Making home a little better

school time!

2011-08-12T09:28:00.000-07:00

today is the official first day of school for our school district. my daughter was both nervous and excited to be going to a new school. so was mom... :)

her and her teacher

this is my son playing in his class while i was speaking to his teacher.

his teacher and him. he loves having her as a teacher, we do too. :)

finally...

2011-07-15T06:10:00.000-07:00

Our 4 year old son has been dealing with asthma for the last 3+ years.

He’s been diagnosed for 2 1/2 years, with controller meds for the past year. Yesterday was our appointment with a pulmonology specialist out of Children's Memorial Hospital. Because the summer months are his best time; giving him relief from many of his symptoms I was a tad worried about seeing the specialist at this time…I was worried for nothing. I couldn't have asked for a better experience yesterday when meeting the staff and physician at Children’s. We were given a stronger controller med, Qvar, to use daily in place of his Pulmicort. We were also given two homeopathic meds that will work on controlling the symptoms of his asthma long term. The best thing about these homeopathic meds is that they do not have side effects! Yay!! He already deals with excessive hyperactivity, and most his medications only add to this. I can’t wait to see what changes we see in his asthma over the next several months. I have a feeling the E.R. won’t be seeing as much of us. J I can’t even express how excited I am about hoping for that. I am so grateful that our primary doctor saw the need for him to see a specialist. As my mother-in-law said yesterday “there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

He's such a beautiful boy; both inside and out. It just breaks my heart to see him going through all of this.

oh honey!

2011-04-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

so here's a tip for all of you bakers. some may already know this, but i just accidentally found out about this while baking the other night! i had a true "ah ha" moment! my husband was like "duh!"

if your recipe calls for a sticky ingredient (such as honey) and oil, measure the oil first and use the same un-rinsed measuring cup or spoon for the sticky ingredient. doing this will leave absolutely no sticky residue in your measuring utensil which will ensure all of your ingredient ends up in the recipe! AMAZING! i don't know how i didn't figure this out before!

if your recipe does not call for oil; just rub or spray a little oil in the measuring utensil and then add your sticky substance.

such a little tip, but such a big help!

Beautiful Bagels

2011-04-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

I have a friend that started making bagels a few weeks, months…oh who knows…back, her bagels looked so freaking good that I had to try my hand at it! I’ve been putting it off for a bit because to tell you the truth it kind of intimidated me. :}

Well, the anxiety finally subsided a little and I decided to just dive in and do it!

Here is my journey of making gourmet bagels in picture and recipe form, enjoy!

I made one batch of multi grain bagels, and one split batch of jalapeño cheddar and garlic Italian.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup of warm water

1 tbsp of dry active yeast

1 tbsp of sugar (I used brown sugar)

1 tbsp of canola oil (or olive oil)

2 tsps of honey

2 tsps of salt

4 ½ cups of unbleached flour

~to make multi grain bagels use the following in place of half of the unbleached flour~

1 cup of oat flour

1 cup of whole wheat flour

¼ cup of ground flax seed

¼ cup of wheat germ

(Add whole oats to top the finished bagel prior to baking)

Directions:

1.) In a large mixing bowl combine water, yeast, sugar and salt. Let mixture ferment for 5 minutes. Then add honey, oil, and all the flour to the mixture. Now, it’s time to get your hands dirty! Yay! Mix all ingredients by running your fingers around the bowl to help form a dough ball. Once all loose dough is formed into a ball remove dough to a lightly floured surface and begin kneading.

Kneading your dough is not an aggressive massage, but is more like the kind of massage you would pay to receive. It’s enjoyable :)

2.) Knead the dough for roughly 5-10 minutes. There is a large range of time here, because you should gage on when kneading is done by the feel of the dough. The dough should be slightly firm to the touch. If using the multi grain recipe the dough will feel more like a stress relief ball, it will be firmer. Are you seeing a common thread??? Kneading dough is very therapeutic!

3.) Once dough is kneaded place dough on a floured surface (a cutting board works nicely) and cover with a flour dusted dishtowel. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes. zzzzzzzzzzz....

4a.) Next, divide the dough into 8 pieces; using a pizza cutter would make this easy.

4b.) Take each piece and individually pat them out to form a palm size semi flattened ball. Then, poke a finger through the center of the ball and stretch out the hole created. It will now look like a doughnut.

4c.) Place each of the bagels back onto a lightly floured surface and cover with the dishtowel. Let rest for about 15 minutes, longer if the area is cooler in your kitchen. zzzzzzzz....

5.) While the dough is resting, place a very large frying pan (or stock pot) filled ¾ full with water on high heat. To the water add 2 tbsp of brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Let the water come to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

6.) After getting your boiling water set up you will want to get your baking sheets ready for your bagels. You can use parchment paper to line the pan if you want, but I found that adding a little olive oil to the pans and sprinkling with corn meal works just fine. Also, you need to preheat your oven to 450. Don't forget this step, or you'll be waiting on your oven!

7.) This next step reactivates the yeast in the dough and will give the dough a glassy look when finished. Place 2-3 of the risen bagels into the water for 1 minute per side. When bagels are finished on both sides remove from the water and place on a clean towel to drain. I only let mine sit on the towel for a few seconds because the sticky dough allowed the toppings to adhere better.

8.) When you remove your bagels from the towel, if you want to have toppings, turn them onto a small dish with your choice of topping. Then place the oven ready bagels on your prepared baking sheets and place in the oven. Once the bagels are in the oven reduce the heat to 425. Bake for about 15 minutes, and then turn the bagels and finish cooking for another 5 minutes. Do not turn your bagels if you are using cheese as a topping! Watch your bagels, because I found some of mine didn't take as long as others.

Finished Product! Yummy!

Use your imagination for flavors, or make some of your favorites!

Thaw...

2011-02-16T04:40:00.001-08:00

the great thaw has officially started! yay!

BLIZZARD!!

2011-02-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

so...the blizzard has begun!

yay, and wow!!

i haven't seen this amount of snow in, well, forever!

it's pretty amazing.

here are a few pictures of what we have so far.

these were taken from inside, i don't really want to go out...

can't imagine why!

this is my husband shoveling a tunnel to our side door.

still shoveling

the kids watching daddy get the driveway cleared.

i'll post more pics later.

Low-cholesterol, multi-grain blueberry bread

2011-01-11T11:41:00.000-08:00

3/4 cup of whole wheat flour

1/2 cup of regular flour

1/2 cup of ground oats

1/3 cup of sugar

2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of salt

1tbsp of flax seed meal mixed with 3 tbsp of warm water

1/4 cup of olive oil (or for lower fat use 1/8 cup of olive oil and 1/8 cup of applesauce)

1 cup of frozen or fresh blueberries

mix in the order listed and place in a sprayed pie pan or bread pan.

cook at 400 degrees for about 30-40 mins. i'm not sure exacly how long to cook it for cause i just waited for the smell of the bread and it to get a light brown crust color. lol! it's really crusty on the outside but oh-so-soft on the inside...yummo!!

here's the nutrition information for using the 1/4 cup of olive oil:

Calories 202.5

Total Fat 8.2 g

Saturated Fat 1.4 g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.1 g

Monounsaturated Fat 5.4g

Cholesterol 1.8 mg

Sodium 277.2 mg

Potassium 64.6 mg

Total Carbohydrate 32.9 g

Dietary Fiber 3.4 g

Sugars 10.9 g

Protein 4.0g

2010-10-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

Instant Banana Pudding for Kids

This recipe is for 2 servings

Step One

Mash one small banana with clean hands in a medium bowl.

Step Two

Add 6 tbsp of apple sauce to the banana.

Step Three

Stir in 2 tsp of plain yogurt.

Step Four (the favorite step)

EAT!!

2010-10-16T06:17:00.000-07:00

Apple Jack Pancakes

These are a favorite with my kids. The name reminds them of the cereal.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of whole wheat flour

1/2 cup of (unbleached) white flour

(optional)--2 tbsp of ground flax seed--(optional)

1 tbsp of sugar or honey

1 tsp of of baking powder

1/4 tsp of baking soda

1 tsp of ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp of salt

1 egg

1/2 cup of plain applesauce

1/2 cup of buttermilk or sour milk

(To make sour milk, add 1 tsp of lemon juice to measuring cup and fill to 1/2 cup with milk.

Let this sit for at least 2 minutes. Then, you have instant sour milk.)

How to make:

1. Combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Make a well, hole, in the middle of your mix for the wet ingredients to sit.

2. Heat up nonstick pan or griddle. (I use my cast iron pan, it works great!)

3. Add wet ingredients and mix until combined. Do not over mix. The mix will be thick.

My son is doing all the work this morning!

4. Add pancake mix to pan and cook.

(Our pancakes are about 1/2 cup of mix each. It's the right amount for the kids.)

Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon and pour maple syrup over the whole thing.

YUM YUM!

2010-10-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

Blog Award

I just found out I was given a blogger award back in May by Cindy at Artful Living on the Bluff!!!!! OH MY! I am very grateful for this award and am very happy to pass it along to 7 bloggers I think are outstanding. Sorry this is so late in coming!

1. Char at Crap I've Made.
2. Agnes at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

3. Frenchy at Le Chateau Des Fleurs By Frenchy.

4. Missy at The Grubby Gardener.

5. Ode to Motherhood.

6. Anne at Open Book Girls.
And of course but not least,

7. Cindy at Artful Living on the Bluff.

I hope you all enjoy the blogs I have chosen. I know I do.

Here is my list of 7 things you may not know about me:

1. I hate bees! With a passion! I was once stung by one, around the age of 7, in a very private area. Hence the not liking them! Lol.

2. I love to go on long vacations by car. My husband does not. Can’t imagine why not!?!? I mean, aren't all kids supposed to annoy their parents while on long trips??? Lol.

3. I grew up a pastor’s daughter.

4. I know sign language. My brother and sister-in-law (my brother’s wife) are deaf.

5. I love riding in the tractor with my husband, and singing at to all our favorite songs.

6. This is bad of me, but I love Eminem’s raps.

7. I hate folding clothes! I would rather move clothes from one location to another or have baskets upon baskets of clothes laying around than fold them. I’m a bad house wife! Lol.

Thank you again for the award Cindy!

2010-10-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

Multi Grain Banana Bread

I have been making this recipe for a while. This is a recipe that has lots of ingredients that are wonderful for your body. Kids are great at making these. The initial recipe came from a kids book my mother-in-law gave me. I’ve tweaked it to fit our eating lifestyle.

I will give you the nutrition information following the recipe.

Step 1:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Mash 3 whole bananas in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Step 2:

Mix the following ingredients in a medium to large bowl.

1 cup of whole wheat flour

½ cup of regular unbleached white flour

½ cup of wheat germ

¼ cup of oat flour (to make this, take oats and grind in a food processer till it resembles whole grain flour.)

¼ cup of ground flax seed

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of baking soda

Step 3:

Add the following to the dry ingredients and mix.

¼ cup of melted butter

¼ cup of olive oil

2 eggs (you can substitute 1 egg with 1 tbsp of flax seed and 3 tbsp of warm water.)

½ cup of sugar

Step 4:

Fold in the bananas

Step 5:

Bake in a greased muffin pan for about 17 minutes.

For a bread loaf, bake the bread for 1 hour.

Nutritional Information: For 16 medium muffins.
Calories 163 : Fat 8g : Sat Fat 3g : Polyunsat 2g : Monounsat 4g : Cholesterol 34mg : Sodium 233mg : Potassium 150mg : Carbs 21g : Fiber 3g : Sugar 9g : Protein 4g

How to make homemade household cleaners!

2010-09-25T22:44:00.000-07:00

Ok. So, because of my son's allergies and sensitive skin I have been making homemade cleaners for the house. I thought I would share some of my recipes with you guys! I have not had to buy cleaners for quite some time, which saves us lots o' money!

Kitchen/bathroom cleaner

(Safe on all surfaces)

Reuse one of your old cleaner spray bottles, or buy a spray bottle that is rated for chemicals. (This is because over time the vinegar can corrode the other types of bottles.)

-Fill half the bottle with distilled vinegar, and then top it off with distilled water.

-Add about 5 drops of essential oil of your choice, if you have it. This makes it smell better, instead of it smelling like a pickle! lol!

(If you have a dehumidifier, you can use that water. this is what I do.)

For tough to get cleaned areas:

-Add a little baking soda to the surface and then spray with the cleaner.

-Let this sit for about 2 mins.

-Wipe clean.

*You may have to re-spray the area to get any residue cleaned up.

Glass cleaner

Again use a spray bottle rated for chemicals.

-Fill half the bottle with hydrogen peroxide and top off with distilled water.

-Add 5 drops of essential oil for sent.

Wood polish

You can put this in a small squirt bottle, the kind with the pop tops.

-Put a whole orange or lemon peel, only the colored part of the peel, in a sauce pan with 2 cups of olive oil.

-Slowly simmer oil for about 20 mins. This is to infuse the oils from the peel into the olive oil.

-Let the oil cool, then place in the squirt bottle.

DO NOT BOIL THE OIL!!!

To use:

Squirt a small amount of the mixture on the furniture and rub in with a clean lint free cloth.

*The oil does not need to be extra virgin; it should be just plain olive oil.

It can also be the cheap stuff too, since you won't be eating it!

Laundry soap

This makes about 5 lbs of soap. This will last a very long time!

Only use between 1 and 2 tbs of laundry soap per load. If you have a front load washer use 1/2 tbs per load.

Really, this is all it takes to get your clothes clean!

-Grate two bars of soap, any soap. Place grated soap in a large bowl.

-Add two lbs of borax (found in the laundry aisle)

-Add two lbs of washing soda (not baking soda that comes next) also found in the laundry aisle.

-Add 1 cup of baking soda

-Mix the ingredients together and place in a medium to large container. (i use old 1 gallon ice cream containers)

*To make clothes static free and get tough smells out, place 1/2 cup of vinegar into the softener section of your machine. Works like a charm!

Another use for vinegar!

*Use vinegar in your dishwasher's rise aid dispenser instead of buying expensive rise aids!

If you can’t tell by now, I buy vinegar and baking soda by the LARGE quantities!! Lol!

I hope you all find this helpful and useful! Happy cleaning!

school time!

2010-08-18T05:14:00.000-07:00

today is my son's first day of preschool this year! he's been up since 6am and we've talked about nothing but school! he's a little excited. he will be riding a bus to and from school. oh boy!! i have to tell you this is scary for me! i'm not used to letting others take him places. i'll just have to be a big girl and take lots of deep breaths...breathe christi, breathe...

my daughter started 2nd grade on monday. she seems to like her teacher and is enjoying her class so far. we'll see how long this last! eventually there will be a morning when i have to fight with her to get up and get ready for school, it always happens! she loves school, but is not a morning person. just like her mom!

by the way, if you were wondering how my day went without him...it went fine. i was too busy to really let it sink in.

canning...

2010-08-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

canning, canning, canning!!!! OH MY GOD! i am sick of canning tomatoes!!!!!!!

busy, busy, bees...

2010-08-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

My family has been pretty busy of late! Between birthday parties, gardening, working, remodeling and a butt load of other stuff; we have been busy, busy bees. Our garden is doing well; we have a ton of stuff coming in on a weekly basis. The only thing that didn’t turn out well was our sugar snap peas. Some didn’t come up, while others died off after only a few weeks of producing. We’re not sure what happened, but oh well, you can’t have it all!

A few months ago we bought a new dishwasher and had it installed. While installing it the installer damaged our counter top. It was an older counter, but we made a claim anyway, we ended up with a new, beautiful counter and sink. I have to say installing it was more work than we planned, but it looks great!! We choose a style of counter that looks like marble but it is Formica. I even did most of the caulking!

We recently received a new pet from one of my daughter’s classmates. He is a guinea pig and is named Chewie. My son has started calling him Mr. Chewie, it’s stuck. It’s pretty cute when he says his name; it comes out as Mr. Shewie. The little boy that had Mr. Chewie moved and was not able to take him with him. We told him that he is always welcome to visit Chewie.

So, my life has been pretty busy of late. It’s about to get busier though, schools starting soon for both me and the kids…OH NO!!!

For my Granny

2010-07-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

This past week was both sad and nice. Our family went down to southern MO for my Granny’s funeral. In the midst of the sadness, there was the joy of knowing where our beloved Granny is headed. Heaven. I was very close to my Granny; she made everyone feel so important and special when around her. She was a very simple Godly woman that was never ashamed of who she was or for whom she served. I hope that I can become a fraction of the woman she was. She will be greatly missed and forever on my mind. I love you Granny! I hope that the simple things in life will always remind me of whom you were and who I wish to become. Sleep well granny… see you soon!

While in MO we were able to visit with many of my family members that I’ve not seen in some time. It was wonderful being able to spend time with them. Our family is sometimes loud, sometimes obnoxious, but we know how to have a great time with one another. Laughter, hugs and love are always shared within our family. In the midst of our pain, we were able to enjoy each other; something Granny enjoyed, I’m sure. She raised all of us well.

so sad...

2010-07-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

I just found out that my Great Grandmother passed this morning. Please pray for the Gentry family.

Let the bounty come!!

2010-07-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

Today I went out to the garden to pick some fresh veggies! Let me say, I love my gardens! We have flower gardens, a herb garden and a veggie garden. I love it when the bounty starts coming in, and it's just in time...my last day of summer class is tomorrow! I can't wait till I can just enjoy the summer!

Here are some pics of the kids helping to plant the garden this spring.

Jake holding the seed bag for sissy

Em showing me one of her seeds

Jake showing off his packet of seeds

Making sure to only get one seed per inch...she's such a good little farmer. They both are!

This year we've planted red and white onions, green beans, snow peas, carrots, broccoli, cayenne peppers, bell peppers, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, lettuce, roma tomatoes, big boy tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes. For herbs we have chives, parsley, thyme, rosemary, cilantro, mint and oregano.

Here are some pics of our veggie blessings from today's harvest. YUM! YUM!

Green Beans

Broccoli

Green Bell Pepper and Roma Tomatoes

Parsley!!!

adventures and finds from our weekend at the cabin!

2010-05-31T21:29:00.000-07:00

for the weekend we went to my in-laws cabin by the river. we had so much fun in the boat, going shopping,

relaxing, and being hot!! here are some pics of the things we did and found.

posing close to the top of castle rock.

the muddy rock river.

em and i headed to jay's drive-in for a corn dog and some homemade root beer!

~that's em by the sign~

ummmm...that's a good corn dog!

we went to the soap shoppe afterwords to restock our soap supply! we got watermelon, sweet pits (for stinky arm pits) lavender, and a free bar that we don't know what it is; but it smells good!

this is a link to the oregon soap shoppe

then we went to the old piano factory and went antiquing! here are some of our finds.

i got this for 75 cents!!! it's made by the sterling china company in East Liverpool OH. they made dinning china for restaurants and hotels. it's from 1952.

i also got another piece of A&J for my kitchen wall. i got this for $1.50.

i also bought a 1899 wheeler and wilson treadle and machine, i didn't have room for it in the car, for $55! here's a picture of it:

we will be picking it up later!

here we are on a boat ride

me and jake.

so, these were our adventures this weekend. we had a lot of fun by ourselves and with mom and dad too!

friendly friday

2010-05-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

Link parties i am participating in this Friday!

MY TREES ARE GONE!!! :(

2010-05-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

This is what my house looked like with the trees. The front one and one of the back ones needed to be taken out due to bug damage, the back one kept loosing limbs on the house, causing damage.

The front one was a locust. The back one was a soft maple.

This is what the mean tree guys did to my trees!! *tear*tear*

FYI~the rest of the pictures were taken by my six year old daughter. She takes great pics.

And this...

IT"S GONE!! :(

Emily (my daughter) thought it was neat when they loaded up the huge pieces of tree trunk into the truck. They used the "BIG CLAW!"

Though I am not happy the trees had to go, I understand why they did. It's just so sad seeing them be cut down. On the bright side, we will be planting a replacement tree in the front yard. It will either be this year or next, but it will be done, OR ELSE!

friendship!

2010-05-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

This one is of my son and his favorite Disney character. He says that Woody is his best friend!

finals are finished!

2010-05-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

YIPPEE!! i am finished with my finals! i'm starting back again next week though. :(

i haven't been on here much this past week, due to finals. now that they're finished, i can get back to blogging!

shutter love tuesday's photo entry

2010-05-04T15:32:00.000-07:00

Emily playing dress-up at Land of Wonder. She was a dolled up Snow White!

something i just whipped up...

2010-05-03T07:19:00.000-07:00

This is a painting that I made for my son. He LOVES tractors and farm stuff, so I thought I would surprise him with something I made for him. He loved it! He’s only 3 and has already has ‘good’ taste in art! Lol! On the back I wrote an inscription for him to be able to remember why I did this for him.

Seriously though, I used to paint all the time, but after I had kids life happened, and I completely stopped doing the things that I loved so much. I had two little loves the utterly filled my heart. I am getting back to doing those things that I used to take pleasure in a little at a time. Over time I’ve found there are other things that I like doing just as much as the artistic things I used to enjoy, most of which centers around my family. I now scrapbook, cook (I love cooking, which could be the reason I need to lose several pounds!), make things for my kids, sew, garden, and many more things. I take pride in the things life has taught me; I hope to acquire many more interesting and useful skills in my future. My life is much fuller now, and I have been opened up to a grand variety of things I never thought I would like

waiting...

2010-05-02T06:22:00.000-07:00

This morning has been quite and productive. It’s only 8:15am and I’ve already got a load of laundry on the line, dishes done, and house cleaned up (didn’t take much, did most of the cleaning yesterday). I’m sitting listening to Jason Miraz, eating my multi-grain cheerios making this post. It’s been a relaxing morning thus far. I’m currently waiting on my husband and 3 year old son to come home from feeding the cattle this morning. My little boy was soooo excited to be going with daddy to work this morning at 6am, all he could say was “I like going to work with daddy!!” It was so cute! So, while I wait, I think I’ll go do some exercising.

Have a lovely Sunday everyone!!

stupid allergies...yuck!

2010-04-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

Allergy season is certainly full bloom right now! My children and I have been dealing with sneezing, coughing, runny noses and puffy eyes. Both my daughter and I have never had allergy medication, however I am thinking that we may need to see the doctor to get some. It seems the days there are high pollen counts, we are all suffering. Benadryl does not work, however that’s what we’ve been using because that’s all we have. I’m wondering if Claritin would work.?.

My son has allergies and asthma, so he has medication that works for him. He still gets symptoms but we are able to control them at home verses the hospital. They say he should grow out of them eventually. It’s kind of crazy funny, because even one of our cats, Isabelle, is having allergy like symptoms! Wouldn’t it be crazy if we were all allergic to the same things?? Lol! I think our problem is trees. We have several maple and oak trees either on our own property or on our neighbor’s lawns. The tree pollen count yesterday was 11.2, which is HIGH! Yesterday was our worst day. Today’s not supposed to be much better though…stupid allergies!

Here is a link to the pollen.com site. It is quite useful!
Click here for the pollen web site.

sour cream enchilada receipe

2010-04-28T06:01:00.000-07:00

This recipe is one that was passed down from my mother to me when I got married. It is a great way to use left over taco meat, which I gave a recipe for last week, click here to view the recipe from last week. You can use many variations within this recipe, so feel free to experiment a little.

Ingredients:

• Small taco shells, 1-2 per person
• Filling about 1/4 cup for each taco shell
~Filling can either be fresh filling or leftover filling. This can either be taco meat, beans, rice or combination of each. (I use just taco meat and rice, due to not liking beans.)
• Shredded cheese, to be used with filling
• Sour cream, 1 oz per shell
• Equal amount of fresh or canned salsa
• Extra cheese for topping
• 2 Tbsp of fresh cilantro
• Ground cumin, to sprinkle on top

Directions:

1. First, lay out all ingredients and set up an assembly line for filling and rolling the shells. mixture is thick like pudding, but only a little. (Shells, filling, and cheese)
2. Then mix the topping, sour cream and salsa, and set aside. Water may need to be added if mixture is thick like pudding. It should be pourable.
3. Start filling shells, that have been warmed up, by placing fillings inside and rolling the shell closed, and then lay each shell in sprayed oven safe pan. Warming the shell up will make it workable.

4. Once all shells are placed in the pan, pour the sour cream and salsa mixture over them.
5. Add the additional cheese, cilantro and ground cumin to top of mixture.
6. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes and until top is golden. (if only a couple of enchiladas are being made time may be less)

7. Let cool for about 5 minutes then serve.

This can be paired with avocados or a sweet corn and romaine salad with a hot salsa dressing. If you would like this recipe please email me.

2010-04-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

Here is my photo for today...

~love the rain, the hubby's tulips and i guess him too~

2010-04-26T20:33:00.000-07:00

The other day it stormed. I love thunder storms! After the rain, I went straight to the front yard to take pictures of the rain that was still on the tulips. I did this with my phone camera, so I don’t think that the rain showed up too much. They still look nice though…

We had our garage sale over the weekend. I can’t tell you how many people came into the porch, where our garage sale was, and gushed over our tulips like girl in love for the first time. They kept asking what we did to make them that tall, to tell the truth we don’t know. My husband only planted them in the fall, this past year, and they just ended up being mammoth tulips! I think most of it has to do with the type of tulip they are but we have soooooo many different types, and their all huge!

I love this picture. It shows the rain on the petal so well. :) He plants some nice flowers...

How to make a clothes pin/peg bag. EASY

2010-04-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

I have needed...no, wanted a clothes pin bag for a LONG time. I’ve been using an old milk jug that I had hooked to my clothes line with a bungee cord. It worked, but didn’t look so pleasing to the eye. So, I decided to try and find one to buy, however they cost more than I would like to spend. One day while looking at some that were for sale on the Internet, I thought of all the jumpers that my daughter had in her closet and decided to try and make the bag out of one of them. I didn’t have the slightest clue about what to do, so I just winged it. It turned out pretty good. The best thing is, it works well and is pleasing to the eye!

-The first step is to choose a dress jumper that has some sort of snap or clip for the shoulders.
This way you can hook it around the clothes line. My daughters dress was a 5t and made out of jean material.

-Next, you cut the bottom of the jumper off about 8-10 inches from the bottom of the underarm.

-Then, you turn the jumper inside out and sew the bottom closed.
I used 2 straight stitches side-by-side then finished with a closed ended zigzag stitch.

-Lastly, trim away any loose frays and turn right side out.

*The pins are accessible through the arm and neck openings.
*If there are pockets on the dress, they could be used to clip extra clothes pins for easy access.
The finished bag should look something like this:

annual garage sale!

2010-04-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

It’s that time of year again! GARAGE SALE SEASON!!

Every year this thing gets bigger and bigger. I don't know if that means that we keep collecting stuff that we don't need, or if we are just getting rid of things we've kept for years and never needed... every year after the sale we load up everything we didn't get rid of and truck it over to the N.I.C.E. centre in one of our neighboring towns. The N.I.C.E. centre is a donation centre and food pantry. They are a great asset to our local communities and we love to be able to help them however we can.

So, I guess my thought for today is...when you've exhausted your own garage sale instead of keeping the leftovers for yet another year, donate them.

wednesday's recipe!

2010-04-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

I am going to start something new for Wednesdays. I will be giving out one of my personal recipes for everyone to try. Make sure to let me know after you make it what you thought about it.

Homemade Taco Meat

(This is not the packaged seasoned kind)

1 lb of lean hamburger, ground chicken or turkey (for this I used lean hamburger)

½ cup of crushed tomatoes (fresh or canned)

½ cup of diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)

½ large onion, diced

1 whole green bell pepper, diced

1 clove of garlic, diced (about 1 tsp)

Now the rest I don’t really measure, I use my palm to measure. So, they are approximate measurements.

1 full palm full of paprika (any kind you like)

½ palm full of chili powder

¼ palm full of cumin powder

½ palm full of fresh cilantro, or oregano) (Use half of this amount if you are using dried herbs)

Directions:

Cut up all veggies and get everything ready to just drop in.

Preheat a cast iron skillet or pan with at least 3 inch sides

Put everything into pan. There is really no order, just make sure it gets mixed up once it’s in the pan.

(I usually put everything in the pan in the order it’s listed above.)

Cook for 10-15 minutes or until meat is cooked through.

There is no need to drain the meat due to using lean meat, the little bit of fat that is there is okay.

If your meat gets dry (it may with the ground chicken or turkey) add ½ cup of water at a time till it is the consistency you would like.

What to do with it:

We made taco salads today, but this can be used for any Mexican dish. Some other ideas are: stuffed peppers, tacos, burritos or enchiladas.

Earth Day 2010 // The Nature Conservancy

2010-04-19T08:25:00.001-07:00

Earth Day 2010 // The Nature Conservancy

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flowers and plants, oh my!

2010-04-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

i love flowers and plants. my hubby last fall planted a TON of tulips in front of our house. i think there were upwards to 150 tulips that he bought and planted. i am kind of picky about my tulips and was skeptical that they may not be they type i like, boy was i wrong! my favs are the tall darwin hybrids, the ones you find in the netherlands. i love that they are so strong and dominate. i love all colors but one of my favs is the ‘ivory floradale’ it is a beautifully simple bloom that is very elegant.

this is our beautiful rose! the only rose we've been able to grow without it dying over the winter.

this is grandma millspaugh's peonies flowers which we transplanted this spring. they are doing so well! i think grandma would be proud.

grandma's hostas that i transplanted and split up two years ago. some of them need to be split up again. these have pretty purple flowers almost all summer long.

i hope everyone is enjoying spring as much as i am!

2010-04-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

this is a great way to honor earth day. i hope that others will take steps to honor earth day in any way possible. we need to do all we can to help preserve what we have for those who come after us.

this is how it works. first visit mach's grun, read how it works and grab a button. once you’ve done that, blog about being earth friendly. they will plant a tree in honor of your blog, making it a green blog! thanks diary of a stay at home mom for the idea!

laundry time!

2010-04-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

If one did’nt know better they may think I got a new washer. I have been doing laundry left and right. The only time I stop is when I sleep or my clothes line is full. I refuse to use my dryer with this wonderful weather we've been having. i've been using my new laundry soap, thanks chase street soap co. (jess). I really have to say it is working wonders on my clothes and senses! My husband’s work clothes have never looked better. Besides that, it smells heavenly! I am so happy I did the research and made an educated decision regarding the soap I chose. It is both safe to use (for the environment and people) and is VERY cost effective.

spring, oh how i've waited for you!!

2010-04-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Spring has got to be one of the most wonderful times of the year. It is my favorite season, followed closely by summer. Even posting this, I am enjoying the wonders of the season. I am sitting in my back yard being wrapped in the gentle breeze, watching the sun peek through the tall maples and kissing the lush green carpet of grass. There is a hint of lavender in the air, due to the laundry on the line. Beside me I have one of my favorite fruits, strawberries, which I am greatly enjoying. Perfect relaxation, that’s what spring is to me.

it's been awhile since i have posted anything, so i have a lot to catch up on...

LAUNDRY SOAP or Detergent Large size 64 plus by chasestreetsoapco

2010-03-31T15:51:00.000-07:00

this is awesome laundry soap!!

LAUNDRY SOAP or Detergent Large size 64 plus by chasestreetsoapco

starting to get into shape

2010-03-31T10:15:00.000-07:00

i know it's been awhile since i've posted anything, i've been pretty busy. i started a diet and working out daily about two weeks ago. i've been getting better at the working out bit, and am loosing inches! whoo hoo! i've noticed that since starting this journey i have been feeling more energized. i feel like the little i've done has help a lot! so far i've lost 4 lbs. it's a start.

dieting... yuck! - Everyday Health Blogs

2010-03-27T06:25:00.001-07:00

dieting... yuck! - Everyday Health Blogs

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Just For Kix Illinois dance show 2010

2010-03-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

this is emily's illinois JFK dance show. emily is the farthest on the right.

kid's projects

2010-03-10T17:57:00.001-08:00

we started two new projects with the kids today.

jake and daddy’s project is growing plants to eventually put into the garden. they have lots of peppers and tomatoes potted in the basement. this is their first year of planting from seeds, we'll see how it goes. jake of course, being three years old, moved on to playing with toys after the first 5 or so pots were planted! he did do some of it, which is all we can ask for.

my project with emily is i am teaching her to sew. we started with a simple rectangular pillow. this was her first time sewing, she kind of surprised me. she picked up on it pretty fast. she, of course, had some help and guidance from me since she is only 6. for the most part though, she did it herself. at the end i stitched on a couple of buttons to make it "beautiful", according to her. the pillow is pink, her favorite color.

the kids seemed to really enjoy starting these projects, we'll see how it goes...

it's the small things that make kids soooo happy!

2010-03-08T10:58:00.000-08:00

it always amazes me how our kids get so excited about the littlest things. we were at wally-world yesterday to get a few things, we ended up getting much more than we planned on, when we saw that they had kid's sheet sets on sale. we decided to pick up some for our son since he just got a big boy bed and needed sheets. we ended up getting the handy mandy set. our son held them throughout the entire store, while telling EVERYONE he saw about his new sheets! he was so proud of his new sheets! when we got home, we had to put them right on his bed. he wouldn't even let me wash them! he kept saying, "these are my brand new sheets! i love my brand new sheets!" it's just amazing how much happiness $10 can buy a kid!

the first tooth emily lost.

2010-03-05T10:59:00.001-08:00

my daughter, emily, lost her first tooth over the past weekend! to be honest, she actually pulled it herself, she's such a determined girl. of course, right after pulling it, she saw all the blood and went hysterical! lol!

something new

2010-03-05T07:57:00.000-08:00

new adventures are fun! this is going to be my new adventure...we'll see how it goes...

here is a little information about me.

i am a stay at home mom of two beautiful children, emily and jacob. emily is in 1st grade, and in girl scouts, dance and will soon be in gymnastics (in the summer). jacob is in preschool and loves anything that has a motor! like most boys, i think. my husband works on a farm, a cattle and grain farm. we have two cats, princess and isabelle. princess definitely lives up to her name, while isabelle is more withdrawn. i love the town we live in. it is small, only about 1000 people or so, but it is home. small towns are quiet and slow paced, that's what we like. we love to garden, we always have fresh veggies throughout the summer and fall. we are really getting into the organic gardening, it helps that the hubby works on a cattle farm. free fertilizer!!

i also babysit, so my house is always busy! being a mom is one of the most challenging and rewarding ventures that i have been on. it is such a joy to see your little ones grow right before your eyes, though at the same time it is sad. :( they grow up so fast.

i have recently decided to return to school, my plans are to get my sociology degree and become a social worker. there have been so many people in my life that have given a helping hand when needed, i would like to return the favor by helping others.

being involved in ones community is something i believe everyone should take part in at some point in their life. sometimes i think i can go a little overboard with this notion! my friends and family would probably agree, i think.

i love my life, and wouldn't change a thing about it!

Making home a little better

school time!

finally...

oh honey!

Beautiful Bagels

Thaw...

BLIZZARD!!

Low-cholesterol, multi-grain blueberry bread

How to make homemade household cleaners!

school time!

canning...

busy, busy, bees...

For my Granny

so sad...

Let the bounty come!!

adventures and finds from our weekend at the cabin!

friendly friday

MY TREES ARE GONE!!! :(

friendship!

finals are finished!

shutter love tuesday's photo entry

something i just whipped up...

waiting...

stupid allergies...yuck!

sour cream enchilada receipe

~love the rain, the hubby's tulips and i guess him too~

How to make a clothes pin/peg bag. *EASY*

annual garage sale!

wednesday's recipe!

Earth Day 2010 // The Nature Conservancy

flowers and plants, oh my!

laundry time!

spring, oh how i've waited for you!!

LAUNDRY SOAP or Detergent Large size 64 plus by chasestreetsoapco

starting to get into shape

dieting... yuck! - Everyday Health Blogs

Just For Kix Illinois dance show 2010

kid's projects

it's the small things that make kids soooo happy!

the first tooth emily lost.

something new

How to make a clothes pin/peg bag. EASY