I has a food blog

I post recipes on my facebook occasionally and have many on my previous blog(not so much here though). In the interest of saving them for my kiddos, not to mention finding them myself, I have decided to post them all in the same place.

Please visit me sometime at...

Blackberry Pickin'

Last week the teens in our homeschool group went north to pick strawberries at McPeak Orchards. There were four families represented with seven kids. We had a great time and came home with about 15 quarts of delicious, fresh red strawberries. I put up 7ish quarts and we ate the rest within a day or so. I wish I had taken pictures of the outing but all I've got is one of our two baskets to show you...







We didn't quite get our fill of picking berries so one of our MOT(mom of teen) offered to let us pick from her dad's dewberry patch not far from us. Again, I did not take pictures but that's a GOOD thing! It was 92 degrees, sunny, and windy. None of the kids picked for more than 5 minutes so it was just us hot, sweaty, windblown moms doing the dirty work. And it was DIRTY! I came away with just under five pounds but we are going back next week for more. I froze three quarts and made a "scone cake" with the rest(what was left after the girls had munched them anyway)...



(before butter)


(now that's better)

Blackberry Chocolate Chip Scone Cake

(it is important to note that the measurements are extremely approximate!)

2-2.5ish cups of flour(I use half white, half whole wheat)
1.25tsp baking powder
1/4tsp salt
1 loose cup(about 2/3 cup packed) light brown sugar
1 heaping cup of blackberries or dewberries
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
enough milk to make a think batter
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
(I did NOT add any vanilla or cinnamon but both would have worked-I just plain forgot)
Preheat oven to 425F.

Combine dry ingredients and toss to mix and break up sugar. Add berries, chips, milk and egg and mix well. Pour into a buttered 9x9 or 9x13 pan(mine was a 9-inch straight sided round stoneware tart pan). Bake for about 20 minutes, testing at about 15-16 minutes with a cake tester. It might take longer than 20 minutes, I was facebooking and didn't pay attention. The edges were slightly pulled away and browned when they were done if that helps. Let them cool a bit and cut into serving sized pieces. Eat buttered with plenty of coffee!! Enjoy!

Comfort Food...

Today we took the boat out to Gilmer Lake for a test run to see how the motor would be. We had a not-so-great day fishing(we didn't catch anything, sunburn, lost lures, fought winds, and had so-so luck with the motor-but it could have been worse). Plus Mark has come down with the nasty sore throat I had a few weeks ago and tomorrow is his birthday. When we came home I was scrounging for some dinner that wasn't a frozen burrito or eggroll or leftover spaghetti. I spied the half-eaten bag of Doritos we took on the boat and had an instant craving for Dorito Casserole.

My mom's sister Donna introduced us to this awesome, tasty dish when I was a little girl. It had Rotel tomatoes, cream of mushroom and chicken soups, ground beef, and lots of cheese. My mom made it very occasionally and I've made it a few times now and then(like every 2-3 years). It is sooooo good and sooooo bad for you at the same time, the perfect comfort food! Once you get a craving for something like this, nothing else will do though so I was disappointed to think I couldn't make this tonight... or so I thought.

There was a new block of extra sharp cheddar in the fridge along with a couple leftover chicken leg quarters I'd baked on Thursday, some sour cream, and a jar of green chili salsa. In the pantry was a jar of roasted red pepper alfredo sauce. Oh my gooosh this was good!!!! It didn't make much but it was just enough for the four of us to have one serving(Ryan is camping with friends and missed out- bummer).

Southern Comfort Chicken Dorito Casserole

(all measurements very approximate)

3/4 cup sour cream
1 jar roasted red pepper alfredo sauce(use 3/4 of it)
3 cups Doritos(not crushed), I used spicy salsa flavor
3 cups cut up chicken(cooked)
2/3 cup green chili salsa, I used Herdez brand
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder(or cook up an onion if you have time)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients well in a large mixing bowl. Transfer to a greased 8x8 casserole dish or 9x5x3 loaf pan(I used my Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan). Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350. Serve hot with cut up veggies such as baby carrots and cucumbers. This will serve 2 very hungry people or 4 very tired people who need something to eat.

Something new...

but first...


(Jasper with his darling pink nose being his cutie-pie self)

And now...

Several days ago an idea popped into my head. No idea where it came from but I knew I had to act immediately to put it in motion. These are my latest creations.... beaded crocheted necklaces and bracelets! They go together in minutes(about 15 total) and are super easy. I make them big enough to slip over the head so I don't have to put in a hook or closure but I plan to make some chokers too.



(pics taken with Amy's camera phone and not edited at all- sorry so blurry and washed out)




So far I've made 20 necklaces and 2 bracelets out of white, teal, red and black threads but plan to add a rainbow multi, marigold, and pink(among other colors) this weekend. My mom is going to send me a few handfuls of beads since I can't find what I'm looking for at our local Hobby Lobby or Michael's. They used to carry tubes that were color-themed but varied in shape and size. Now all I can find is assorted(very muted) colors in the tubes. Luckily I had a pretty decent stash to plow through because these them!

In other news...

I've been sick for over a week with a NASTY sore throat and sinus problems. Ugh! It is better today but definitely not gone. Last night Sparkle and Tallulah slept on either side of me, I think they knew I didn't feel good.

I've got to put my beans on to soak tonight! Homesick Texan's Ranch Style Beans are on my mind, been wanting to make them for a week now but haven't felt like it.

Tomorrow is supposed to be icky and rainy so it will be perfect weather for beading and bean eating. Mark has another 5K race. He won his age group last weekend and was 14th over all out of 200+. His friend, who is running because of Mark's encouragement, won his age group too(30somethings) and was 3rd over all!!! Hopefully they'll do well this time out too.

If I feel well enough we'll texture the walls on Sunday. I'm SO ready to paint!!!
If I feel up to it we'll texture the dining room walls on Sunday. I hope I do because I'm S

random stuff...

It has been seriously hard to blog without my own computer! Hopefully it will be fixed soon and I can get on with sharing pictures and so forth. Right now I'm sharing with Amy so I only have access to her pictures(and her camera broke so she's down to her cell phone). Here are some recent ones...


sunset over our back fence



the triplets


what really goes on in the girls' room


running with tiger at Long Park

In other news...

We were finally able to take a load of stuff to the local thrift store! Of course it barely made a dent; I'm still in the process of clearing out dresser drawers and closets! Maybe after another 3-4 loads we'll be to a manageable state. It would be nice to be able to get the last of the carpeting out of everyone's closet floors soon.

We've chosen one of the three paints for our kitchen/dining area so far; a nice super saturated olivey green for the dining area. I want to put orange in the kitchen area and a peacock blue or plum on the soffits to connect the two. Last week the kids helped peel wall paper but we still have a few small sections to go. Maybe today...(to see the paint sample go to http://www.valspar.com/explore-colors/choose-a-color.html; scroll down a bit and click on Creative Ideas for Color. Then click on Kids & Fun. Our oolor is the second green right above the word Kids; called Gecko). This is the color I've had in my mind's eye forever but for some reason I never came across the paint card(I think they just added the Kids & Fun line to our Lowe's store). It looks SO good with our warm wood stained cabinets and wainscoting.

I made a new dish last night and everyone scarfed it up! Its from Rodale's Naturally Great Foods Cookbook(1977 edition) and is called Dutch Kale with Sausage and Potatoes(or something like that). I simmered 4 medium sized potatoes(cubed) with a large bunch of curly kale(torn into small pieces) until both were tender. Meanwhile I fried a pkg of beef smoked sausage and an onion in a bit of butter then added a cup of milk. The kale and potatoes were drained and added to the sausage mixture along with a shake of cayenne pepper; some garlic powder; and black pepper. Simmer for a few minutes stirring to break up the potatoes a bit. This was YUMMY and all the kids ate it. We had no leftovers!! Tonight we're having chicken leg quarters; green salad; and parsnip patties(from the same cookbook).

We are planning an early spring camping trip out west to celebrate Mark's 44th birthday. Our destination is the Caprock Canyon State Park (you'll have to copy and paste this because Amy's comma button doesn't work so I can't make it a clickable link) http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/videos/state_park/panhandle_plains/caprock_canyon.phtml (video of the canyon worth watching!!).

And some sad news...

Our beloved guinea pig; Basil Ferdinand; died last night. He was old for a piggie and we noticed he'd been slowing down/losing weight over the last month. We'll miss his sweetness.

Now I must get busy doing something; I hear the girls stirring.

A recipe and a crochet pattern....

Some call it dinner and some call it supper. I've always used both words for the same meal but this time its definitely a supper kind of night.

Here is (sort of) what I'm cooking tonight. I've got it simmering on the stove now and its not even noon! It may end up being lunch as well, it smells soooo good!

Of course I made changes, I always do. Since I'm not a big fan of cooked carrots, I left them out along with the tomato sauce. Because we love spicy, I added a big handful of chopped cilantro, cayenne pepper, chipotle pepper, oregano, chili powder, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and beef broth(better than boullion paste). Also, I only put in two celery stalks, added an extra potato, used a whole red pepper, and subbed a can of salt free diced tomatoes for the whole tomato. My 5 quart stock pot is about 3/4 full so I'll have some to freeze for this weekend too. It is so nice to find recipes like these that can be customized to individual tastes. Woman's Day cookbook has one similar that uses mint for flavoring and it is awesome!

This is our second meatless meal in a row. Last night I had no clue what we would be eating until about 45 minutes before we actually ate. Colcannon was on my mind all day but I didn't have cabbage and my kale had already turned yellow. Sigh. Anyway, I did have some other veggies so I threw them all in the skillet with olive oil and boiled some rotini pasta. Here's the deal:

1 red pepper, chopped
7-8 large brown mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
red pepper flakes to taste

Cook in olive oil til tender, serve over noodles with lots of parmesan cheese! YUM!!

Amy accidentally messed up their camera and my computer is in need of doctoring so I can't post any pictures! Its driving me crazy because I'm making the CUTEST little 6-petal crochet flowers. I'll share the pattern with you though. Now this is something I came up with all on my own so YMMV(your mileage may vary). I used I Love this Cotton from Hobby Lobby(similar to Peaches and Cream but softer) with a size I(9 or 5.5mm) hook.

I don't know how to write out a pattern in crochet language so bear with me!

Chain 3. Make 12 double crochet stitches in the first chain loop(chain will count as 13th). Join with a slip stitch in the top of the ch 3(this is the tricky part for me because I can't really tell which one I'm sl in so make sure there are 12 loops around the outside of the circle including the the sl st). Chain 5, skipping next stitch, slip stitch in next stitch. Repeat 5 times from ch 5, ending sl st will be in the back of the starting sl st. If for "some reason" you come to the last flower petal and have two stitches to skip before the final sl st, chain 6 instead of 5 and do the sl st in the normal place. This has happened to me on a few of them(see above) but isn't devastating. Fasten off. These are super cute and super fast! I've made about 20 in a really nice taupe novelty yarn that has a gold thread, slubby things and "foof", hopefully they will be a scarf or part of a scarf, I can't decide how to use them. Maybe I can get Mark to take a picture or two with his phone.

front yard this morning...

We are having a lazy day today. I'm hosting our milk co-op this month so we have a cooler full of milk in the front yard. It was so nice this morning that I dragged out the camera and let a few kitties out. Here's what came of it.













In other news...

Ryan is having a Halloween party Saturday night. We aren't sure how many to expect. His pool party was attended by 40 kids!!

Check this out, its GRUESOME but looks delicious too!! This would be FUN for his party but we're going with pizza since they are teens. Much easier!

spicy soup and goings on....

Molly's Chicken Tortilla Soup

4 large bone/skinless chicken breasts, cubed in 1-inch pieces
1-2 red bell peppers, diced
1 onion, diced
1.5 cups frozen corn
1 can pinto or black beans, undrained(or not, you decide)
1 can no-salt diced tomatoes
1T olive oil
2 broth cubes
8 cups water
2T chili powder
1.5tsp cumin
1T garlic powder
1tsp file gumbo
1tsp oregano
dash cayenne pepper
(all spice measurements are approximate, I pour straight from the jar, no spoons involved!)

Cook chicken, onions and peppers in olive oil over medium-high heat until veggies are soft and meat is about half done. Add broth cubes, water and spices. Cover and
cook on med-low for about an hour. Serve soup ladled over a handful of crushed tortilla chips and about 2T grated cheese. Sour cream on top is optional but does make it ooooh so good!


In other news...

The kids and I pulled up most of the carpet in the living room yesterday!!!! We have a section about 10x6 left but Mark will have to help us move some large furniture first. We'll continue scraping glue today. I am excited about how this will end up looking but nervous about my glass dishes. Sarah drops things like nobody I've ever seen! We may have to invest in some good plastic cups.

I'm going this morning to get milk for our co-op and hoping the farmer has brought some butternut squash to the dairy for sale. The last two were wonderful but I didn't get much out of the watermelons and cantelopes we bought from him.

A Peach of a Day...

Chocolate's okay, but I prefer a really intense fruit taste. You know when a peach is absolutely perfect... it's sublime. I'd like to capture that and then use it in a dessert. ~Kathy Mattea

I usually go for the chocolate but today I wanted a peach. Not a plain peach though, I dolled mine up just a little bit.



Then I was thirsty and craving salty, crunchy somethings so I made this.



Peach Water for One:

1/2 large peach or 1 small
1 cup water
1 cup ice cubes
sugar, honey, or stevia to taste(I used about 5 drops liquid stevia)

Blend in an ice-crushing blender til well blended. Serve with a spoon.



My other favorite peach:

Dinner last night....

I've got a 10 pound roll of ground turkey thawing in my fridge, waiting to be browned and packed back into the freezer. In the mean time I needed something quick and tasty and comforting. I turned to one of my favorite foodie bloggers, kickpleat, for some pizza inspiration* and wasn't disappointed! I love how she cooks and every recipe I've tried has been very tasty!!

We did this last night but in order to please the masses I threw on two leftover bbq chicken breasts, chopped up, and some red onion with the mozzerella. It seemed a little dry so, in famous Texas tradition, I added a drizzle of ranch dressing along with parmesan and red pepper flakes. The kitchen gods were watching out for me because I actually found the leftover piece wrapped in foil in the fridge! Since the kids cleaned the kitchen last night I was not expecting that to happen!

*when I say inspiration I mean that I didn't follow her crust recipe exactly. I guestimated my amounts of everything and added garlic and onion powders to the dough mixture. I also let it sit longer than she directs. Next time, which might be tonight or tomorrow, I'll try it her way just to see what difference it makes!

Saturday Catch-up...

(as always, click each picture for a bigger version)

Saturday:

I woke up at 4:30 with a bad headache, something I've not had in years. I thought it was from sleeping on too many pillows so I did some gentle neck stretches and went back to sleep. At 6, I realized it was probably a weather-related headache so Mark brought me some Advil. I didn't wake up again til 10:40 but I'm still tired.

Now I'm puttering around the house and hanging out with the girls. Mark is helping a friend rewire a boat motor and Ryan is working. We're going to make homemade pizza pockets for dinner.

Friday:

I paid $4 for a 12-inch mixing bowl from Marshall Pottery at Hope's Closet that sells for around $38 on eBay. Mine is probably not real old. It has a hairline crack in it so I might plant some cactus in it or use it for popcorn or something. Tibert loves it! I also found a copy of the South Beach Diet, an awesome BHG Crochet and Knit pattern book and 7 acrylic catfood bowls from Fancy Feast. Apparently we got a great deal on the bowls, they are selling for $6-7 on eBay and we paid 99 cents each! Sarah feeds the cats, then collects and washes the bowls out in the bathroom sink.









Thursday:

Homeschool park day at White Oak City Park. Had about 40 kids, it was wild!!! These aren't pictures from this Thursday, I took them on our last outing there after most of the group had gone. Its a great park because its completely fenced in and the kids can go back and forth from the play structure to the spray pad. We've got it in our rotation.





Tuesday:

You know how my Wednesday went.

Sarah's birthday was May 11th but we waited a week to get her bike because of our trip to Ft. Worth. She picked it out and just loves it!











Monday:

We finally gathered up as many of the pickerel frogs from the pool as possible and took them to a local park with a creek for release. Of course when we came home there were at least 20 more still around.

The ones on their backs weren't dead, just out of sorts. When Amy poured the bucket out we used sticks to turn them right-side-up and they were fine.













We also took the girl piggies outside when we cleaned their cage. They were not real sure about the great outdoors but came around when they figured out the grass was edible! They are called pigs for a reason!!



Guess that's about it. Now you know why I haven't blogged much lately! Things sure do get busy around here sometimes. Now its about to rain and I'll have to fetch Ryan from work soon. He put in many, many hours this past week.

Enjoy the long weekend everyone!!

I made this!!

(Apologies in advance for the TERRIBLE photography! I'm not sure what is going on, maybe its because I'm sick or something, lol) (be sure to click to enlarge)



This is my second loaf of bread made from Alton Brown's soft pretzel recipe,blogged earlier. It makes really, REALLY, good bread. I suspect the reason why it isn't taller is that it didn't rise long enough and/or it wasn't in a loaf pan. It went through two risings but the second was hurried(maybe 35 minutes) since I had to be somewhere. Next time I'll let it sit longer and try a loaf pan, or two-this thing is huge(20 slices after we ate the ends off)! This is seasoned with garlic and onion powder, savory, parsley, caraway, sunflower, and fennel seeds, along with some seasoned salt from Herbal Grace. It is wonderful toasted with mustard, black forest ham, and munster cheese.


Aaaaaaannnddd....

I

also

made

this!!!!


(obviously not blocked yet)

I am so NOT good with patterns, not one bit. But, I was looking through the patterns that belonged to my grandmother and found this book. Most of what I got from her is for bedspreads, chair sets, luncheon sets, and larger doilies so I was glad to finally see something with smaller projects. Rest assured I will NOT be taking on anything much bigger than these!



I am not sure if the one I chose(the bottom one) was the easiest or hardest of the six but I managed to complete the first square in about four hours without ANY ripping! The second square took slightly less time but I had to frog half a row a few times. I think it was because it was late and I was tired. My stitches are fairly steady even so each side turned out within a 1/8th inch of the other or better, size-wise. Now I've got to find some satin and make a pillow and get the border put on. I'm sure that can't be any harder than the sides themselves.



I LOVE the red but I don't have much left so a trip to Goodwill is in order, they usually have tons of this stuff! I also have black and brown in bedspread weight but can't locate it right now. These would be cool in a sport weight or worsted for larger pillows or purse. Hmmmm, creative juices are now flowing, stand by. I have nothing to do this afternoon so I think I'll try another one of the patterns.

Now, because he disobeys my commands to stop. being. so. darn. cute...


(just today, see how BIG he's got? I bet he's nearly doubled in size since I found him)


(he's finally -slightly- bigger than the remote)


(most of our cats are afghan kitties, he took right up with them)


(he's also a daddy's boy)


(Jeff, just because he is cute too, and slightly larger than an Oreo cookie)

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!

After I wake up a bit more I plan to celebrate by spending a good part of the day outside, planted in my camp chair with a crochet project and a pitcher of iced tea! It might be at the lake or a park, or maybe in the front yard, that part hasn't been decided yet. Our temp will be in the mid-80s today so the lake would be nice but Ryan has a friend coming over, we have to get our raw milk sometime after 2pm, and the kids have church tonight so my guess would be that we'll stick close to home.

I came across these websites this morning. They'll make you think.

Christian Ecology- Christians for Environmental Stewardship

Forum on Religion and Ecology

Evangelical Ecologist Blog(see Christians Don't Do Earth Day)

ThinkChristian.net

The National Religious Partnership for the Environment

In other news...

The pretzel recipe from Alton Brown makes wooooonderful bread!!! I whipped some up Monday night to go with our leftover spaghetti and threw in onion and garlic powder, fennel and caraway seeds, parsley and savory. Instead of a loaf, I patted it down to almost fit in my large jelly roll pan, about 13x10 inches. I also didn't let it rise the second time, just once. We are using it for sandwich bread and toasting it. I can't get over how good it tastes with black forest ham. Next time, I'll leave it as an oblong loaf shape and let it rise a second time.

The girls just found their camera so pictures will be more frequent. They misplaced the cord for my camera, grrrr. Oh well, it will show up someday.

Yummy Pretzels!

We finally had a lull around here so I jumped in the kitchen and made Alton Brown's Homemade Soft Pretzels! Altered of course, subbing honey for the sugar and half whole wheat flour. My topping was regular table salt mixed with granulated garlic(not powder) and onion powder. I was out of kosher salt. They. Are. Spectacular. I'm on my forth one(I made mine small and got 2 dozen) already with spicy horseradish mustard.

The girls didn't get the camera batteries charged in time so enjoy the picture from the website, or at this lovely blog. Apparently I'm not the only one who loves them!

We're about to get a nasty storm so who knows what we'll do this afternoon. The girls cleaned the boys piggie cage so we don't have that many chores. Maybe I'll take them to the dreaded "Mall". Yah. and hoo.

Simply Sunday at the end of March...

I cannot believe its the end of March already!!! Wasn't it just Groundhog Day?? I swear it was!

We're having a very relaxing day after our Hundred Mile Drive yesterday, all in town I might add. I'm not sure if we actually drove 100 miles but it sure felt like it with all the hauling and collecting of the various children. After all that driving, I came home and made a huge pot of Chicken Tortilla Soup to take the chill off.

3-4 bnls/sknls chicken breasts, in 1-inch cubes(or smaller)
1 green pepper, chopped small
1 onion, chopped small
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons olive oil.

Combine the above and cook til chicken is mostly done. Add the following:

2 chicken broth cubes, dissolved in about 6 cups hot water(I think I may have added more water than this total)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can whole kernel corn, drained or 1 cup frozen corn
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup salsa(or more to taste)
1-2 teaspoons each: cumin, chili powder, oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Simmer for about 30-45 minutes and serve over crushed chips and a handful of cheese and sour cream on top.

We hit the sack early and slept well.

Today after lunch the men went fishing at Lone Star Lake and the womenfolk are here at the house. The younger ones have been outside all day long, enjoying the 65 degree sunny weather, and I've been inside deciding on paint colors. I posted a while back about wanting to use orange in our dining room and kitchen but after reading about how reds can raise blood pressure, that's NOT what I need. I'm 99% sure now that we'll be using a light yellow-green, the shade of these beautiful leaves.



I had a nice relaxing bath with salts, soaps, and conditioners from my friendPatricia's online store, Herbal Grace so now I smell fantabulous. We've nibbled on chips and hot sauce(our favorite is a mix of Albert's Hot Sauce and Herdez Salsa Verde). We're about to make Blondies from SpruceHill's recipe. YUM. Our microwave gave up the ghost today so we're having to wait on the butter to soften the old timey way.

Right now girls and I are watching Planet Earth and Africam at the same time. Over the past two years we've seen 30 different types of animal at the watering hole, including a cape buffalo being caught and eaten by lions, rhinos fighting, wildebeasts, hippos, snakes, bugs, zebras, baboons, turtles, antelope, cheetas, elephants, hyenas, giraffes, warthogs(so cute!), cervals, porcupines, and all kinds of birds. I would LOVE to visit this place!!

The men will be home shortly after dark and, after showers, we'll heat the leftover soup and sit around being lazy for the last few hours of the day. I wish all our weekends were this restful.