Black Friday

I have just now recovered from my first ever TRUE Black Friday experience. I say TRUE because I have never actually gone out before the crack of dawn. I'm more of a roll out around 11 am type of girl, shop a little, get some lunch, shop some more, have a cocktail, shop a little more...you get the idea.

This year, however, I decided to try this early thing out because there were a couple of things I wanted to get. I was not willing to freeze, though, so I arrived at Best Buy at 5:05 am, just in time to walk in at the end of the crazy long line of people who'd been waiting since God knows when. I grabbed my stuff and hit the check out line. The rest of my morning consisted of Target, Bath & Body Works, and Gap. I was home by 8:05 am. My family wasn't even awake yet!

I realize that 5:05 is not that early for most of you friends, but for me, waking up at 4:15 am was a little like torture. I may or may not do it again next year. I'll have to see what's on sale.

Oh, one more thing. What the heck were all those other people doing out at 5 in the morning?! Didn't they konw the roads were terrible (still all icy). Madness, I tell you.

Pie Crust? Yes, ma'am!

I decided to try making pie crust this year instead of going with my old standby--pillsbury in a box. I did buy the box, though, just in case things didn't work out. And there was a definite possibility that things would not work out -- I've tried it before and ended up with a mess...though it led to my discovery of the pie crust in a box, so I suppose my attempt was not a total bust.

Anyway, I decided to give it another try. Check this baby out:

• good consistency and not too sticky or dry
• bigger than pie plate 
• no tears in crust (I mean tear as in rip, not tear as in sad...haha...I realized it could have been either in this situation)

This pretty crust now has a lovely sweet potato pie all baked in it. It smells great and Andre will be surprised to see it (and happy, since he's the one who likes it) when he gets home. Whenever that is...he might have to work super late tonight with our crazy weather.

Yay me!! Now I'm waiting for my potato roll bread dough to rise (thanks again for the recipe, Brandie). I'm going to go ahead and bake rolls tonight since I can stay up late -- school is cancelled for tomorrow!

Getting ready for Thanksgiving

We are hosting Thanksgiving this year and I've been working on my decor. I don't have much of a collection of fall/harvest/Thanksgiving items, so it's been a project this year. I've picked up quite a few things and have a good start.

The girls and I made this banner a couple nights ago. So fun and inexpensive...it cost about $5, I think. Now I just need to figure out how to hide the stupid thermostat that our builder so wisely put smack in the middle of what could've been a nice wall to hang a picture or something.

We also made and sent these invitations. Not that our "peeps" need a formal invitation. But it was fun to make them. The picture quality is not that great, but you'll get the general idea.

I spent yesterday working out my menu and shopped today. The grocery store was surprisingly un-busy (is that a word?!) and I got in and out with no trouble. On the menu for this year:

Turkey (duh, but am trying something new and not stuffing him...her...?)

Ham (cooking it in my crock pot to free up oven space)

Andouille sausage stuffing (has the standard seasoning/ingredients, plus the sausage and red bell peppers)

Cream corn (not out of the can, friends, but made with cream cheese...can we say yum!)

Regular corn (in case, for some reason, the cream corn is not a giant hit with everyone)

Brussels sprouts (sauteed with bacon and red onions...one of my favorites)

Candied yams (complete with marshmellows on top)

Baked potatoes (my sister's clever idea, complete will the toppings)

Rolls (not sure if they will be store bought or homemade -- it will depend on how much time/energy I have)

and

PIE!!

What's on your menu??

Little Harvey

I have to thank my grandmother (who passed away last spring) yet again for her bountiful collection of STUFF (her word, not mine). It took me a U-Haul and a full Ford Expedition to haul it all home (in separate trips). And I'm not the only one who got STUFF. With my grandmother's STUFF, I have been able to partially furnish our new home, feed my family some delicious foods because I have a TON of new appliances and then serve my fabulous food on lovely silver and china.

So, who is Little Harvey you ask? Well, Little Harvey is the food dehydrator thing that I got from...guess who...Grandma. It is a monster. A thing from the past. It's about 3' deep, 18" high and 18" wide. There are 8 tray/rack things inside. You load those babies up, plug Little Harvey in and turn the thermostat to the appropriate temperature. Little Harvey's fan turns on and he just hums away (not a completely unpleasant sound, btw) until the items inside are completely shrivelled up, devoid of all moisture.

Remember the crazy 56 pounds of apples we got a couple of weeks ago. I dried a few pounds of granny smiths last week. De.li.cious. The girls and I peeled them, sliced them thinly, and then sprinkled most with cinnamon and few with a cinnamon and nutmeg. We slid the trays into Little Harvey, cranked him up to 135, and 12 hours later we had little apple slices about 1/8th the size they were originally.

The only issue related to these little bits of yummy is the danger of eating too many...remember I said they are 1/8th their original size. So I'm pretty sure the girls and I end up eating about 4 apples at a time. Oh the calories. Oh the fiber. I'm sure you all understand.

What have you been up to lately?

It's been awhile since I've blogged. We've been up to the usual stuff -- we finished up summer break WAY too fast and went back to school! It's been a super busy school year so far. I am still at the old stomping grounds and the girls started kindergarten and first grade at our neighborhood school, which is a switch for them. It's October and I will say that we are still adjusting to some things...mostly, mom is still adjusting to some things.

I had a super visit with my BFF Heather last month when she came to visit for a few days. We had tons of fun catching up --  and drank two bottles of wine on a Thursday night. I had to work the next day. It was a little unpleasant.

My current project is applesauce. The girls and I picked some fabulous fujis (FF) with our friends Tara, Colin, and Jesse last weekend. We picked 56 pounds to be precise. That is a lot of apples in case you were wondering. I just got finished processing 8 pint jars of seriously delicious apple sauce...I still have about 40 pounds of apples left. I'm thinking candied apples, dried apple rings and apple pie filling are in our future.

About the applesauce: I was pleased to discover that I could cook the FF's (with peels on) until they were very soft and then puree them in my food processor. You can't even tell I left the peels on and I was able to keep what is mostly likely the most nutritious part of the apple. The FF's are so sweet and the final product is super smooth, thick, and basically amazing.

Summer Lovin'

The girls LOVE the beach!

Suburbia

I don't think that our town qualifies as a suburb, exactly, since we don't live remotely close to any major urban area. However, suburbia was what I thought of when I...wait for it...borrowed two eggs from the neighbor across the street.

Friends, this is not something I would normally do. In fact, it took me about 10 minutes of debating (with myself) to work up the nerve to go ask. Factors to consider included: 1) I had already put the butter and sugar in the bowl, 2) The grocery store is about 10 minutes away, 3) I've already been to the grocery store today (grrrr), 3) I am on a strict time schedule getting ready for the big vaca, and 5) I instensly dislike borrowing things. I don't know why. I don't mind lending things to people at all. Number 5 is what held me back for 10 minutes...it almost trumped Nos 1-4. I tell you, it's a sickness.

Now, my gal Rhonda would be all over this egg situation. It would've taken her two seconds to deal with it -- she would've looked in the fridge, realized she had no eggs, and gone next door without thinking twice. Rhonda DOES live in a suburb, by the way. But she also just has the right personality for this type of situation. In the future, I am going to stop and say to myself WWRD...What Would Rhonda Do?

Adventures in Canning, continued

I thought that you all might want to know that homemade strawberry jam is better than most candy. Yum! Last summer, the girls and I made freezer jam and that was mighty tasty. This summer, I decided to go the more traditional canning route (water bath) for my jam so my freezer won't be overrun by jars. So I wasn't sure if it would be as fabulous this time (different recipe). FYI -- it's just as fabulous! Could it be the SEVEN cups of sugar in the recipe?

Still on my list of things to can this summer ... tomatoes (sauce, crushed, diced, paste) ... peaches ... applesauce. I need to get my hands on an apple corer/peeler because, after my "how bad could it be" cherry pitting experience, I am not going to try to core and peel a million pounds of apples by hand if I can avoid it.

Canning and a virus

Luckily, the two are not necessarily related. Our computer has a virus...but I've outsmarted it for now. I figured out a way to open our programs. However, I think I better get it fixed ASAP. Pain in the arse, I tell you.

Canning. Oh how I love thee. It makes me feel 1) nerdy and 2) accomplished. Funny, huh? In hindsight, I think I should have picked easier things to start with, but I was trying to be "in season." So I started with pickled asparagus. According to Andre and Olivia, the first batch is good stuff, but could be spiced up. I made a second batch and tried a different method and added more jalapenos, so we'll see how it turns out. They haven't gotten to it yet. Pickled asparagus is actually a pain, as I discovered. Making sure all the spears are the rigth length, cooking them just enough but not too much and then packing them into the jars got a little old, I'll admit. I am done with asparagus for the year.

So cherries. That was my project for today. I forgot about the invention known as a cherry pitter. I remembered it right as I was getting ready to start slicing and pitting the cherries by hand. I thought, "how bad could it be?"

Friends, if you ever want to can cherries, buy a pitter.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I have seen this on lots of different blogs, so I really have no idea who to give the credit to at this point. I can't even remember who I printed the recipe off of because I printed it and then had to wait a few weeks until I could get Andre to remember to buy me a five gallon bucket with a lid (I had no idea where to get one, but I knew he would...Ace Hardware, everyone).

Ingredients:
1 bar Fells Naptha Soap
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
Water
**I found the first three items at my local grocery store in the laundry aisle. I got the water out of my tap. :-)

Process:
Grate the Fells Naptha and then cover with water in a pot. Cook on low until all soap is melted/disolved. I will say...this took FOR.E.VER. I think it needs be grated more finely or something. Who knows. I just used my regular old cheese grater. I figured I'm making stuff to wash my clothes in, so it shouldn't hurt my everyday pots and utensils, right?! I mean, it's soap for heaven's sake.

Moving on, once the soap is finally melted, fill your five gallon bucket about 1/2 way with HOT water. Mix in the melted soap. Add Washing Soda and Borax. Mix well. Fill bucket the rest of the way with HOT water. Stir. Done. Mixture will thicken as it cools. Can add hot water to thin if necessary.

I saved an old milk jug because I didn't want to have to wield the five gallon bucket out every time I want to wash laundry (well..."want" is a strong word. "Have to" is more like it). So I dumped a bunch of the detergent into the milk jug, put the lid on the bucket and the lid on the milk jug and they are now sitting nicely in the corner of my laundry room. The bucket is actually a nice table for the smaller container.

We used the detergent today and it is excellent. I shook the jug a little to make sure it was all mixed up and then used 1/2 cup for a large load. My laundry smells clean, looks clean, is soft, and in general awesome. I have an HE front loader, by the way, and this is supposedly safe for them because it does not create suds. I am willing to take the risk because I don't like my washer and need an excuse to buy a new one :) I have a feeling this won't be what causes it to finally break, though.

Pizza Margherita

Do you cook the same 5 to 7 meals all the time? I try to avoid that, but then I also think that trying to have too much variety leads to eating out all the time...because I don't plan well. If we just ate chicken 3 times a week, it would definitely simplify my life AND save us money!

However, it is summer and I have more time on my hands to do a better job planning. Last night we had Pizza Margherita based on the recipes I found in my Working Parent's Cookbook (again). I made the homemade crust and pizza sauce from the book. Both were so easy that I can remember them without looking.

Crust
1 pkg of yeast
1/2 cup high gluten flour
2 cups unbleached flour
2 T olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup warm water

Mix 1 cup of water with yeast, then stir in high gluten flour. After that's mixed together, add in the rest of the flour, olive oil, and salt. Add remaining 1/4 cup water. Here's the interesting part: you are supposed to knead the dough at this time. I think the recipe is wrong, though, because I had to add AT LEAST one more cup of flour to the dough in order to even consider kneading it -- it was a sticky, gooey mess. But, once you get through that part, you place the ball of dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 2 hours. I did not wait quite that long.

Basic Pizza Sauce
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
oregano, thyme, salt, fresh ground pepper

Can you say yum? It is so tasty. Just saute the onions and garlic in olive oil, then add everything else. Simmer for about 10 minutes so all the flavors blend. It's nice and thick, not watery at all.

Process
Form your crusts. I'm not an expert in this department. What I ended up with could be considered somewhat round, but I don't care, there were no holes in the middle and that's what counts.

Top crust with ~1 cup of sauce. Add fresh mozarella to top. Bake at 500 degrees for about 7 minutes. Pull out of oven, add tomatoes (I sliced mine really thin and drizzled them with olive oil) and basil (chopped, fresh), bake again for about 5 minutes.

Can I get a Do Over?
I wish that I had baked the crust FIRST. It was basically dough in the middle still because the toppings were really juicy. It still tasted good, though, and I can tell from the parts that were cooked that the crust is super awesome. Next time I will bake the crust, then add sauce and cheese, bake, add tomatoes and basil, bake, and eat!

Project: Our Office -- Part 1

For Part 1 of Project: Our Office, I have ordered some new furniture. Behold, the craft table...and one stool (I only got one). Notice that the picture has two stools. And lots of other fabulous stuff. Obviously this is not a picture of my office. I have big plans for our office area, though, and hope it will become A.MA.ZING over time. We will see. Stay tuned for Project: Our Office Part 2...it will probably involve either a) a small desk or b) cute chair/ottoman/table/light combo. Or maybe all of that.

Pork Burgers with Apple and Cilantro

I found the recipe for these burgers in The Working Parents Cookbook. They were pretty tasty -- it made four burgers, which was perfect. The girls and I each had one...well, they split one in the end, so technically I had one and they shared one, but whatever...and we saved one for Andre. It will not get eaten by him because he does not eat leftovers. Ever. Unless I warm them up for him and force the issue. So, I will probably take it for lunch tomorrow. I digress...

They were pretty good, but too much onion. I'd definitely cut back on that next time.

1 egg
1/2 red onion
1/2 Granny Smith apple
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 c cilantro
1 lb ground pork shoulder

Mix all together, make into four patties, and cook on skillet or grill (~7 minutes per side). I went ahead and cooked them in my skillet b/c I was too lazy to go outside and fire up the grill. Now I regret that because I also don't feel like washing the pan.

Granola Bars

Recently, I've been thinking about ways to eat in what I believe is a more healthful way. My family has a very busy schedule and I've found myself buying a lot more convenience food (granola bars, fruit snacks, etc.) than I ever used to. The reality is that these things make packing lunches, making snacks, etc. so much easier. I think with a little planning, though, and some time spent on the weekend, I can make a lot of these convenience foods from scratch and then they will be available during our busy times of the week.

Today's goal -- Granola Bars. I've made granola bars before and, I will admit, they were AWESOME. They tasted just like the Nature Valley Fruit and Nut bars, but without the preservatives, etc.  Today I wanted to see if I could equal the awesome-ness with another recipe, though.

I followed the recipe I found here (the rest of the site is awesome, too) with my own variations:

• For my fruit/nut combo I used craisins, slivered almonds and sunflower seeds -- because I had all these things on hand and didn't have to go to the store. However, I would like to add other dried fruit (apricots maybe) and maybe some flax seed. Not a big fan of walnuts, but I think peanuts would probably be good, too..however,
• For my nut butter I went with peanut butter (again, on hand). I think adding peanuts as well might overwhelm the whole thing with peanut flavor instead of a nice blend. It is worth experimenting with.
• Instead of oat flour, I used wheat germ (yep, on hand, and figured that it had a similar consistency to oat flour)
• Allow the bars to cool completely while in the pan. I tried to move mine to my cooling rack when just out of the oven and they weren't set up enough -- they fell apart w/out the support of the pan. Maybe I didn't cook them quite long enough? They are browned, though. Anyway, I just popped them back into the pan and pressed it back down and they set up fine (but I did burn my finger during this whole process...clumsy).
• These taste better than my fake Nature Valley bars.

The author of Smitten Kitchen says that these guys taste like the ones from Whole Foods. As a fan of Whole Foods who only gets to go there once a year on my annual pilgrimage to Bellevue, I will say that I am looking forward to comparing.

I have a plan for replacing fruit snacks, too, my friends. It's called dried fruit :-) Sometimes it is nice to be able to replace things with stuff that closely resembles the store bought goodness. Obviously dried fruit and fruit snacks don't resemble each other. We will all just have to survive.

My kids are awesome...

...for lots of reasons, but today it's because they are such good eaters! To my friends with no kids, you think, eh, so what?! But to the rest of you, you know what I'm talking about. We are so lucky that the girls eat pretty much anything and without much struggle. Of course, now that I have blogged about this, that will change.

Anyway, Olivia prompted me to write this because she just came in the office with a hunk of leftover tri-tip from the fridge (dinner a couple of nights ago). Apparently she needs a little snack before bed. She says, "Mom, can I eat this." Of course she can. So I say, "Yes" and try to convince her to just eat the hunk cold out of the fridge. O says, "No, mom, it is supposed to be eaten warm. Can you please heat it up?" Earlier today we had Subway and she gets her sandwich with everything on it including "those hot things that daddy likes" (pepperoncini). Oh, I do not let her get jalapenos.

Victoria is not quite as easy as Olivia, but runs a close second. There are no peppperoncinis in her world, but she was a little jealous of that hunk of beef that O just ate.

Haiti Earthquake

My friend Heather sent me this link to her friend, Haylene's, web site. Haylene's husband, Pierre, is Haitian and his family and their town has been devastated by the earthquake.

Link to Heather's Blog
Direct link to the Chip In site Haylene has set up