The first step, is to grate the soap into shreds. As each bar of soap went in my precious Cuisinart food processor, I had a thought. I wonder if this will make my next batch of coleslaw taste a little soapy? I don't recommend the processor way since I had to clean (well it was my husband doing the actual washing) the processor about 4 times before the soap smell/taste came out - Ivory is some strong stuff! We actually ran the processor through the dishwasher first, which is the normal way we clean this appliance, but everything in the dishwasher came out with a thin film of soap on it!! Agghh, not worth the hassle, so in hindsight I'd say use your hand cheese grater.

Either way you choose, go slowly on the feed so you get shorts shreds of soap, not long strings. The shreds look more like real snow as you get farther in the snowball process. See what I mean...

Get the shredded soap in a large bowl, add warm water and mix up with your hands. With 8 bars of soap, we used about 7/8c of water. If you use 4 bars, then you'll need about a 1/2c. If it's pouring down rain around you, like it is here today, you'll probably use a little less because you don't want soap soup. The warm water should create a chunky, sloppy *but clean* mess. The Banana Girl LOVED it. I imagine my Sausage Boy would have enjoyed it as well. The good thing is, even if your kid is the one who won't put there hand in the pumpkin guts, this mess just rinses off and you are left squeaky clean.

After it's pretty well mixed up, squish some into a half ball - blob shape. This is a very technical step, so be sure it's in the blob shape. ;)

After you have a blob or glob if you like that better, put a small plastic toy in the middle of it, then pack more soap on top of it.

The idea is to seal the toy up so you can't see any of it. Then form it into a ball shape, packing it all together tightly. After you have a ball, set it on a tray and repeat the whole process until you are out of soap, trinkets or patience. As a sidenote, don't you just love the way little girl hands' look with the nail polish all chipped? What is it that makes this look so cute on them and so tacky on me?

Your soap snowballs will have to dry for about 3 days before you give them away or use them (again this depends on how much moisture is in the air). The tighter you pack and the drier the ball, the longer it will hold together when you use them. I pulled this one open to show you the inside after about 2 hours of drying time, it was still pretty wet.

We packaged ours up in cellophane paper with a wintery blue ribbon.

So are you ready to make some squeaky clean fun??? Remember pin it for later!! And I'd love for you to follow my pin boards, just click on the Pinterest link on the right (the big P). If you have no idea what I'm talking about, be warned it is addictive. The concept is a virtual pinboard to keep track of all the cool recipes, crafts, books, clothes, gifts, etc you see out there on the internet. Incredibly brilliant idea - just wish I thought of it!!

Special Needs Chicken

2011-12-27T21:28:00.000-05:00

This past summer, I wrote about our new baby chicks. They were so precious and cute back then and I wanted to give you an update. We did finally give them all names: Wendy the Silver Laced Wandyotte, the Americans are Sparkle and Tiny and the Brahmas are Vanilla and Crooked Beak. Unfortunately she got the name through her "disability". She was perfectly fine as a chick but as she grew her beak grew crooked. For a while we hand fed her with baby chick food, but surprisingly she is able to eat the regular chicken food and the scraps we share with the flock. I have no idea what her future holds because many of the chickens with this problem will starve to death. I will try not to let that happen under my care.

She's perfect and beautiful in every other way, including her very soft feathers. I love the way the Brahmas have feathers even on their legs. I have to say, Crooked Beak holds a dear place in my heart with her special needs and I hope she can survive for a long time.

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T13:45:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to ALL! These beautiful sugar cookies were given to me by my talented Sister-in-law, Nadia (the one posing with my strawberry cake here) to celebrated Christmas. She sells them at her shop on Etsy. I hope you are having a wonderful time with your family and friends!!

And the angels proclaimed, "Give glory to God in heaven, and on earth let there be peace among the people who please God." Luke 2:14

Hannakka Latkas - The Chickenville Way

2011-12-22T20:13:00.000-05:00

I honor of Hanukkah going on right now, here is a recipe for potato "pancakes" from leftover mashed potatoes. Not exactly, latkas, but my version.

Potato Cakes
Makes about 8 cakes
2 c leftover mashed potatoes (the kind with milk, butter and garlic are best, but the instant flake kind can be substituted but you'll need to add salt and pepper)
2 eggs
1/8 c flour

Turn on a skillet on med high and add a little oil. Beat the eggs with a fork and add the potatoes and flour. Just like making pancakes, pour a little of the potato batter in the pan to form cakes. Let fry for a minute or so until sides seem to be browning, then flip to cook the other side. When cooked, cool on a paper towel like bacon to drain the extra oil off.

You can serve these the traditional way with sour cream and applesauce or cooked apples OR you can serve them with Parmesan cheese and bacon. What combos can you think of?

British Candy Poppers

2011-12-13T19:35:00.000-05:00

We made these fun candy "poppers" (or crackers) for the kids' friends. They were really fast and easy to make. If you have candy, toilet paper or paper towel cardboard rolls, tissue paper and ribbon...you have all you need to make them. My almost-six year old tackled this project as one of the two she choose to make this year.

First, stuff the tp roll with as much candy as it will hold. Using leftover Halloween candy is optional, but highly recommended (after all, this is leaving your house which is a great thing).

Then wrap the roll with a section of colored tissue paper. I cut a package of the paper in half and that was a perfect width.

After it's all wrapper up, tie the sides of the paper with ribbon. You can add a note that tells the recipient to pull the ends of the paper apart to "POP" the gift open. For kicks, you can open them the traditional way. Have two people pull at the same time, one on each end, but then there is the inevitable drama of who gets more candy, so maybe not!

This gift is also a great teaching moment since they are originally an English tradition. We looked at the map and learned a little about Britain. My girl was pretty proud of herself after she made a bunch of these for her friends. If you need a last minute gift, this is an easy one.

Candy Cane Cookies - A Flop

2011-12-08T20:39:00.000-05:00

Around Christmas we start making many of our presents for our neighbors, friends, preschool teachers and family as I mentioned in my Macaroni Ornament post. Sometimes it pairs with treat we have canned over the summer like the rosemary peach jam (we added fresh loaves of bread), sparkling green pepper jelly, tomato sauce (bread sticks and italian seasoning) or russian tea (mugs). We also usually bake cookies to go along. Our only traditional recipe is my favorite molasses cookies, but the others are usually picked out by the kids each year according to their whims. I save my Family Fun, Martha Stewart, Better Homes and Gardens December issues and a few special Christmas cookbooks. The kids look through them and each pick one recipe or project. This was the first year I let Sausage Boy pick out his own. I figured at three he can make a somewhat reasonable choice. Little did I know what I was in for!

Right away he picked out these candy cane cookies from Family Fun Magazine. Regular readers of my blog will know that we are big fans of FF here in Chickenville. All you have to do is search the archives and you'll find all kinds of recipes and crafts we have done from the magazine.They were so cute in the magazine! I had visions of making them for everyone on our gift list so I decided on making a double batch. I imagined we'd have a fun time rolling them out and creating little Christmas masterpeices. Things did not go as planned. Not only did these innocent little cookies take WAY longer than I planned, but they weren't exactly easy to assemble - and in the end, our cookies looked nothing like the slim delicate candy canes pictured in the recipe. The magazine said it would take about 30 minutes prep time and 10 minutes cook time. Not to let Family Fun off the hook, but it seems they have published a better version of this recipe online that does state a 1 hour and 20 minute total prep and cook time! With that, I invite my fearless readers to step into my disaster, so you can avoid one of your own!

The trouble started almost immediately with the dough. It was super soft after making it, so we had to chill it in the fridge for a good hour (unplanned delays are not good with a three year old). Rolling the dough into "snakes" was fun until it kept breaking. He's so used to playdough, I didn't even think about this being a problem.

Then I started having problems twisting the two colors together. It was not easy. I was frustrated, but to his credit, Sausage was not. His colors pretty much ended up melded together and I had to make the cane shape, but he managed about four cookies which took about 30 minutes. These are his masterpieces. He was so very proud!

I had to make the rest of the the batch because I couldn't let him down. I just wasn't expecting it to be that much of a challenge. I know decorated sugar cookies take time, but these looked deceivingly easy. It was laborious rolling the dough out and then twisting the colors together (to say nothing of trying to get a photo for you all)!

With practice (remember I prepped a double recipe) I got a little better. These were the few that turned out pretty. They each took about 25 minutes to make. That's maybe a *slight* exaggeration.

After all of that work, the cookies are VERY fragile. Even though I made the ropes thick they still broke at the slightest un-tender touch. These are NOT cookies for shipping to my cousin in California or even for walking next door to the neighbors house.

Also, I did have to reduce the cooking time to 7 minutes because the white part of the cane was browning making it look like a dirty candy cane. Yuck!

Overall not a recipe we will be making again. Too much work for a so-so cookie. But this face made it all worth the trouble. I enjoyed cracking up with my sweet, silly Sausage Boy who exhibited courage in the face of adversity. I love that kid.

Macaroni Photo Christmas Ornament

2011-12-05T23:26:00.000-05:00

How great would it be if you could get your kids to make something cute for Grandma, or Aunt Betty or any of those impossible-to-buy-for people? How much better would it be if it was something useful AND inexpensive? How about a macaroni Christmas tree ornament! Not exactly what you were thinking - me neither. However, this little project meet both requirements: not expensive and they will use it. As a bonus you probably have all the things you need around your house.

If I'm being truthful, I need you tell you making these took a little *well a lot of* convincing from my kids. There begging all started when they saw the ornament I made as a kid. My incredible mom was kind enough to save it from childhood for my "grown up tree". I made this thing back when I was in kindergarten in the 70's. The photo on it shows my super cute corduroy jumper with plaid long tabbed collared shirt that was oh so fashionable back then. Don't laugh...

Each year, my kids would comment on the metallic macaroni. They think it is so cool, I think it's, well...tacky. Really tacky. I mean, it's macaroni for crying out loud. It's a food, not a decoration, but my kids insisted. I relented because it's so cheap to make if they all turned out awful, I could toss them and not feel bad. Turns out my kids were right on this one. The ornaments were easy to make, and turned out so cute we are still using them. Maybe it's because their photos are soooo much cuter than mine.

Macaroni Photo Ornaments

macaroni - guess this one goes without saying

plastic lid from container of sour cream, yogurt, or ricotta cheese - you get the idea

cardstock - stiff paper

spray paint - I used gold, but it's your choice of color

photos - preferably wallet sized

ribbon

glue and scissors

First cut a hole in the middle of the plastic lid for your photo to show through. I found a glass that fit over my photo and then traced around that so I got the size correct. Then trace around the outside of the lid on the cardstock paper and cut out the cardstock. This will be your backing paper, so it should be nice looking.

Tie one small piece of ribbon into a bow and cut another small piece to form a loop at the top of the ornament for hanging. I chose different colors of ribbon to coordinate with the photos, but you could choose ribbon to coordinate with your tree colors or anything else. {And no my 3 year is not drinking a large bottle of coke in the that photo below as someone asked, it's large bottle of bourbon. I'm kidding mom! He's actually playing Daddy's trumpet.}

Then let the kids glue "piles" of macaroni on the inside of the lid. And I do mean piles, excess is best here so give your kids free reign. This is one of the reasons my three year old LOVED this project - glue everywhere.

Once the massive amount of glue has dried completely, take the lids outside and spray paint the heck out of them. I used a satiny gold color,but again you could choose whatever you like. Cover every nook and cranny from all angles, except the backside.

Once the paint has dried, you can attach the photo to the cardstock circle you cut out and that backing to the topside of the lid (which is the part you didn't decorate or paint and used to be the top of the lid). Confused?? The point is to sandwich the photo between the plastic lid and the cardstock. You can insert the ribbon loop in between the plastic and the cardstock at the top so you have a loop for hanging. You can also add a little ribbon bow to the bottom of the loop or somewhere else on the ornament. I added mine just below the photo.

When it's completely dry you are ready to hang on the tree or wrap it up.Just be sure it's REALLY dry, see the bottom of this ornament, some of the pasta fell right off because the kids were a little impatient.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!! I promise to post about the treats and treasures we are making for our family and friends. Just to give you a little preview, we made soap snowballs and they turned out adorable!

Spinach Souffle like Julia Child

2011-11-30T00:15:00.000-05:00

Souffle sounds scary. It sounds like one of those dishes that require special tools and ingredients. I have visions of tv shows (I Love Lucy maybe) where the souffle collapses as soon as it's put on the table and Mom breaks down in tears, deflated and defeated. Souffle takes courage. I guess I figured why not walk on the wild side and take a chance. What did I have to lose, some eggs? We always have plenty of those around here. Some spinach, pretty cheap, so go for it. WWJD: what would Julia do? She had plenty of failures and on tv, no less. I could hide mine in my house if it didn't work.

After I made this the first time, I have made it again, and again, and again. I LOVE this dish. It turns out souffle is not hard. As a bonus this recipe uses 9 eggs and it tastes great. I make it for company and people are so impressed. It looks like I worked at something. Try it out on your family and master the timing and you too will have a "company recipe" in your arsenal. Just remember to serve it right away. This thing deflates fast (fyi, it still tastes good after it deflates). The photo above was not taken fast enough to show you how high it will puff up, it had already deflated. And you don't need a souffle pan or a parchment collar to make this. I used my trusty pyrex dish which I use for every vegetable under the sun.

Spinach Souffle

Julia Child

1 tbsp minced shallots (or use sweet onions)

1 tbsp butter

3/4 c chopped frozen spinach

1/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

1 c milk

4 egg yolks

1/2 c grated Swiss cheese

5 egg whites

Defrost the spinach in a colander. Squeeze most of the water out of the spinach with a couple paper towels. Cook the shallots and 1 tbsp butter in a saute (like a frying pan with higher straight sides) or frying pan on medium for 1 minute. Add the spinach and salt, stirring around, until the spinach seems REALLY dry. Remove the pan from the heat.

Butter a 6 cup souffle dish and sprinkle it with some of the grated cheese. Set it off to the side. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a saucepan, melt 2 1/2 tbsp butter. Stir in the flour and cook for about 2 minutes, this should bubble. Remove from heat and pour in milk. Beat with whisk until blended. Return to heat and bubble again, stirring with the whisk. This stuff is going to get thick, when it's like this...you are ready to add the egg yolks one at a time.

Add the egg/ flour base to the spinach off to the side. Add the remaining swiss cheese and you'll have a gooey mess like this.

Get our your mixer and wire whip attachment to whisk your egg whites. Put the egg whites in a large bowl with a dash of salt and beat on high until you have white stiff foam.

Carefully fold in the spinach to the whipped egg whites. Folding means you slowly and gently flip the ingredients around each other. The idea here is you don't want the egg whites to deflate all those little bubbles they have made.

Pour your mixture into the prepared souffle dish. Put in the oven and turn it down to 375 degrees and bake for 25 minutes. Serve Immediately!

Homemade Butterfingers - SRC

2011-11-21T13:36:00.000-05:00

I just started participating in what's know as the "Secret Recipe Club". It's a bunch of food bloggers secretly making each others' recipes. It sounded interesting, so I signed up. I really had no idea what to expect. For this month, I was referred to a blog called Hugs & Cookies XOXO with the instructions to, "go make one recipe off the blog". I discovered Danielle, the blogger is a talented cookie decorator and makes a bunch of gluten free desserts. I was having trouble focusing on the task at hand, since I was surrounded by treat after treat after treat on her blog. I was in a sugar high, when I arrived at this recipe, homemade butterfingers. Huh? This was a new one on me.

I know what you are thinking, "Aimee, why make this stuff when you can just go out and buy a bag of Butterfingers?" I guess that's the question I could ask about most of the things I make. There are so many different reasons, beyond teaching my children to love good food, which i definitely my overriding reason. One is cost, sometimes I can save money when I make it myself, like oatmeal packets. Sometimes it just tastes better, like cake with fresh buttercream icing. Other times, it's more like a challenge...a throw down. Can I really make this???

This butterfinger recipe from Hugs & Cookies was just that. Would it be possible to make Butterfingers, which my husband LOVES, that really taste like that peculiar crumbly candy? I had to walk in faith with Danielle. Turns out the answer is....yes! With only three ingredients you too can make candy magic. You don't even have to use your stove or oven!! Here's the three ingredients you'll need....

{I know I have four things on this tray, but I just wanted to show you that you could use either chocolate chips or melting chocolate (I used a mix of both, since I didn't have a lot of either).}

Are you noticing the crazy secret ingredient for this recipe? It's CANDY CORN! How wild is that? If you want to make these butterfingers, go out now and buy a clearance bag of candy corn, since it's only around during the Halloween season. Go now... I'll be waiting.....

.........back with your $.50 purchase? Good. Here's the recipe.

Homemade Butterfingers(makes 36 pieces of candy)
1/2 c candy corn
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
chocolate for melting

Put the candy corn in a glass dish (or just be lazy and melt it in the measuring cup). Zap it in the microwave for 1 minute and then stir. If it's not a melted mess like the photo below, put it back in for 15 seconds. You don't want to burn it which is easy since candy corn has a very high sugar content, like 99% sugar. The other 1% is food coloring, ha!

To this scary neon orange goop, you add the peanut butter. Stir until it's all mixed well. Your hand may fall off...mine did. Pour the ugly brownish mixture into a foil lined 8x8 pan. (If you want more bars, you could easily increase this recipe to fill a 9x13 pan, just keep the ratio 1:1 for the candy corn and peanut butter.)

Cool the mixture in the fridge (about 10 minutes) while you melt your chocolate. I'd like to use a double boiler for melting chocolate, that is if I had one. In the meantime, I just melted the chocolate in the microwave in a glass bowl. By the time you get the chocolate melted your mixture will be ready for cutting. I used a large bread knife, but I think a pizza cutter would work better in the future. I also cut my pieces TOO big. I had to go back and half them, which created about 36 pieces. This stuff is rich!

After you cut your pieces dip them in chocolate and let them cool. Or you could be really ~~lazy~~ smart and just pour chocolate over them, but you'd use more chocolate that way. The point is, you want them to be covered in chocolate just like the real candy bar. I wasn't very careful about covering the bottom, but enough dripped down on my wire racking to cover them mostly. Don't look too closely ;)

So how does the end result stack up against the real thing? I say, spot on! They taste so much alike people may not even know you made them. Since we just had Halloween I happened to have an original Butterfinger in the kids' treat drawer. I cut them both open to show you the color difference. I actually think the homemade version is prettier. The original is crunchier and flakier, definitely more crumbly (ie messy), but you can imitate that if you store them in the fridge. My Butterfinger Connoisseur Husband liked the original, but I noticed he ate quite a few of my version too. I sent most of them in to Awana to celebrate Super Bear's birthday (more on the amazing Magic Tree House birthday party we had soon). The kids and the grown ups there LOVED them. I was a little embarrassed to tell them how easy they were to make. This is one cooking experiment I'm glad I took on. Danielle thank you for entrusting me with your delicious recipe!! I'll be back when I need another sugar rush. And I think I'll sign up for this Secret Recipe Club thing again. You never know what you'll discover.

Harvest Moon Pie Pops

2011-11-18T19:58:00.000-05:00

Happy Almost Turkey Day!!!

In need of an easy Thanksgiving centerpiece??? These are waaay simple and like the chocolate acorns, they make a cute decoration for your table (at least until Uncle Jimmy or Cousin April starts munching). Here's what you need: original flavored large moon pies, popscicle sticks, cookie icing, fall themed candies, cello bags, and some ribbon. After having worked with the moon pies, I do not recommend the new flavored ones (peanut butter or mint). Although I think they taste much better than the original, they don't hold together well because the filling is is not sticky like the original marshmallow. I'm not sure about the vanilla and banana but I think those are more like the marshmallow ones, so they may work.

My big kids (8 and 5 1/2) were in charge of this project and they really didn't require much supervision. We had a big yard sale to get rid of a bunch of our baby stuff and the kids sold these goodies at their very own table.

First insert a popscicle stick into the middle of the moon pie. Each circle got decorated with the candy choices using a little cookie icing (bought from the clearenced Halloween section) as glue. We used candy corn (wait til you see what I did with the leftovers),

We made a bunch of flower designs, but they could be done as turkeys? Or maybe save this project for Christmas and do little trees or snow flakes on them. What about Valentine hearts? There are tons of possibilities!

Custom Knitted Hat Winner

2011-11-15T16:27:00.001-05:00

And the winner is......... Tina! Congratulations!! She's picked the cute Zoe hat from Hunky Dori Boutique. Thanks to all of you who commented. Please comment again sometime. I love it when I get to hear your thoughts.

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 20 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Knitted Hat Giveaway!!

2011-11-05T19:57:00.000-04:00

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

And the winner is......... Tina! Congratulations!! She's picked the cute Zoe hat. Thanks to all of you who commented. Please comment again sometime. I love it when I get to hear your thoughts.

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 20 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

I want to say thank you! Thank you to each and every one of you. I have finally made it to 100 email subscribers. That was a BIG goal for me because I know you probably get tons of email. I'm so tickled to know this Chickenville labor of love is giving ideas to someone else, much less 100 of you. I know some of you out there are GFC readers and others are twitterers and still others get their fix on FB and I appreciate each of you. As a big thank you, I am doing a giveaway to celebrate!!!!
*****************
That sweetie in the photo above is not mine, but another precious little girl that I know. She's actually (ready to follow this one?) my neighbors' daughter's daughter. She's pretty cute - right? And that hat makes her ridiculously cute! That's what we're giving away! (The hat not the baby). This babe's mom is the uber-talented Dori...

Dori started out making these little knitted hats for her girls, but when people kept asking her where she got them, she knew she was on to something. She started making them for friends and has just opened an Etsy shop to sell to the general public. I LOVE stories like this. The mom who is doing something she loves!

So when Dori contacted me about doing a giveaway for one of these precious hats, I jumped at the chance. Who wouldn't love one of these? You surely know a little girl who needs one of these. They are even machine washable! If you are the winner, you get to choose any hat style, color and size (0-4T). This would be a great Christmas present or even a "just because your cute" present.

You have multiple chances to win! Please leave separate comments for EACH entry and be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. All of them are easy…you ready?…

•Check out Dori's Etsy site and come back here to let me know which hat you'd like to win (on the blog, not on facebook)

•Share this post on Facebook by hitting the FB button at the bottom of the post
•Follow Chickenville and Hunky Dori Boutique on Facebook
•Subscribe to Chickenville by RSS or Email
•Add a link to this post on your site
•Tweet this giveaway

Giveaway open to U.S. residents only. All entries must have a valid email in blog profile or leave email address in comments. This giveaway will close Monday Nov 14th at midnight.

Warm Pumpkin Spice Pancakes & Pumpkin Spice Lattes (or Gingerbread)

2011-11-03T22:01:00.000-04:00

I love pumpkin: pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread. I mean really love it as much as I love cranberries and apples and well everything else fall. Fall is probably my favorite season despite the fact that the fresh air kills me. I'm allergic to all the pretty flowers that grow in the spring AND all of the pretty leaves that fall and get moldy in autumn. It kinda stinks when your favorite times of the year to be outside are the ones that make you miserable. MacGuyver always says he's going to buy me a bubble to live in. (I've never seen it, but I heard there is a movie.)

I made these pancakes last week and the kids were thrilled and even the husband liked them, which is saying something because he doesn't love pumpkin. So even if you a not the most pumpkin loving person, you might try these out. You can also adapt both recipes to create a gingerbread taste, by omitting the pumpkin, adding more ginger spice and a little molasses.

Every Thursday the kids and I enjoy a "day in". Since I homeschool the kids, we have decided that once a week we will stay home and do whatever we feel like. It always starts with a yummy breakfast. You know the kind that you promise your kids you will make and never have time to on normal crazy days? A normal morning for us involves a lot of "hurry up", "eat your food" and "stop kicking your sister". I'm I the only one with mornings like these? This is why my little family has Thursdays - for "yes" time. Yes to pancakes, yes to games, yes to stories read at the table, yes to wrestling, yes to bike riding and whatever else they can think of. BTW, there is a great book called "Yes Day" that my 3 year old told me about. It's so cute and all the kids love the idea of a "yes day" at our house.

I usually make extra of whatever they choose for breakfast on Thursdays (pancakes, waffles, coffee cake, quiche, or bacon) and save them for one of the hectic mornings as a reheat. This pancakes starts out like our traditional buttermilk pancake recipe, but you just add the spices and the pumpkin puree. And if you make the pancakes, you are going to want to make the latte...trust me they go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Warm Pumpkin Spice Pancakes - Chocolate chips optional :)

2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/3 c buttermilk
1 c sourdough starter or milk
1/2 c pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp oil
1 egg

Combine all dry ingredients in large bowl with whisk. Add buttermilk, starter, pumpkin, oil and egg to the dry mixture. Whisk until combined. Can be thinned with milk or water if the batter is too thick to easily pour. When griddle or pan is hot, pour batter on. At this step you can add chocolate chips if you like. Cook until bubbles form and then flip.

If you want to make gingerbread pancakes, you need to increase the ginger to 1 tsp and decrease the cinnamon to 1 tsp. Then omit the pumpkin and sugar and add 1/4 c molasses.You can even serve them with molasses as the syrup!

Pumpkin Spice Latte OR Gingerbread Latte

1 cup milk (I use skim)

1 Tbsp canned pumpkin

1 Tbsp sugar (or substitute)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (which is basically mostly cinnamon with ginger, cloves and nutmeg added) I just add a little of each, never measuring

1 c strong brewed coffee

Brew the coffee. While brewing, get out a glass measuring cup, the kind you use for liquids. Measure the milk and then add the pumpkin, sugar and spices. Put it in the microwave on high for 1 min - 1:30. You want it hot, but not boiling. When the coffee is brewed, combine your coffee, spiced milk and vanilla in a large mug. You can top it with whipped cream and cinnamon if you want to go over the top, which I of course did!

Variation: if you want to make a gingerbread latte, you omit the pumpkin and up the ginger spice a little and add use molasses as your sweetener. Equally delicious!

The "Christian Scientists" - Halloween Costumes 2011

2011-11-02T20:41:00.000-04:00

I had to share this year's Halloween costumes. This year we didn't do a book theme like we have in the past. Instead I used it as a way to homeschool at the same time. We all went as scientists. I was a geneticist, trying to create a child that looks like me, which I have failed at miserably. The others were: a rocket scientist, a neurologist, a herpetologist, marine biologist, neurologist, and botanist. You should have seen my daughter set people right when they guessed she was a "nurse"!

Happy Halloweenie! Mummy Hot Dogs

2011-10-18T18:51:00.000-04:00

Are these a crack up or what?? My kids love them and so we usually make them sometime around Halloween. And really, who can resist a hot dog wrapped in a cresent roll? It really only takes those two ingredients...hot dogs (I picked up bun-lenght for serious mummy's) and crescent rolls. Mustard is an optional ingredient.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. My generic package of crescent rolls contains 8 rolls. I pressed them into four flat rectangles, by combining two rolls together. I thought using a rolling pin would be a good idea, but don't try it. It's a sticky mess, fingers are the best bet.

Now you want to cut the bandanges, aka strips of crescent roll. I used my pizza cutter wheel, but you could use a knife. These don't have to be neat or even even. I managed to get 7 - 8 strips out of each rectangle. You don't want them too thin or they will break when picking them up off the counter. You don't want them too thick or they look funny on your mummy *groan*.

Wrap pieces of dough around each hot dog to look like "bandages," stretching dough slightly to completely cover hot dog. About 1/2 inch from one end of each hot dog, leave a space so hot dog shows through for "face." If you have gaps in your strips or overlaps, it only makes the mummy look more interesting and rustic.

On ungreased large cookie sheet ( used my wonderful generic silpat as usual), place wrapped hot dogs. The naked ones look mighty chilly!

Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until dough is light golden brown and hot dogs are hot. With a toothpick of mustard, draw eyeballs and even a mouth if you like. How seriously easy is that????

Woooooo! Happy Halloweenie!!

Apple Pie Soup

2011-09-29T22:19:00.000-04:00

Yea!!! Apples are here. We took the kids apple picking up in Ellijay (Georgia's apple capital) and had another wonderful time. We go to R & A Orchards owned by Richard and Ann, who still drive the tractor and hand out the picking bags. They are a caring couple who's kids and grandkids can be found out in the orchard working with them. I love seeing a family business succeed, so I'm happy to support them.

Their apples are priced very reasonably and taste waaay better than store bought. We picked two pecks and bought another peck that was filled with seconds (smaller apples I used for apple sauce, apple butter, and apple muffins). Can you tell we REALLY like apples around our house? I had trouble getting the kids to let me cook with them because they just wanted to eat them straight out. My husband loves them best like this.

Apple Pie Soup is a recipe worth the small effort. It's delicious! It comes from a combination of a recipe I learned at the Whole Foods Cooking School, where I volunteer, and a recipe out of the Palmetto Palate Cookbook. Both of those recipes serve this as a chilled soup but I really like it warm. When it's warm it reminds me of apple pie...delicious! Serve it however you like, no matter, you and your kids are going to love this one.

Apple Pie Soup

12 apples, peeled and sliced or chopped

3 c apple juice or cider

3/4 c sugar

1 cinnamon stick (or you can use 1 tbsp ground cinnamon)

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp vanilla

2 c half and half

Cook apples with juice, sugar, cinnamon and ginger in pot. Bring it to a boil with the lid on, then turn down the heat and remove the lid, let it simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally and break up the apples as they get mushy. Take out the cinnamon stick if you used it and add the vanilla extract. Puree the soup in a blender or with an immersion blender (my personal favorite kitchen tool). Where you go from here is your choice. Put back in your pot or chill in fridge. If you want to serve this warm, you add the half and half slowly bringing the soup back up to a warm temperature. If cold wait until the base is well chilled and then when you are ready to serve, add the half and half and mix well. Serve in bowls with a few slices of apple and some cinnamon sprinkled over the top as a garnish.

I finally broke down and got an apple peeler this year and now all I'm thinking is, "what took me so long"? These things are great! It makes fast work of getting an apple peeled, cored and sliced and the kids can even do it with me.

Chocolate Acorn Treats

2011-09-13T22:31:00.000-04:00

Ohhh, fall is just around the corner and I really can't wait. I LOVE fall. I love being outside, camping, playing, walking, anything. I love using the sunroof on the van and having the kids shriek, "close the windows!!" because it's so windy back there. There is something about a fall day that makes me feel Alive with a capital A. I cannot imagine living in a climate without all four seasons, if only to appreciate spring and fall when they come. When we went on our honeymoon in Alaska, nine short years ago, we went in September for two weeks. Those two weeks were the sum total of Alaska's fall season. Two short little weeks!! I'm so glad our's lasts a little longer here in the south. Fall is glorious!

When I saw these adorable treats in Family Fun magazine (can you tell I really love this magazine?), I knew I had to make them. They are sooooo cute and perfectly autumnal. They were seriously easy. The kids did them without my help. They ended up with a little extra icing in strange places, like the shoulder of a tee shirt and inside an ear, but they had a great time and they were so immensely proud when we served them to friends.

If you need a little fall in your life, you must make these. Here's what you need:

Hershey's chocolate kisses (you must buy Hershey's since purchasing those products benefits the Hershey School which we learned all about when we went to Hershey Park and toured the town)
mini Nilla wafers (do not buy generic, they are not small enough, this I learned the hard way)
thin pretzel sticks
icing (really this should be chocolate brown, but I was lazy and already had leftover white)

Unwrap twice as many kisses as you'll need because invariably someone will come along and pop several into their mouth before you realize what is happening. You'll only need a few pretzel sticks, so you can use the rest for enjoying with homemade hummus.

Put a tiny bit of icing, store bought is just fine, just buy chocolate or at least a cream color. The brown blends in so much better that it really won't matter how much icing the kids slather on, unlike my white icing, which shows up when it oozed out. My kids went a little nutty with the icing. I had to get that in :)

Stick the flat side of the kiss to the underside of the vanilla mini wafer.

Put a dab of icing on the top of the cookie and break a tiny bit of pretzel stick off. Put the pretzel in the icing. These need to set up for an hour or so. You can speed up the process by putting them in the fridge, but it might make your cookies a little soft (and the kiss really hard).

You can assembly line them if you want to make bunches. Assign each kid a job and you can make massive amounts for teacher gifts, preschool snack, grandparents day, Thanksgiving dinner. You could set up a table to entertain the kids during Thanksgiving and put the supplies for chocolate acorns and the gumdrop turkeys.

Tell the kids they can play a little trick on the grown ups and have them put some real acorns collected from the yard on the table with the chocolate acorns and see if the adults notice. Everyone will get a kick out of that!

Chocolate Rosemary Pie

2011-09-07T22:14:00.002-04:00

I love rosemary and I love chocolate. I never thought to put the two together, but this pie proves you can. I've only used rosemary in savory cooking, so this was a walk on on the wild side for me and may be for you. It turned out delicious! I loved the creamy- meltyness of the pie with the cripsy crust (actually I think anything in a pie shell is wonderful - stay tuned for a end of summer zucchini pie recipe).

I will warn you when you serve this, tell people the name of the pie otherwise they will give you funny looks when they bite into what they suppose is just chocolate pie. I know, because this happened to me at a homeschool moms get together. That mild, almost piney flavor makes it's way slowly through the chocolate, but it's there. I suggest putting a spring of rosemary on the top of the pie. All you need is a small slice of this so it goes a long way. It's especially good with a glass of milk or a cup of bold coffee.

Rosemary Chocolate Pie
frozen pie crust
2 c good quality chopped chocolate (I prefer dark)
12 oz evaporated milk
2 large eggs
3 springs of fresh rosemary (or you could sub mint leaves)
whipped cream for garnish

Prebake pie crust according to directions, be sure to prick the bottom so it doesn't raise up. Cool.

In saucepan, put milk and eggs, whisking together over medium heat. Stir in rosemary. Heat for 8-10 minutes occaisionaly stirring until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat, remove the rosemary and slowly add in the chocolate. Stir into the chocolate is melted and completely smooth. Pour into the crust and refrigerate until firm (at least a couple of hours). Serve with whipped cream and a rosemary sprig. :)

Sweet Potatoes are....Wait for It...Potatoes

2011-09-05T15:25:00.003-04:00

Happy Labor Day! Here are some of the fruits, well vegetables, of my labor this summer. I've never grown sweet potatoes and they were surprisingly easy. That is, once I figured out where to find them!

Lest you think I know a lot about gardening, let me prove you wrong. I had one of those really stupid moments and my friend Sandy was there to witness me, in all my moronic glory. She and I were out for dinner one night and I was talking about my sweet potato vines. I relayed how healthy and vigorous the vines were, but every flower just seemed to fade out without producing any veggies! I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. She looked at me incredulously, as if I had suddenly grown two heads. She very quietly asked me if I looked under ground (I'm sure inside her head she added, "you idiot"). Slowly the light bulb came on...of course...sweet potatoes are POTATOES!! They grow under ground because they are a root vegetable, it says so right there in the name. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I knew this fact, but not ever having grown them and having all my OTHER veggies above ground, I lost sight of this very important bit of information.

Sure enough, I went home and looked at the ground around my vines, instead of gazing at the green plants. It was practically exploding with potatoes. How could I have missed this??!! I carefully dig them up and was rewarded with some "big 'ol whoppers" as my three year old says. They are monstrous! As a thank you to my dear friend for not rapping me on the head in the middle of dinner, I gave her some sweet potatoes straight out of the ground, dirt and all. :)

Tomatoes!!

2011-08-24T21:40:00.000-04:00

We had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year. I was pretty consistent with the watering and I think that really helped. Last year I was too hot and hugely pregnant to go out and even turn on the hose, so we didn't get that many. This year we have eaten tomatoes, given them away, frozen them and feed the rejects to the dastardly chickens (lest you thought I was too mean last post).

This year we grew large tomatoes like Better Boy, roma tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. One of the plants we put in was a little whim. I just happened to be in Home Depot and picked up an orange cherry tomato plant. This turned out to be a VERY happy decision. They were the sweetest little things, like popping candy. I took a photo of the tag and I highly recommend getting this plant next year. I know I will be planting it again!

Be sure to try out what I like to call "Summer on a Fork" salad, Caprese Salad Appetizers or maybe Creamy Tomato Dip with the end of summer's bounty before it's gone.

Chickens are NOT Good Gardeners

2011-08-20T21:45:00.002-04:00

The girls are making me crazy and I think the feeling is mutual. I refuse to let them out of their coop right now because every time I do, this is what happens....

And they don't even eat the whole thing! Who do they think they are??!! I planted those seeds, watered them and fertilized them. All of sudden, I've lost complete ownership rights?? When they started going after the tomatoes, it was the last straw. They are doing jail time until the garden peters out - with no chance of parole.

Sam's Club Winner

2011-08-20T21:38:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to Soccermom1 who won the Sam's Club gift card.

And thank you all for commenting. It's wonderful to know that you are out there. Sometimes in the blog world you begin to wonder if anyone is reading. Please, please leave me a comment from time to time, even if it's just to say "hi". I would really love to know what you think.

Sam's Club Gift Card Giveaway - Again!!

2011-08-17T13:56:00.000-04:00

Closed - winner soccermom1

My first Sam's Club giveaway went so well, I am doing it again! Now is a great time to shop at Sam's since they have a ton of products with Box Tops on them. Get money for your school all while enjoying Cheerios or Nature Valley granola bars.

We shop at Sam's Club for all kinds of things. I've tried the competitors and didn't like them for one reason or another. I love that at Sam's we have a business membership and I can go as early as 7am before the regular crowd. We purchase flour (which apparently makes a good nap place), chicken breasts, ground beef, raisins, laundry detergent, dish washer soap, diapers, paper towels, tp, tissues, peanut butter, batteries, and other random items. I also usually purchase gas when we go, since it's a few cents cheaper. I want to share the Sam's love.

I'm thrilled to let you know Sam's Club and General Mills (through My Blog Spark) have given me a $25 gift certificate to giveaway to one lucky reader. You will need a membership at Sams. All you have to do is leave a comment at the bottom of this post (if you get my emails or on Facebook, you need to go to post on the web). One lucky winner will be chosen Friday night (Aug 19th) at midnight.

You can have up multiple chances to win! Please leave separate comments for EACH entry and be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. All of them are easy…you ready?…

•Simply leave a comment with what you buy at Sam's on this post (on the blog, not on facebook)

•Share this post on Facebook by hitting the FB button at the bottom of the post
•Follow Chickenville on Google Friend Connect – be sure to leave your GFC name.
•Subscribe to Chickenville by RSS or Email
•Add a link to my blog on your site (in blog roll etc.)
•Add my blog button to your site
•Tweet this giveaway
Giveaway open to U.S. residents only. All entries must have a valid email in blog profile or leave email address in comments. This giveaway will close Friday Aug 19th at midnight.

"Ice Cream" Brownie Cones

2011-07-30T20:13:00.000-04:00

I saw something like these in Kroger one day and I figured I could make them for waaaay cheaper than the $2 per cone they were selling them for. I met the very nice to bakery lady and she gave me the real secret to making these work - brownies! I really figured they were cake pops (like an ice scoop of cake) but instead I learned they are bite sized brownies under that icing.

I went home and baked up brownies from a box mix in my mini muffin pan. You could also buy the bite sized brownies from Kroger. Whatever you make sure they are moist brownies, NOT overbaked. This helps the brownie squish into the ice cream cone.

If you make harder brownies, you might end up with this...

If you are gentle you should end up with little brownies stuffed into the tops of the ice cream cones.

Then you take the whole brownie/ cone contraption and carefully dip it into melted white candy. It's easiest to use the kind that's made for melting and dipping. Just keep it on low in a pan on the stove. After you dip the cone add your sprinkles and then a maraschino cherry on the top!

Ice Cream Brownie Cones

1 box of brownie mix

1 box of sugar cones

1 package of white melting candy

1 small jar of maraschino cherries, drained and dried on paper towels

sprinkles

Bake the brownies in a mini muffin pan. Do NOT overbake, underbake just by a few minutes. Let cool on wire racks. While the brownies are cooking, create a holder for the cones. I used an empty clothing gift box and then cut small squares into the box. It would have been even smarter if I lightly stuffed the box with tissue paper to give it more stability. Whatever you create, it needs to be able to hold the cones until they dry and it needs to be deep enough so the cones (which are top heavy) don't fall into each other or they will stick to each other.

Melt the candy according to the package instructions on the stovetop (not microwave). When the brownies are cool, carefully stuff them into the ice cream cones. Dip the brownie side of the cones into the melted candy. You may have to dip a couple of times to get a thick enough coating. After it looks covered, add the sprinkles and then add the cherry. Press down so the cherry will stick while the candy coating is still warm. Cool in your cone holder.

Serve and enjoy the smiles. Even the adults thought these were fun!

Baby Chicks!!

2011-07-24T15:50:00.003-04:00

We got some precious new baby chicks... in May. Yes, you read right, in May. Sometimes I just can't seem to find the time. I'm sure you know what I mean. I'm just now getting their baby pics up, but I will post current photos this week as well since they are practically teenagers now.

I finally convinced my darling husband to let me buy babies so I could get the specific breeds I wanted. I ordered two Americanas (the green/ blue egg layers like our Lady Liberty). I also ordered a Silver Laced Wyandotte, whom we've already christened Wendy. Lastly I ordered two Brahmas to replace my beloved Petunia who got to go to school. I am hoping they will grow up to be a sweet as their breed usually is. Anyone have any good ideas for names for these four?

This is their temporary home (it's a recycling bin) with a screen window on top. We set up food and water and little stick for a perch. The yellow one in front has a blue mark on her head because they are all yellow fuzz until they get big girl feathers and they look just like leghorns. The breeders mark the Brahmas with temporary dye. The other two are the Americanas.

Turns out the babies already know how to take dust baths! We let them out into the freshly tilled garden and they had a blast just kicking up dirt. The black one on the left is Wendy the Wyandotte.

Ahhh, nothing like a good clean spray of dirt!

The kids were fascinated with the babies and how self sufficient they are, especially in comparison to their baby sister.

Henderson's Chicken Chart is a great list of all the breeds and their egg colors.

Burrito Bowl

2011-07-20T16:10:00.001-04:00

This is one of my favorite summer recipes. It doesn't require heating up the oven or too much cooking at all, when I often find my kitchen motivation waning since it's just TOO hot.

If you've ever been to Chipotle, you've heard of a burrito bowl. We have some friends who moved to Australia (the ones I made the Pavlova for, which is another amazing summer recipe) who introduced us to Chipotle. I figured for a fraction of the cost, I could make something like their burrito bowl at home.

Burrito Bowl

(this is one of those recipes where "exact" doesn't enter the picture)

steamed rice
black beans
chopped lettuce
chopped tomatoes
chopped avocado
shredded cheddar cheese
chopped black olives
sour cream
The only cooking part of this recipe is the black beans. I rinse out the can of beans and dump them into a pot. I add salt, pepper, cilantro, minced onion and minced garlic. Give it a big stir and add olive oil and some chicken stock. Let these simmer on the stove for 30-60 minutes.

When ready to serve you can use my taco/ oatmeal trick or plate them up yourself. Start with the rice and then beans. Add all of the other toppings as you like. You can "mix, mix, mix" like Bee Bim Bop or just enjoy the randomness of what appears on your forkfull.

Father's Day Easy Last Minute Photo Banner

2011-06-15T15:52:00.002-04:00

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful Husband AND my amazing Dad. I am very lucky to have two great guys in my life. Ironically enough, they have a lot in common. Both snore loudly, both have been in the real estate business, both know how to fix cars, both are infuriating at times, and both love good food!

For Father's Day last year I made this super cute banner as a surprise for my husband (next year I need to add photos with the baby). I first saw this idea at my friend Ann's house a few years back and knew I wanted to make it, so cute! It took no time at all since I didn't make fancy letters and I had all of the stuff laying around. You could make it for any occasion...Happy Birthday, Congratulations, Welcome Home, etc.

Here is what you need:

at least 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper in any color(s)
black or dark marker, thick ones do best
approximately 4 feet of ribbon, string or fishing line
clothes pins (or tape in a pinch will work), one for each letter of your message
camera
kids

First draw out all of the letters in your message or print on the computer one letter to a page. Write down your message and mark them off so you don't forget something (like I did with my 'S).

Then get the kids in front of a simple monochromatic background and one by one have them hold up the letters. It doesn't matter if they are upside down or sideways, in fact it's cuter. Tell them they can make silly faces on some, that keeps them interested.

Take several shots because, hey it's digital and you never know which is going to be the best. Print out your photos at home or a photo kiosk on 4x6 sized paper. Then put your photos in order and hang them on your ribbon with the clothespins. Start with the middle letter so you can evenly space the letters. Hang your masterpiece in a great location for your recipient to enjoy!!

Happy Anniversary to Me

2011-06-14T15:48:00.000-04:00

In honor of my darling husband, since we are celebrating nine wonderful married years together today, I have updated my "About Me" page with all of the delicious details he said I should share with you. I told him no one would be interested, but he assures me you want to know. After nine years I have learned sometimes he might be right.

Mocha Cake with Almond Buttercream Icing

2011-06-13T22:11:00.001-04:00

A sweet friend of mine was turning 40 and I just HAD to bring her a cake. She loves coffee, so I decided to make a mocha cake. Since I decided all of this on the spur of the moment, I had to wing it on the recipe. She insisted I share the recipe, which I don't have since I made it up (which she doesn't believe, but it's the truth). So here is my best recollection.

Start with a chocolate cake: one from a box or my buttermilk chocolate recipe here. Bake the cake as directed and let cool. Make a simple syrup (basically liquid and water in some fashion). I used brewed espresso and regular sugar. Since I didn't measure I'm guessing about 1/8 c of espresso and 1/4 c sugar. You could use coffee and honey, strong kool aid, orange juice concentrate, even coke. Whatever you choose it should be thick and almost syrupy. This means you need to add enough sugar to make it thick or boil off some of the water (ie: put the liquid and sweetener in a pot and bring it to a boil. Let it continue boiling until the steam carries off enough of the water to thicken the liquid).

I poked some holes in the chocolate cake with a knife to let the syrup really sink in. Then poured a small amount of the super sweet espresso over the top of the chocolate cake. It's really important not to use too much of the liquid or you end up with more of a trifle or tres leches cake (ie. wet cake). You just want to flavor the cake, not drown it. If you pour too much, you can always mop some up with a paper towel (I learned this the hard way).

For this mocha birthday cake I frosted it with an almond buttercream. I always make my own icing because it is seriously way better than store bought. Do you know what is in canned icing or the kind that comes on grocery store cakes? It's shortening, solid vegetable oil, no taste only fat. I figure if you are going for a treat (and icing really is a treat) you might as well enjoy the taste. You could you only butter, but then you run the risk of a melted cake look, much like the Amazing Fresh Strawberry Cake. The best idea is to create an icing that doesn't melt in a warm room like butter tends to do. In my opinion, the best icing combines the wonderful taste of butter with the stability of shortening. This is the icing recipe I like most.

I didn't get a photo of this cake {I made it again and took a photo this time!} since I was driving the kids somewhere that night and barely finished frosting it in time. I love cramming in baking between real life. It's a little escape for me. If only there weren't so many calories to escape from!

Update...Measurements:

1/2 c strong coffee
1/2 c cup sugar

Combine the two in a saucepan and heat in a low simmer for 15-20 minutes. Cool and then carefully spoon over the cake layers. I saved some of the syrup to sprinkle on the top of the cake. You could also garnish with coffee beans or chocolate shavings.

Baby Food Photo Tutorial

2011-05-14T20:47:00.001-04:00

Last month my littlest one was 6 months old. In our house that means time for baby food and big messes. Oh, how I am going to miss having a dog with #4 baby. My dog was great for cleaning up all kinds of baby messes, even jumping up to get into the nooks and crannies of the highchair. I miss that Khaki dog. Somehow, using the Swiffer is just not the same.

At one time of another each of the big kids have helped me make baby food for their siblings. The main reason I make baby food is cost. Those little jars are expensive. I do buy some jars to have on hand for travel, so we have a plenty of choices. Some of the easiest foods to make are sweet potatoes, apples, pears, winter squashes, and broccoli. The simplest foods to serve are bananas and avocado which just require a little mashing straight out of the peel. Those last two are great foods to start with tiny chunks since they are mushy when really ripe. I love this stage in life and really enjoy introducing new things to our babies. (This goes back to teaching kids to eat everything at a early age.) You should use common sense and introduce one thing at a time to watch for allergic reactions especially if they run in your family. Once you get going it is great fun to see their enjoyment of all kinds of foods. I recently gave the baby couscous, hummus, pumpkin straight out of the can and eggplant dip.

So how do you turn this...

into this?

It takes a little of this...

Making baby food is pretty easy, not as easy as buying it from the store, but it's definitely a WHOLE lot cheaper. It also becomes a lesson in serving others as my big kids each made baby food for their baby siblings. For the first two kids I did this all in the food processor, which is great, but you can only do small batches at a time. See there is this "max liquid level" mark on the side of the processor, which I figured was a suggestion, a guide, something along the lines of . Boy was I wrong! This is one of those warnings that actually means what it says. If you fill your food processor with anything liquid-y you are gonna have a mess! The goop will come down the middle whole and seep all over the processor base creating a lovely disaster to clean up. Incidentally this is why I went to an immersion blender to make soups.

When I was pregnant with kid #3 I decided to get a food mill. Perfect for making homemade applesauce, tomato sauce and...you guessed it, baby food. This little beauty grinds everything down to a smooth or pulpy sauce, depending on what set of holes you use. With this thing you can put in the peels and all instead of sliding them off the hot fruit or veggies. And the chickens went CRAZY with the solids leftover (composting would also be great). They were chasing each other around for the choice pieces of mash!

First you start with cooking the food. After you have boiled or steamed in the microwave or on the stovetop, save some of the leftover water. You can use this "sterilized" water to add to your solids to make them more watery and easier for baby. You can always thicken baby food (this goes for jarred too) with baby cereals when they are ready for thicker.

After your vegetable or fruit is cooked, you put it the food mill and give it a whirl until you get the "mash" below in a bowl. OR you put it through the food processor, paying careful attention to that maximum liquid fill line.

If you need to add a little of the cooking water to the bowl, this is when you do it. Then carefully pour the mash into ice cube trays, which you can get at the dollar store. Pop this babies into the freezer until they are rock hard (overnight is easiest).

Then twist the cubes out into ziplock freezer bags or a Vac n Seal bag for longer term storage. The great thing about doing the cubes, is being able to take out and defrost just what you need. Be sure to write on the bag what food it is and when you made it since apples look like pears and peaches look like sweet potatoes.

Here are the steps reviewed in photos with sweet potatoes. Cook it...

Mash it.

Pour it.

Freeze it.

Store it. (Can you tell I just read "Snug House Bug House" tonight?)

Save yourself some money and make a few of the easiest foods. Before you know it your little darling will be eating pureed roasted beets with lentils beans too! See my previous post on baby food for a great book with a helpful chart on when to introduce which foods.

Marching Band Birthday Party

2011-05-05T21:49:00.000-04:00

Where do they get their ideas? I've often wondered where my kids come up with some of their crazy ideas. I asked my soon-to-be three year old what kind of birthday party he wanted. His initial request was a "motorcycle party", but I nixed that one pretty quickly. We seriously don't need anymore motorized vehicles in our house! I also don't want to encourage the same kid who's been known to walk off with the keys and even once attempted to put them in the ignition! He's a little unpredictable. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when he next requested a "marching band birthday party". Ummm, okay, where do I go with this one? Course the more I thought about it, the more I figured we could really pull this off. It would be loud, it would be obnoxious, but it would be a ton of fun. I know my Sausage Boy is OBSESSED with musical instruments, especially trumpets, so why not cater to that obsession (at least it wouldn't bring more trucks into the house like last year's Truck Stop party).

The first order of business was to get their uniforms made. We used masking tape to tape a diagonal stripe on each kids' shirt for their uniform as they arrived. We had a craft set up right away to keep their interest. Each got to decorate a flat piece of posterboard with markers and pom poms which we then turned into marching band hats by stapling them into a cone and taping on a brim (a small wedge shaped cut out of the posterboard). The kids loved these outrageously tall hats and immediately started marching around. We had all of our musical instruments around the house for their marching pleasure. We also had beans and random empty containers to make shakers which they loved. I had a stash of paper plates and jingle bells to make tambourines, but the boys quickly lost interest in the crafts part and were ready for snack.

Food fit for a marching band: snacks and freshly popped pop corn from the Whirley pop, dried fruit trail mix, baby carrots, strawberries with fresh whipped cream, and drum stick pretzels (pretzel rods dipped in chocolate).

A marching band party calls for a cool marching cake. I decided a drum would be the easiest cake to make. I layered three 8" circle pans to create an extra tall cake. Then I frosted it in bright colors of blue, green and white. I added fruity Twizzlers around the sides for the supports of the drum. It was a colorful take on the traditional drum, perfect for a kid's party.

It was LOUD, it was wild, but it was great fun. I'm actually a little sad birthday season is over around our house until fall.

Cardamom Bread Wreath

2011-04-20T20:42:00.001-04:00

Fabulous bread for Easter morning (or any other special morning). It's subtlety flavored with cardamom and covered in glaze. The braid looks beautiful and oh so complicated, but it's just as easy as braiding hair. You will look like Martha while being as serene as Mary (Luke 10:38-42), able to sit at the feet of Jesus and worship with joy this Easter.

Cardamom Wreath

2 packages yeast
1/3 c warm water
1/2 c soft butter
3/4 c sugar
3 eggs
12 oz (1 can) evaporated milk
1/4 c sour cream
1 tbsp grated orange peel
2 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp salt
7 - 7 1/2 flour
1 c powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla or almond flavoring

Proof your yeast by sprinkling it over the warm water in the measuring cup and let sit until foamy. In large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, milk, yeast and water, sour cream, orange peel, cardamom and salt. Mix well. Beat in 7 cups of flour to form a soft dough. At this point you can knead by hand or switch to a dough hook. Knead about 6 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding only small amounts of flour to keep it from sticking. Place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.

Punch down dough, let it sit (rest) for about 30 minutes. Then divide into 6 portions. Shape each portion into a 24" long rope. Please three of the ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid into one long rope. Then shape the straight rope into a circle, pinching the ends together to form one continuous ring. Cover again and let rise about 45 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Combine milk, powdered sugar and vanilla in small bowl. Whisk until smooth and pour over wreath after it's cooled completely.

This recipe makes two loaves, one to keep and one to share with a neighbor along with the Good News of Easter morning: Jesus died and rose again so that our sins would be forgiven, allowing us to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Other Easter items you might also be interested in: a Spring Table Setting, a Sedar Plate meal, or this lamb "tracing" cake.

Easter Granola Bar Nests

2011-04-14T21:23:00.002-04:00

These fun Easter nests are perfect for a snack. In our preschool, everything has to be healthy which I love, but it means no cute iced cookies for the Easter party. :( I had to come up with something else. Hummmm, what to make? Ah-ha, we love granola bars! This recipe tastes like a Quaker oatmeal breakfast bar, so perfect for those who like a chewy taste. If you like a sweeter granola bar, pick this one. I usually bake a 9x13 pan or sometimes in muffin cups. Then I put plastic wrap on each one, throw them into a rubbermaid container and into the freezer. Whenever we need a to go snack or a lunch box filler, pop one in, already wrapped!

For the Easter celebration, I decied to make the granola "rounds" and make them into nests. If you want to make nests, you just depress the middle to create a dent before the "round" cools off. Since I couldn't fill it with jelly beans or my personal favorite Easter candy, Cadbury Mini Eggs, I filled them with yogurt covered raisins (strawberry and vanilla flavored). We got to talk about the perfect egg and how perfect Jesus is! We talked about new birth and Jesus' resurrection. It was a great snack for our Easter celebration.

Chewy Granola Bars

2c oats
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c wheat germ (in the cereal isle in a jar)
1/2 raisins, optional
2 eggs
1/3 c melted butter
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine oatmeal, sugar, wheat germ and raisins in a large bowl. Combine eggs, butter and vanilla in a small bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Press into a greased muffin pan or for bars, press into a greased 9x13 pan.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. For nest, press the center down while still warm. For bars, cool 10 minutes and then cut while still warm. Store in airtight container.

When I served the nests to the preschoolers we added another cute idea: "sunny side up eggs". This was something I saw as an April Fool's joke, but it works for Easter too. It's vanilla yogurt pooled on a plate with a dried apricot in the center...it tricked the kids and they got a giggle! I had to do something funny since we celebrated on April Fools Day!!

Fun Tissue Paper Pom Poms

2011-04-13T11:57:00.000-04:00

I saw these great looking pom poms in Martha Stewart Living magazine and knew I wanted to make them for our playroom. They were super easy and really took no time to make. I do recommend using heavy duty tissue paper and not the cheapy thin kind. That way when you pull the layers apart - very gently - you don't rip the tissue and they also look fuller. You also need scissors and a little bit of thin floral wire

I made another one in red for the boys room because they turned out so cute. I hung the ones in the playroom along with a lime paper lantern I got from Hobby Lobby using fishing line so you wouldn't see it. You could also use ribbon to hang them. After a friend of mine saw these, she went and made pink and white ones for her baby girl's nursery, which looked fantastic.

Here are the step-by-step directions from Martha. I've also included my two cents from my experience.

Step 1

Stack eight 20-by-30-inch sheets of tissue. Make 1 1/2-inch-wide accordion folds, creasing with each fold.

Step 2

Fold an 18-inch piece of floral wire in half, and slip over center of folded tissue; twist. Also, I wasn't the most perfect folder, so my ends when folded looked more ragged than this photo, but it doesn't really matter due to the trimming you do next. With scissors, trim ends of tissue into rounded or pointy shapes. My orange pom pom is trimmed with rounded edges and my yellow one is trimmed with pointed ends to give you an idea of the difference.

Step 3

Separate layers, pulling away from center one at a time. I can't stress this enough, this is the most time consuming part of the project. You must be GENTLE and slow when pulling the layers apart. You should also pull them apart all the way to the center where the wire is. This will give it fullness and body.

Step 4

You should now have a fluffy ball of tissue (see photo above to make flat one sided for flowers). Bend wire into a loop and twist to secure. This will hold the hanging filament or ribbon.

I hung mine with fishing line so you couldn't see it. They are a perfect, fun, inexpensive and easy decoration for just about anywhere. You could use them for a birthday party or baby shower.

Sauteed Swiss Chard - Enjoying Your Greens

2011-03-16T22:18:00.000-04:00

Happy St Patrick's Day. Looking for a fun way to acknowledge this holiday even if you aren't Irish? I've got a couple of ideas for you.

You could always whip up this easy Pot Of Gold cake for dessert fun or create a leprechaun catcher from your recycling bin. In our family the leprechauns usually make a mess of things and turn our milk green!

I'm a big fan of cabbage, but maybe you want to try something a little different and still green for dinner. Swiss chard is an amazing green that's available right now in your grocery. The most common variety you see has brilliant red stalks (but it can come in yellow, white and pink) with dark green leaves. It's loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber. Eaten raw, it's pretty bitter, but sauteed it's yummy. This is my favorite recipe. And yes, the photo above IS mac and cheese from a box. You gotta have the Blue Box sometimes!

Sauteed Swiss Chard
olive oil
1 bunch of chard, stems trimmed off
1/2 sm onion, diced
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 c raisins
1/4 c pine nuts, toasted (optional)

First you need to trim the chard. Slice off the large stems and chop the stems up. Slice the leaves into large strips.

In a large skillet or wide bottomed pot with a cover, heat the oil. Add the onion, and chopped chard stalks. Sprinkle the whole lot with the paprika. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent (a couple of minutes).

Then add the chard leaves and raisins. This giant pile, will reduce down quickly as the chard cooks. Cover the skillet and let cook for around 6 minutes, stirring a couple of times.

Serve the chard with the pine nuts sprinkled over the top if desired. The mix of the sweet raisin, crunchy pine nuts and delicious chard put this dish in a class by itself.

Flower Birthday Party

2011-03-03T21:01:00.000-05:00

My precious 5 year old wanted a "Flower Birthday Party" in the middle of the winter! Talk about taxing my brain. I figured there was no way I was going to buy hot house flowers and I don't have anything blooming in the yard, so this was going to be a faux flower party all the way. I knew I needed to make things simple since I'm still in a waking-in-the-middle of the night to feed the baby fog.

The first thing we decided on was this cute craft from Family Fun. It came all in a kit that was clearanced after Christmas. They are flower fairies! You use pipe cleaners, a wooden bead, embroidery floss and silk flowers to make them.

My sweet friend, Liz, colored all the faces ahead of time so all the girls had to do was assemble them. One pipe cleaner folded in half to make the body and legs. Thread the pipe cleaner through the bead and attach the "hair" in place in the top loop before you pull it all the way down tight against the bead. Use a whole skein of floss and then cut the looped ends once you get it attached. Twist the body together in the middle under the bead. Use a second pipe cleaner cut in half to make the arms. Just wrap them around the "body" right under the head bead. Optional, use another pipe cleaner (sparkly white was the favorite here) to create wings, aka loops around the body. Pull on her skirt of a couple of silk flower petals, then twist her legs to keep everything in place. Precious!

Course I also made a flower cake. I wanted to make this one large flower in pink, but Banana Girl would hear none of that. She wanted day-glo colors and "a lot of flowers". It almost looked like a came from a bakery, which frightens me since I don't like that look, but it made her happy.

We also made flower rings and pins. I just bought a couple of bunches of silk flowers. Then I took them apart by pulling them off the plastic stems. I got a package of ring bases and pin backers from Hobby Lobby. We let the girls pick their flowers and then I hot glued them to the bases and backers. I loved the pins! I even wore mine to church the next day it's so cute. Banana Girl wore her yellow one with a green pom pom in the middle for days.

The craft that really won over the adults and kids alike was the coffee filter flowers. These are great for any age, even my two year old made some.

Coffee Filter Flowers

flat bottomed white coffee filters
washable markers
a spray mister bottle filled with water
pipe cleaners

Have kids color the filers any which was they want with really any colors, although you might want to take the black and brown markers out of their selection.

After they have colored the filter, spray it with water. A little water and you'll see the coloring lines a lot of water and they will all blur together in a beautiful watercolor. The one below was colored with purple and blue marker.

Let the filters dry which doesn't take long in a warm sunny area. Then bunch up the filter and attach a pipe cleaner to the middle underneath to make a stem.

These come out really pretty no matter the artists abilities, which is good because I'm NO artist! We have used the finished flowers as Mother's Day presents for Grandma, attached them to a teacher card and given them to neighbors as a get-well present. Really anytime you would send real flowers, you can whip these up with the help of your kids. Who knew flowers were so affordable even in the dead of winter!

Peanut Butter, Apple and Bacon Sandwiches

2011-02-23T22:20:00.000-05:00

The first time I saw this recipe, I was not to sure. I mean, it sounds like something Elvis would eat. But I was a little intrigued and I like to try new things. I also like to get my kids out of their pb and j rut every once in a while. Ever add bananas, cinnamon, apples, or shredded carrots to their normal pbandj? Sometimes we eat them on bagels, raisin bread, Hawaiian rolls, pita, or even rice cakes. So, in our house, unusual is good and celebrated. But this sandwich was strange even by our standards (someday I'll share the craziest sandwich recipe of all with you. We use it to haze and thereby induct in-laws into our family).

Anyway, I made this delicious sandwich one day and we all loved it! Well not the hubby, he thought it was a little too far fetched for his taste. I think I liked it because it was creamy with the peanut butter, crunchy with the apples, and salty with the bacon. I culinary trifecta! Try it for your next lunch - I dare you.

PB, Apple and Bacon Sandwiches

margarine

wheat bread

peanut butter

tart crisp apples, thinly sliced

cooked bacon, preferably applewood smoked

dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

lettuce

I like to cook my grilled sandwiches in my cast iron skillet, but whatever pan you start with, heat it up. The rule in the pro kitchen is.. "the pan waits on you, you never wait on the pan". So put your skillet on a med heat.

Spread peanut butter on one slice of bread. Sprinkle a little of the cayenne pepper on if you want some heat. Layer the bacon strips on top. Close the sandwich together and spread the top with some margarine. Place in the skillet, buttered side down. Carefully spread some margarine on the top of the sandwich while it's cooking in the skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown and crispy on each side. After you get it out of the skillet, carefully pull it apart and insert the apple and lettuce.

It sounds crazy, it looks strange, but it tastes wonderful!

Cupcakes - A Reason to Celebrate!!

2011-02-19T21:17:00.001-05:00

Cupcakes! They are such fun and the perfect way to celebrate any occasion. Since I'm celebrating my 40th *gasp* birthday tomorrow, I wanted to share these little beauties as a way to celebrate with you all. I actually made them for my Grandmother's 90th birthday party! She is an amazing lady with so many friends I had to make 96 cupcakes for her party. I only hope in 50 years I have that many friends to celebrate with. You rock Gran Gran!!

Here's how you take a plain little old cupcake from a box mix and turn it into a presentation worthy treat.

First off bake, your cupcakes adding a little of this or that to change the basic cake mix if you like. For instance I added some ginger spice and a orange juice instead of water to this vanilla cake mix. When you fill your cupcake liners with batter, aim for about 3/4 full in the muffin tin. This will give you a cupcake that sits even with the liner and avoids the muffin top. (Dreaded words for cupcakes and moms everywhere!) After you bake them, let the little cakes cool completely. While you are waiting, whip up some buttercream icing (or open a can of icing from the store). Again, here you can go crazy, change the flavor to suit whatever your cupcake flavor is.

Buttercream Icing

Makes 3 cups

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1 stick soft butter
1 tsp vanilla extract (or other flavor)
4 c sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tbsp milk

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

If you want color, tint your icing with solid paste food coloring so it doesn't make the icing runny. To make the cupcakes look professional, you want a number 1M piping tip. Put that tip in a piping bag or cut off the corner of a ziplock baggie and stick the tip in the baggie. Then fill it with some icing. Squeeze out the icing in a swirl design on top of the cupcake. Be sure to leave some cake showing so people get an idea what flavor it is.

Looks good - right? But if you want to really take it over the top you need one more step. This is where the real magic happens. It's jewelry for cupcakes. You can pick almost anything that compliments the flavors you've chosen. Sprinkles, chocolate shavings, pulverized nuts, granulated sugar, a dusting of cocoa powder, anything small to sprinkle over the folds of the icing. Then you need the crowning glory, a small piece of something to set on the top.

On my orange-ginger cupcakes, I've used pearlized sprinkles with a small piece of ginger set on the top. In the background of the photo above, on my chocolate-almond cupcakes, I've used chocolate shavings with slivered almonds set in the top. Below on carrot cupcakes, I've used vanilla beans in the icing and a shaving of carrot on the top. Use your imagination. For Easter you could use jelly beans on the top or how about a big old peep sitting nestled in the icing? After all it's only a little cupcake...enjoy!!

Publix Gift Card Giveaway

2011-02-07T21:24:00.005-05:00

CLOSED - winner Alana G. Congratulations!!

I really love shopping at Publix, it is a pleasure. I have to say, I go where the deals are, but when they are Publix I'm very happy. They are nice to my kids and always help me out to the car. The stores and clean and well stocked. Their produce is wonderful. I also love the discounts I get with their two clubs. One is for baby's (Baby Club) and the other for preschoolers (Preschooler Club). If you haven't signed up, you really should. They send all kinds of great coupons and fun things for the kids. Just yesterday Sausage Boy got a birthday card in the mail from the Preschool Pals Club - how cute is that?

I want to share the Publix love for Valentine's Day. I'm thrilled to let you know Publix (through My Blog Spark.com) have given me a $25 gift certificate to giveaway to one lucky reader. You can have up multiple chances to win! Please leave separate comments for EACH entry and be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. All of them are easy…you ready?…

•Simply leave a comment on this post (on the blog, not on facebook)

•Share this post on Facebook by hitting the FB button at the bottom of the post
•Follow Chickenville on Google Friend Connect – be sure to leave your GFC name.
•Subscribe to Chickenville by RSS or Email
•Add a link to our blog on your site (in blog roll etc.)
•Add our blog button to your site
•Tweet this giveaway with button on bottom of post

Giveaway open to U.S. residents only. All entries must have a valid email in blog profile or leave email address in comments. This giveaway will close Sunday Feb 13th at midnight, in time for purchasing a romantic Valentine's Dinner for two!

The winners will be chosen by random.org and notified by email.

Valentine's Day Fun Wreaths

2011-02-03T16:46:00.003-05:00

This beautiful wreath is insanely easy and very inexpensive to make. It's the perfect Valentine's Day decoration for an indoor spot. And you'll never guess what it's made with....cupcake liners!

A friend of mine (who puts herself firmly in the "not crafty" camp) asked me if I could help walk her through making one. She saw it on Tatertots and Jello. We made our wreaths the other night and it only took about 1 hour of work, which was really spent chatting and laughing. ANYONE, and I really do mean it this time...anyone can do this super cute craft.

Materials:

cupcake liners, mine were patterned, but you could use any solid color
a foam wreath form, mine was 18" and I used around 150 liners, but my friends made 8" wreaths and they used around 50 liners
ribbon
hot glue gun

First you need to wrap the wreath form with the ribbon. I overlapped a satiny hot pink color on mine and sealed the end with a dab of hot glue. Then you need to put a dot of hot glue on the top of the wreath. Scrunch up the bottom of a cupcake liner and press it carefully into the hot glue (warning: insert burn liability waiver here and best medicine for burns).

After it cools just a second, you can move to the next section. Working in sections ensures the liner has a chance to harden before you add more hot glue and loosen all your work. See the photo below, I have started in different places to give it a chance to cool. Then I went back around again and again, each time adding another liner to my original.

Finally filling in all the gaps and ending up with magical fluffiness!

After I filled in the whole top of the wreath, I flipped it over and checked to make sure I had filled it out far enough over the edges. You could fill in the sides if you like a fuller looking wreath.

Then I hot glued a patterned ribbon to the back. My friends each attached their ribbon differently. I think the smaller wreaths could just use a strip of ribbon or a small loop.

Ta-dah! Now the only problem is my 5 year old wants the wreath in her room because it is cute pink and fluffy.

This is the other wreath I made this year was during our big snow. I had a ton of leftover candy canes from Christmas. {I buy them when they go on sale after Christmas because my animal loving husband takes them to the horses. Apparently horses like peppermints - who knew?}

I saw a cute candy cane lollipop idea in Family Fun Magazine and decided you could make this into a wreath. I hot glued the candy canes and added a centerpiece of chipboard and a felt flower. It's very fragile, but the canes are still in their wrappers so if they break, at least the decoration will still hold together. A friend who saw it jokingly said I could use it for Christmas and just leave it up for three months. Now that's what I call multipurpose.

Amazing Three Onion Soup

2011-02-01T20:22:00.000-05:00

I'm a huge fan of soup. I really only started making my own in the past two years. I learned a ton from the Salud Cooking School and by trial and error. I learned quickly it's all about the base stock. You can't start from watery broth and expect it to turn heads. Most soups I make don't take very long, they are fast and warm and often creamy like Pumpkin soup and Corn Chowder. This one is clear beef broth based and takes a little while to make, but it's ohhhh so worth it. You can even take it over the top and serve it like french onion soup with a little piece of toasted bread and a sprinkle of cheese. This recipe makes a ton of soup, but then you can easily freeze the extras for another day without any of the work!

Three Onion Soup

(makes 10 c of soup, can be easily halved)

2 tbsp butter

5 large Vidalia onions

2 red onions

1 bunch green onions

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 c brandy

1 c sherry

8 c beef stock

2 tsp minced thyme

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper

french bread, thinly sliced

white cheese slices: monterey jack, provolone, muenster, or swiss (don't use cheddar)

Slice onions into thin strips and chop green onions. Melt butter over med heat in large dutch oven, add onions. Cook onions until browned and sticky. You will have to stir your pot from time to time to keep the onions from burning and rotate them around in the pot as they cook. This will take a good 20-30 minutes. You don't want to rush this step because browning the onions is what brings out their flavor and makes for the best soup. Once they are browned, add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes.

Add brandy and sherry (you may be tempted to skip these, but they add so much flavor and all the alcohol will be cooked out). Add beef stock and seasonings. Bring the whole mess to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Take a little taste, it may need more salt and pepper depending on your stock and I usually add a tablespoon of sugar at this time for a little sweetness.

Toast your bread slices very crispy to create a crostini. Pour the steaming hot soup into a bowl and float a crostini on top. Add a slice of cheese. If you want it more melted, pop it in the microwave for a few seconds (real restaurants will put the bowl of soup under a broiler to brown it, but I don't have any super cool oven proof serving bowls.)

Baby Love: Custom DIY Car Seat Cover

2011-01-28T22:22:00.012-05:00

{This post is a continuation of the series titled Baby Love. If you came for the food, I'll be back to that in February.}

People often ask me about this carseat cover. Our firstborn is a boy. When I found out our second child was a girl, I didn't want to purchase another carseat, but I did want to "glam it up" a little from the original Graco Snugride Infant seat cover.

The Original Carseat Cover Pattern

I looked online for carseat covers and promptly passed out from sticker shock! Wow, those things are expensive, like two hundred dollars expensive! I knew I could make some MUCH cheaper, even if it wasn't as fancy as what I saw online. My incredibly talented Mom agreed to come over and help so I wasn't completely on my own.

Turned out this project was really easy and even with my entry level sewing skills I was able to make something that looks really nice. I started out by taking the carseat to a fabric store. I picked out a pattern that would go with the hood because I wasn't going to recover that. I also knew I needed a heavier weight fabric since it would be subject to a lot of use. Lastly, it had to be washable because babies leak out of all kinds of places. I picked the satiny butterfly fabric that worked really well, except if anything with velcro got attached to it like a bib, then it pulled the fabric. Even still, it was a great choice. For #3 child I made another cover in this cute dino pattern.

Dinosaur Pattern Cover

Sewing a Car Seat Decorative Cover

Lay the fabric in the seat to figure out how much fabric you need to buy (yes, very scientific). Be sure to account for a seam allowance (the part you are going to fold over and sew on the edge). Make sure you cover all of the old carseat cover when you are measuring because you are going to leave that on underneath the new cover you are making. Yours is only cosmetic, the original is still needed for padding.

the original cover stays underneath your custom cover

be sure you don't cover the seat release for the base

At home lay the fabric in the carseat again and cut away any huge excess that hangs way over, err on the side of leaving too much if you are unsure. After you have the rough shape, lay it flat and cut the whole thing more or less symmetrical. Then fold over a small edge (1/4 of an inch) and iron it to hold the fold in place. Fold that edge over again to make a larger seam, about 1 1/2 inches deep to make a casement (a long pocket). This fold needs to be pinned in place and ironed. Put the cover back in the carseat to make sure everything fits, then sew the seam, starting and ending in the bottom middle of the cover (right where your darling baby's little legs rest). You must leave this opening so you can thread elastic through to get the cover to stay on with elastic.

tie the elastic into a knot

Using 1/2" wide flat elastic, put a safety pin in one end to aid in threading it through. Just kept working the pin through the seam pocket around the perimeter of the cover. Kind of like when you lose the string on a pair of sweatpants.

After it is all threaded put the cover on the carseat again so you could mark the places to make holes for the straps. Be sure to smooth the fabric and fold it over where there is excess. Using a fabric pencil or washable marker, mark where each of the holes are for the five point harness to come through. That means you are making a minimum of 5 marks. Two where the straps come over the shoulders, two where the straps enter back through the seat near the bottom and one for the strap between their legs. I also had to make a hole where the adjustment strap comes out to tighten and loosen the harness. After you mark these, actually measure the real holes in the original cover so you are sure to make them long enough. You don't want anything impeding the safety of the seat.

button hole for straps to come through

To make the holes, you need to use a button hole feature on your sewing machine. I had never done this and had to read the direction that came with my machine. It was actually really easy and the machine does the work. After you create your "button" aka strap holes, you cut them open. Then you are ready to actually put the cover on. Once you get all the straps threaded through you need to tighten the elastic so the cover stays in place. Just tie it at the bottom and tuck the extra under the cover, making it easy to take off if you need to.

underside of carseat with elastic showing

tuck the elastic under the cover to hide it

And there you have it - a brand new look for your precious cargo!

Baby Love: Parenting Books

2011-01-24T21:03:00.001-05:00

There are some wonderful books on parenting out there. The "What to Expect" series has great info for pregnancy and beyond. Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes..in You and Your Kids is great for tips on getting through the bad stuff. Parenting is Heart Work and Bringing Up Boys (and now Girls) are fantastic general parenting books. Out of the Spin Cycle: Devotions to Lighten your Mother Load is one of those "keeping it real" kind of books about the struggles moms go through. I loved this passage quoted from the book.

SAHM

aka Sleepy Anxious Hysterical Mom

When Brandon and I started a family, my heart's desire was to stay home. However, since we were making obscene piles of cash, what with my teacher's salary and his youth pastor's check (sarcasm intended), I wasn't able to stay home until my second child, my daughter, was born. Thus I began a new life with an infant and a two-year old. . . all day.

Seeing how I'd begged for this and cried real tears over it, you'd think I'd be somewhat immune to the "downside" of being an SAHM. But you would be wrong. I was unprepared for the exhaustion, the drain of emotional energy, and the constancy of it all; when Brandon asked about my day once, I snapped, "Oh, me? I set limits and enforced discipline all day long. It was awesome. You?"

In my mind, Brandon was off at his fancy job, eating at restaurants, laughing casually, and kicking his feet up on his desk (he's never done the last one, but it fit with my imagined scenario). He did whatever he wanted while I was neck-deep in diapers and tantrums. I slipped into a pit of resentment in record time, keeping tally of the zillion tasks I completed with no acknowledgment.

I told Brandon once: "Do you know that I am literally keeping all these children alive? If I was not on this planet, they'd all be un-immunized, starved anarchists with overgrown fingernails who would never have haircuts or gifts for birthday parties!"

I'm sure he couldn't wait to get home every day.

As I was wallowing in self-pity, Brandon popped the imaginary bubble I'd constructed around his perfect life of freedom. He said, "Here's my side of the story. While I'm stuck in pointless meetings with imbeciles, I'm thinking of you watching the kids learn to walk, which I'm missing. While I'm filling out paperwork, getting chewed out by disgruntled parents and paying invoices, I'm wishing I was you - liberated fro the professional grind, spending time with your friends, singing our kids to sleep for naps. My career is not the picnic you've envisioned, but my solace is that I am giving our kids the gift of their mom."

Pffheeeeeeew (air out of bubble).

[Jesus said,] "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12

I withheld from Brandon the very things I wanted from him: respect, acknowledgement and gratitude. If I wanted him to notice my efforts at home, I should've started by saying, "Thanks for working so hard today." If I was hoping to receive some credit for b ringing three kids to the pediatrician for shots by myself, maybe a better place to start was, "I'm really grateful for all you do for our family."

We can't expect star treatment from our husbands without doling it out liberally ourselves. To do so is horribly unfair. We aren't competing for the prize of "who works hardest." We work differently; both tasks require gargantuan effort, and we each need the labor of the other. We are a team. It's not a contest or a war; we are on the same side.

For a season, Brandon raised the money while I raised the kids. Or course, he parented too, but while he was at the office, I was in mine - a mobile office that included parks, doctors' offices, Little Gym, the backyard, my overstuffed chair in the playroom, the library, Chick-Fil-A, the swimming pool, the kitchen, friends' houses, and the snow cone stand.

Girls, reframe the way you think about your husband's job and the time and energy it requires. He's not slamming back a scotch and water at 11am in order to make his noon tee time. He's laboring too, keeping a roof over your babies' heads and supplying the funds for their organic baby food. I know he's never clipped their fingernails once, but you haven't filled out his expense reports either. Treat him like you'd love to be treated - with appreciation, thankfulness, and compassion.

"This sums up the Law of the Prophets."

Baby Love: Sign Language

2011-01-17T22:27:00.001-05:00

Babies...so cute and sometimes so frustrating. As a new mom I was always worried about my baby's comfort. How do I know if he's hot or hungry or sick of sitting in a wet diaper? One of the smartest things we ever did was teach each of our kids signs. We used American Standard Sign Language and taught them words like "more", "hot", "all done", "dog", "milk", "hungry", "no" and lots of others. I loved being able to communicate with my babies before they could talk. Imagine your precious little baby crying in complete misery: they know exactly what they want, but they can't get you the obtuse parent to help them! How frustrating for both of you. Then along comes the little squeezing sign "milk" and the light bulb comes on. Life just got so much better for everyone. Course now there are all kinds of studies that have been done that so signing is great for getting their verbal skills in order. For me it was more about establishing another connection with my baby. Another way to see into their precocious little minds.

My oldest child used the signs for a very short time and then began talking. For my second born, she didn't talk in full sentences until she was about two, so the signs were a huge help. I started signing to each baby around 4 months old. They in return started using the signs themselves around 6 months, but I know they understood what I was signing around 5 months. I especially loved being able to sign "no" or "stop" without having to command them verbally in a room full of people. Some signs we made up (these are called family signs). For instance, the photo above shows Super Bear, then aged 10 months using our family sign for "yea!" My kids still remember most of the signs from babyhood and sometimes use them just for fun.

One resource that really helped us learned sign language was Signing Time with Alex and Leah DVDs. They were a fun way to learn signing for me and the kids because they include music and kids themselves. One interesting aspect of watching them was seeing how different kids make the signs slightly different, just like vocal speech. Each child puts their own stamp on the sign, but mommy and daddy will understand and that's the beauty of the whole concept.

There are also a ton of free resources on the web. If I wanted to know a more obscure sign, I went to Internet to look it up. In fact, Misty from Baby Sign Language.com agreed to share a few tips with my readers. This web site is a fabulous resource to see video clips of specific signs in action.

Baby Sign Language Do's And Dont's
Misty Weaver, Baby Sign Language.com

Sign Language For Babies is a really cool way of teaching your pre-verbal child to communicate with you. It is easy to learn and – once you’ve got the hang of it – a lot of fun. To make a start all you need is to learn a some basic signs and practice, practice, practice. Here are some important dos and don’ts for baby sign language beginners…

DO start off with signs you and baby can practice every day – signs like Mommy, Daddy and Milk are great for beginners. You will need to make signing a natural part of your interaction with your baby, so finding signs you can incorporate into all your usual activities works really well.

DON’T forget to learn the signs yourself first. It’s a good idea to practice a few times before signing to your baby. Go to a baby signing class or look up some online resources to help you.

DO practice often. Once you have learned a sign, you should make this sign every time you say the word or do the action with your baby. It is important to say the word clearly, with good eye contact, while pointing to the thing or person you are describing.

DON’T use too many signs. Limit yourself to four or five signs to begin with – you can add more when you and baby are more confident.

DO sign when your baby is alert and not tired, using something which is exciting to her, such as Milk or Mommy.

DON’T forget repetition. It’s important to make the sign and say the word every time you do an action or use an object. Babies learn through repetition and it can take about two months of exposure to a sign for babies over six months to learn the sign and be ready to use it themselves.

DO use baby sign language when you’re shopping, playing, feeding – anywhere you get the chance. Be creative. Make it fun.

DON’T be results-focused. Baby Sign Language is about having fun and learning about each other. The attention and bonding you share with your baby while you are signing is as important as signing itself.

DO be patient with yourself and with baby – if you forget to sign for a day it’s OK. Start again the next day. Give yourself and baby plenty of time. Signing is worth it.

DON’T expect too much too soon. Have fun and enjoy Baby Signing, making it a part of your day. Remember, it can take at least two months of exposure to, and repetition of, a sign for a baby to learn it properly.

DO encourage all your baby’s efforts! Don’t worry if your baby hasn’t got a sign quite ‘right’. Give plenty of praise, attention and eye-contact to show her you are impressed with her efforts. When you and baby are ready you can move on to another group of signs. Encourage all the way.

Toralene Casserole - Great Winter Food

2011-01-12T21:09:00.001-05:00

My favorite dish as a kid and still a favorite with me and my family. This is what we call Toralene. No one knows why it's called this weird name, just like the Russian Tea. It doesn't really matter what it is called because it's cheesy pasta goodness. This is one of the rare pasta dishes I do make. It's a great dish for cold nights and another fantastic excuse to use my amazing Lodge enameled cast iron pot. I could seriously be a spokesperson for them..anyone from Lodge out there listening??

As always, you can make this your own and adapt depending on what you like and don't like. You really can't go wrong. Change it to ground turkey and fat free cheese (which in my opinion is gross but to each their own), leave out the olives, add in mushrooms. Whatever your family might like. I'd love to hear your adaptations in the comment section.

Toralene

1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 lb ground beef
salt and pepper
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 can tomato soup
1 can chopped tomatoes (with garlic and onions if you like)
1 can water
2 1/2 c uncooked egg noodles
1 can corn (or 15 oz of frozen)
1 can black olives
1 1/2 c grated sharp cheddar cheese

Heat oil in large dutch oven (aka a pan you can use on the stove and in the oven). Cook onions until soft, add beef and cook until browned. Drain beef fat off into an empty can (don't put down the sink drain.). If you put it in a can, it will harden and you can toss it in the trash.

Add the garlic. Add soup, tomatoes, a soup can of water, noodles, corn, olives and 1 c of cheese. Mix well. Put remaining cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Baby Love: The Real Deal on Gear

2011-01-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

I remember the first time my husband and I went into Babies R Us to register for our baby shower. Wow. It was completely overwhelming, and not in a good way. I can make me some decisions, but that place was awful. When it's your first, how are you supposed to know what you REALLY need. I had even been reading the parenting magazines (which I'm convinced are in cahoots with the manufacturers because they say to buy everything). Truth be told a baby doesn't need much beyond a car seat, some one piece outfits and diapers. I mean, my parents put me in a dresser drawer to sleep! I did find after trial and error, certain things make life so much easier (and a wipes warmer was NOT one of them). I have put together an Amazon store with some of my favorite things and will be adding more as I think about it this month. You can click on the link down on the right side of the page to get to the actual Amazon store, but I've listed the baby/ kid stuff below. They grow so quickly, so you really don't need much for the infant stage - I promise!

PS. My husband made me say how we love zip up sleepers so it's easy to change their diaper without trying to match up all of those snaps!

A Listmania! list by A. Christian

The list author says: "We started out completely overwhelmed with all the baby gear choices when we had our first child 7 years ago. Since then, we've tried and tested all KINDS of equipment. I'm sharing this list to save you time, money and energy."

1. BABYBJÖRN Soft Bib 2 Pack - Red/Blue by BABYBJÖRN

The list author says:

"The easiest to use and clean bib for as soon as they are feeding themselves. Wash it off with soap and water and hang it to dry and it's ready for the next meal. Or you can buy a couple and run them through the dishwasher. Catches all the mess!"

2. Baby Trend Single Snap N' Go Stroller by Baby Trend

The list author says:

"I'm ridiculous about strollers. I've owned 12! Seriously. I've finally resigned myself to realize I need a couple to serve all purposes. This snap and go is perfect for using with an infant seat. It's light (recovering from a c-section that's important) and fits in all cars. No moving the baby from the car seat and gets you where you need to go. No frills needed, it's an infant after all!"

3. Maclaren Techno XT Stroller, Black by Maclaren

The list author says:

"Lightweight and portable. This is the best stroller for a child who can sit on their own. Folds up small."

4. BABYBJÖRN Little Potty - White by BABYBJÖRN

The list author says:

"No nooks and crannies that you can't clean, which are so gross. Small, can be taken on the road easily."

5. Peg-Perego Prima Pappa Best High Chair, Paloma by Peg Perego USA

The list author says:

"Highchairs take an everyday beating. The kids push it around and of course they bang and drop food all over it. This tray cover covers the WHOLE tray area so you don't have to clean two parts. The padded seat can be wiped down: dry and ready in time. We replaced the padded seat after 2 kids because it got smelly and torn. We like that you can take the five pt harness and make it a lap belt."

6. Baby Trend Diaper Champ Deluxe, Blue by Baby Trend

The list author says:

"I read the new ones aren't as good as the older ones, but I love that it uses regular trash bags and it really does keep out the smell."

7. Evenflo Triumph Advance LX Convertible Car Seat, Harbortown by Evenflo

The list author says:

"Great convertible car seat. This one transitioned us out of the infant seat (still rear facing) to a booster when the kids got too tall for this one. I would say we used it from 6 months to 3 years old.

8. Lansinoh 20265 Disposable Nursing Pads, 60-Count Boxes (Pack of 4) by Lansinoh

The list author says:

"I nursed my babies for one year. I leaked when I nursed, I leaked when the baby went too long between feedings, I leaked when I heard other people's babies cry! I tried washable and they stayed too wet, other pads shifted too much in my bra and were bulky. These are the only ones that were thin and actually worked."

9. Summer Infant Tiny Diner, Green by Summer Infant, Inc.

The list author says:

"Love this for the feeding themselves stage and on the go. It stays in our diaper bag for restaurant visits. Forget those disposable ones, what a waste. This one you can dump out the big leftover chunks and wash the smaller ones at home."

10. Solar System Placemat by Crocodile Creek by Crocodile Creek

The list author says:

"We use these at home. Thin, educational and easy to wash. The kids love all the varieties. The only thing I don't like about them is you can't scrub too hard or the design will scratch off."

11. Cloud b Twilight Constellation Night Light, Turtle by Cloud b

The list author says:

"a fun nightlight for all of my kids"

12. Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 Car Seat, Matrix by Graco Baby

The list author says:

"Perfect for the big kid in need a comfy booster seat, but this thing is heavy."

13. Fisher-Price Infant-To-Toddler Rocker, Blue/Green by Fisher-Price

The list author says:

"I love that this seat has stood the test of time through four kids. The bigger ones can even sit in it without breaking it until I spot them and remind them they are too big! Has a stabilizer for times you don't want anyone to rock the baby."

14. Safety 1st Kirby Inflatable Tub by Dorel Juvenile Group

The list author says:

"Perfect for the baby who is too big for the infant tub, but too small for the big tub. We take this when we travel too since it's inflatable."

15. Safety 1st Space Saver Fold Up Bath Tub, Blue by Dorel Juvenile Group

The list author says:

"Great first tub for the newborn and infant. No slipping, no mesh parts to wash, no stinking fabric, and it folds up for storage. Doesn't hold much water, but that's better for the baby's safety. I really LOVE this tub and we had three before we arrived on this one."

16. Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Fun with Friends Musical Table by Fisher Price

The list author says:

"All the kids love this toy. The baby can watch it and bat at the dangling parts. Then it changes to be a piano for a sitting baby and finally a standing piano."

17. LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table by LeapFrog

The list author says:

"Fun music, lots of activities, has lasted for all the kids. This toy was worth the money and the space it took to store it (the legs do come off). My highest recommendation."

18. Graco Snugride Infant Car Seat, Platinum by Graco

The list author says:

"Still the best carseat for a newborn. Love the safety ratings and the price."

Baby Love: Packing a Diaper Bag

2011-01-06T21:06:00.001-05:00

I have been submerged in babydom for a few months. This is our sweet littlest one. Yes, all four of my babies were born with a ton of crazy sticking up hair and no...I didn't put product in it. She's just started her oh-so-cute smiling, couldn't you just eat her up??

All of the milestones we've been through time and again, we are reliving for one last time and so they are all the more precious. I will miss having a late night bathtime with a newborn and their wonderful baby smell, I will miss having them snuggle in bed for a breastfeeding session. I will miss little tiny clothes and big beautiful eyes that seem to take over their chubby faces. My baby is already 3 months old and I want to slow it all down! I do, however, love watching them develop into little people. Each time I am fascinated when they discover their hands, or start smiling, or suck on their pudgy toes. I love introducing them to new foods and watching their reaction. Teaching them how to communicate and seeing the lightbulb come on - eureka! Because I'm so baby-brained right now, I am going to devote the month of January to baby stuff on the blog. If you come for the food, stay with me, I'll be back to that in February. In time to celebrate my big 4-0 with some of my favorite foods.

I am starting this series off with something I always get asked - what do you carry in your diaper bag?

With the first baby, seven short years ago, we used the free diaper bag that comes with the free formula sample. Mostly because I didn't want to carry Winnie the Pooh and there weren't too many other choices. Now there are a TON of choices and they are way-more stylish. However...the decision I made when #2 kid came along to convert to a backpack diaper bag was the BEST choice ever. We ordered our diaper bag from Lands End and had our last name put on it so we can use it at the church nursery (please people, put your kid's name on their bags). Land's End does not sell this bag any longer, they have changed it to a weird looking convertible type bag. I did find this Skip Hop diaper bag that looks like a great choice. I may not look at stylish as you uber cute moms with the shoulder straps, but I've never bonked my kid in the head as the bag slides down my shoulder either. I seem to always choose practical over stylish. Having a backpack means my hands are free for other things, like keeping my wild kids safe in the parking lot or carrying that HEAVY infant seat.

Here is our diaper bag with contents unloaded. I originally took all this stuff out so I could wash the bag which I do about every year. When I'm done, it seriously looks brand new! I love the light blue lining so I can find stuff in there and the changing pad which doubles as padding for your back. I can wear this thing all day and not be uncomfortable.

There are four compartments and this photo shows everything that is in the biggest one. I always keep a camera in there because you never know when there is a cute moment with kids. I have a snack bag - a ziplock filled with little munchies for when we are out and they are starving. The bag gets tossed every six months or so since invariably things accumulate in the bottom of it. I've got tissues, band aid, lotion, sunscreen samples, hand sanitizer, and right now with a newborn: a nursing cover, burp cloth and change of clothes for her in case of the dreaded blowout.

In the next smaller pocket I keep the diaper "station". Wipes, diapers, diaper cream, and extra pull up if my potty trained 2 year old has to take a nap somewhere unexpectedly, and grocery bags for stinky diapers or soiled clothes.

I use the next pocket for anything that I need to take with me at the moment, so often it stays empty. I could put my grocery list, coupons, or work stuff. It's the pocket I always empty at home.

The smallest pocket is for me only. It has my cell phone (yes, I got an iphone for Christmas woo hoo!), wallet, keys, pen and my business cards.

Recently I had dinner with a friend who has four kids (you know who you are) and she said she just throws a diaper in her purse! I was amazed and told her so. My kids would invariably want a snack or get a boo boo that needed a band aid. I would be lost without my diaper bag!!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Cranberries

2011-01-01T20:40:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!! I am so excited about this year. Our family is finally complete with our four precious children, we are settled into a wonderful neighborhood, found a great church and life feels....right. 2011 is going to be a great year here in Chickenville and I wish all the same for you!

I wanted to share this yummy dish for your winter table. It's the perfect way to start off a new year. When you roast veggies on a baking sheet it just brings out the natural sugars and makes them taste amazing. My kids love eating this dish and surprise! it's good for them. The sweet squash and the sweet/ tart cranberries make it seem like a treat. It's a perfect side dish for this time of year with all of the winter squashes in season.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Cranberries

(Adapted from Whole Foods)
1 medium butternut squash
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 onion (I like to use Vidalia)
2 tsp dried sage
4 tbsp dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375°F. Peel squash and cut in half lengthwise.

Scoop out seeds from the center and discard.

Cut squash into large chunks.

Peel onions and cut into half rings. Coat with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and arrange on a silicone mat lined baking sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until well caramelized. Stirring and flipping halfway through cooking time.

When squash and onions are done, toss with sage and cranberries. Serve immediately.

A White Christmas

2010-12-28T16:02:00.000-05:00

We are loving the rare snow for a White Christmas here in Georgia with marshmallows and a bonfire. The chickens...not so much. They just keep looking for a spot with no snow so they don't have to get their feet cold and wet!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T15:28:00.000-05:00

Merry CHRISTmas!!! May the joy of the Lord be with you and your family today and alway.
He was born 2000 years ago as a tiny helpless baby. Let us celebrate the miracle!