TWD: Cran-Apple Crisp

It is my very first Tuesdays with Dorie post. TWD is a baking club following the cookbook Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Every Tuesday futures a new recipe from the book and each member blogs about their experience. I am IN LOVE with this cookbook. And my first Tuesday did not dissapoint. If everything goes smoothly this recipe is a snap. Things did not however go smoothly. I do not have a food processor for the crumb topping, but my little old pastry blender did the trick. As I was peeling the apples, my peeler broke. And as I was cutting the apples my correr broke.

My all time favorite deserts are crisps, apples, cherry, blueberry...I have never had the apple cranberry combo before and it did not dissapoint. The tart and sweet balance was yummy. I can see my self making this again. The only change I would make is too lower the sugar in the filling. It was a little sweet. Thanks to Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef for choosing this weeks recipie.

Beautiful Summer!

This has been the best summer! Here are just a few of the highlights! Enjoy! (we did)

Silver Beach St Joseph Michigan 8/6/09

Mama Mia! with my girls!

Blueberry Picking July 09

Garage Sale with my Moms Group! Sean sold lemonaid, note the tie! He is so cute!!

Johnson Beach Alabama

Beach in Milwaukee while visiting my sister

Decorating cakes (cupcakes went on the top)

Organizing my local moms Meetup group, with a great group of friends!

Grown up Playdates with great friends.

**I am going to try and be a better blogger!!**

Kat's Birthday

My beautiful girl is no longer a baby! She is walking, talking, smiling, stubborn, and throws tantrums just like a 2 year old. And I love every day of it! Her favorite word is MINE, her favorite toy is whatever big brother has, she loves to sign and dance. She looks like her Mommy but has Daddies personality. My beautiful princess!

The Birthday Girl!

This dress is hand smocked and made by Gran! My babies are so lucky to have such a talented Gran!

This rainbow cake has been making its way around the blogs lately and as soon as I saw it (in January) I knew I was going to make it for Kat's birthday. It was super easy and so cool! She loved it and so did big brother. The hardest part was waiting 3 months to make it!

Here it is pre cooked. For full instructions please see Omnomicon for the original post.
Credit where credit is due!

Here it is decorated. The mini My Little Ponies were a gift from Aunt Gina for Christmas! Thanks!

And here is the inside, honestly that as great of a picture. I thought I had a picture of just a single slice, but I guess I don't.

Working

It has been over 2 years since I last had a paying job. And I have LOVED my time at home. If you know me at all then you should know that I have always wanted a family and a large one. Staying home seemed like a natural choice. Sunday Justin had his second auction and I worked as his cashier. And I love doing this. I love seeing Justin as an auctioneer and I enjoy being a part of the business. I feel like I am contributing. It was a long hard day and I was exhausted but refreshed. It was good to get out of the house for a day.

Monday I subbed at Sean's school for the full day. I was feeling guilty for spending 2 full days away from the kids. In the morning I was regretting agreeing to sub. But I dragged myself to Starbucks and then headed to the school. I have to say my day was surprisingly peaceful. That may be surprising to some but in reminded me all the things I love about Montessori. Sitting on the floor doing a Europe map puzzle with Sean, almost brought tears to my eyes. Watching a five year old doing the forty five layout, and doing sounds at the sound table really made me realize how much I miss teaching. During my lunch break I spent a little time walking around the class and appreciating the order of the Montessori method. Everything has a place right down to the strips of paper used for cutting in the tray built just for this. The soft classical music playing in the background. The oil painting on the wall. Montessori is truely a different world than a traditional preschool.

I have thought about this a lot and talked to Justin about it many times, but yesterday I really decided that someday I would like to open my own Montessori School. Just a small one classroom school. Either in our basement, or in my true dream I would have a small guest house on our property devoted solely to the school. (yeah, I know, I'm dreaming!)

Mexican Lasagna

I have been experimenting some with my cooking, trying new recipes and adjusting some to our taste/budget. And when I make a good one Sean will say "Put this in the recipe box Mommy" So here is one that we love.


Mexican Lasagna:

This is an combination of a few recipes and just what was in the pantry that sounded good. We LOVED this one. It makes a lot, so I froze 1/2 of the mixture for a quick meal later in the week.

1 Cup uncooked rice (2 cups if you are making it all for one night)
2-3 Cups chicken broth (more if you are making it all for one night
1 can tomatoes (or 2-3 fresh whatever you have)
1 small onion (chopped really small so Justin doesn't know it is there!)
2 Can black beans
2 packet of taco seasoning
1 1/2 lb grnd turkey, or beef (I also use turkey it is cheaper and leaner than beef)
1 jar (16 oz) salsa.
4-6 small flour tortillas (double if you are making it all for one night)
Bag of shredded cheese, I prefer cheddar and a lot of it, but a Mexican blend would be good too
4-8 oz enchilada sauce
2 bags frozen corn (I prefer the white and yellow mixture)
Sour Cream for garnish

Cook the rice according to package directions replacing the water with chicken broth. In large skillet melt 1/2 T of butter. Add tomatoes, onion and garlic and saute until tender. Add in taco seasoning to taste I used about 1/2 a packet. Stir to combine. Add the beans and stir. Transfer 1/2 to a large bowl and 1/2 to a freezer safe container. Add rice to bowl and stir combine

In the same skillet brown the ground turkey. Mix taco seasoning and water according to packet instructions. Add 1/2 of the meat and one bag corn to your freezer container stir and set aside. Reserve remaining meat in pan.

To assemble lasagna pour 1/4 jar of salsa in the bottom of a 9x9 pan. Layer tortillas to cover. Spread 1/2 of rice mixture over tortilla. Sprinkle with a layer of cheese. Add another layer of flour tortillas. Pour a thin layer of enchilada sauce over tortillas. Spread taco meat over sauce. Layer 1 bag corn over beef. top with remaining rice mixture in an even layer. Spread remaining salsa over rice and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake 375 for 25-35 minutes. Allow to sit 10 minutes.


I used the frozen mixture as a taco filling instead of lasagna. I was just as good.

Enjoy!

YUM-O!

I have had mixed results with recipes from Rachel Ray. It seems like the ones I like I LOVE, and then the rest I really do not like. Well her Gingerbread waffles are definitely blog worthy! Because I am such a rock star mom (in my head anyway) I have been sending special snacks to Sean's speech class on Fridays that relate to the "sound of the week." This week was "W" (Waffles) so I decided to give these a try. It was SO worth the trip to Meijers at 8:30 Thursday night for Molasses.

Friday morning Sean and I made the batter while Katherine was still sleeping. I cut them into waffle sticks so they could easily be eaten. I felt bad that they wouldn't have syrup so I bought some strawberries which Sean helped me cut up. His teacher said they were a huge hit! And Sean said "Lets always make these, no more regular kind." After I dropped him off I came home and Katherine and I each had one waffle topped with Strawberries. They didn't even need syrup. I think this will become a regular Monday morning breakfast for us. (Monday is our Sunday since hubby doesn't work) The leftovers also made a fantastic after school snack for the kids.

Here is the recipe hope you enjoy as much as we have:

Gingerbread Waffles

3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, eyeball it
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter, plus some to butter the iron
Syrup, whipped cream or fresh fruits for topping, to pass at table

Preheat waffles iron. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and brown sugar until fluffy, then beat in pumpkin, milk, molasses and melted butter. Stir the wet into dry until just moist. Do not overstir the waffle batter. Brush the iron with a little melted butter and cook 4 waffles, 4 sections each. Serve with toppings of choice.

Valentines Blog coming soon, I am having trouble uploading pictures.

So VERY Thankful today

Today I am Thankful for many things
1. GOD
2. The angel who was sitting on my husbands shoulder today
3. My Mom who is always there when I need someone to settle me down and tell me it is going to be ok. THANK YOU!
4. My husband who knows what to do in emergencies
6. The two women who stopped to help
7. That the Rodeo had a sun roof that they could climb out of
5. That Justin and his Uncle David survived the crash.
6. Seat Belts!

Justin was on his way to Chicago today when he hit some black ice and sled off the road. His truck rolled 6 times and landed upside down. They were able to punch out the sun roof to climb out off. He said he did everything right, turning into the slide not breaking, but his back wheels hit a snow bank on the side of the road and he couldn't do anything else. He just started rolling. David went to the hospital for observations but was released soon after. Justin is fine just sore. Said he feels like he just played football.

I am going to spend the rest of the night holding my husband and thanking God for saving him today. The pictures are from my cell phone and don't really show how bad it was.

Who knew

Who knew my kids would like Roasted Chicken so much! Meijers had bone in skin on chicken on sale last week so I bought some it. I just roasted it with some salt and pepper and a little garlic salt. Sean ate both the legs and Katherine ate it up too. I will have to add that to my menus! Justin doesn't like the skin on but he can pull it off. We had roasted chicken, some white rice, and 1/2 a bag of frozen California mix veggies for 2 nights because Sean requested it again and we had leftovers. Because Justin was out of town last weekend I still had some chicken left that I pulled off the bone and put in the frezzer for soup later in the month. Not very fancy but easy and cheap!

Learning our sounds

Sean has been working really hard learning his sounds. In Montessori we learn the sounds a letter makes before the name of it. The idea is that we teach them to read before spell....make sense? And they learn the sounds out of order so they are not just memorizing the order. I wanted to add some fun to it and give him an incentive to master them. So we make these sound lollipops once he has mastered a sound. It is fun for both of us!

I print out letters on the computer in outline. Put that under waxed paper then all he has to do is fill in the outline with melted chocolate (in a baggie) and let it harden in the fridge for 10 minutes, and we have a yummy treat. While we are eating we talk about all the things that start with that sound.

Sean's First Snow Day!!

Today is a chilly 6 degrees here in Northern Indiana. But it is Sean first snow day, we have to play in the snow! So last night (anticipating a snow day) I decided I would bring the snow inside. Yes I know a little crazy, but they are loving it. Except for the occasional slip on the floor, and Sean's obsession with snow on the floor...we are enjoying it.










Last year I did this on a smaller scale for Katherine since she was not walking yet.




While I was sitting here enjoying my coffee and writing this post I see that Amy over at MotherLoad has this in her notebook today (Great minds I guess!!) So since the post is already written why not enter her notebook experiments! The kids have been playing for over an hour with only one arguement! Not to bad


Another of the simple moments in my life I cherish. I hope you find something simple to make you smile today.

Italian Pork Chops

My first meal of the new year was Italian pork chops with Italian Biscuits. YUMMY! I loved it, and Sean ate it so I will call it a success. Justin, well he doesn't like pork, but he ate it. Super easy and yummy. This is defiantly going into my recipe box. I don't have the cost break down, because that is too much math for me! But everything, with the exception of the fresh parsley was bought at Adli, so it was cheep. More on Aldi later! For now here are the recipes. Hope you enjoy and find something you might want to try.

Italian Pork Chops:
Serves Four

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 pork chops - bone in
1 can petite diced tomatoes - in juice
2 teaspoons Italian Seasonings Blend spices
¼ cup white wine (anything you would drink)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 pound angel hair pasta

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add the pork chops to the skillet and cook until they are brown approximately 3 minutes per side. Transfer the pork chops to a plate and tent with foil to keep them warm. Add white wine to the pan and deglaze the pan with a whisk (getting up all of the drippings from the pan). Add the tomatoes with their juices, and spices.. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend and the juices thicken slightly, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt.. Return the pork chops and any accumulated juices from the plate to the skillet and turn the pork chops to coat with the sauce. Meanwhile, cook pasta until al dente and then drain. Place 1 pork chop on top of the angel hair pasta onto each plate and spoon the sauce over the pork chops and pasta. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Amy Clark

Cheesy Parmesan Italian Biscuits
Makes about 10 biscuits

1 c. grated Parmesan (the kind in the green bottle)
2/3 c. mayo
a few tbsp. of fresh chopped green onion
Garlic powder to taste
Italian seasoning to taste
1 can Hungry Jack flaky biscuits (I used Aldi brand)

1. Mix all ingredients except biscuits. Flatten biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet.

2. Spread an equal amount of filling over all biscuits.

3. Bake 13-15 minutes, eat hot!

Divine Domesticity

Eating, Living, Being Heathy on a Budget

I started this blog with a post about not making new years resolutions. And now here I am one year later making a life change at the new year! I have been feeling in a tug of war the last year of cooking healthy foods and living on a budget. Now with the inspiration of my fellow Mothers and More member Amy Clark I have decided I can do both. And to help keep me motivated I will be blogging my experiences. Now I am not saying by any means that I am "going green". However if it fits into my budget than I will.

I hope you enjoy my journey!