Spinach Quiche

I'm not a quiche fan (the whole egg thing...don't like'em), but this is an awesome recipe! I did make a few changes to the recipe though from the original. This recipe is really great to add any kinds of cheeses and meats too because it is so basic. Also, it's nice because it has less eggs in it than some quiches.

I follow this recipe for the crust:

Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 Onion chopped
  
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 (16 ounce) package cottage cheese
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup crushed croutons

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 inch pie or quiche pan.
2. Place onion in pan with a dash of oil, cook until soft. Add spinach and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until soft. Drain off any remaining liquid (you might have to squeeze the spinach). Stir in eggs, cottage cheese and Cheddar cheese. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
3. Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with crushed croutons. Return to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until eggs are set.
4. Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting.
   

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 231 | Total Fat: 14.9g | Cholesterol: 144mg

Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken with Rice and Spinach

The other day I had a few ingredients that all needed to get used up and I had no idea how to combine them or anything else. If you've never visited www.kraftfoods.com I highly recommend their site: They have a great search engine feature. You put in your 3 main ingredients and it gives you recipes.

We got this one; which I did end up changing a bit.

Ingredients

1/4 cup Salad Dressing (I had House Italian...it's just to give it a bit of flavor)

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips (I did 3 large breasts)

2 cups cooked white and wild rice (from The Market Place)

8oz cream cheese, cubed

1 pkg. (8 oz.) baby spinach leaves

1 large tomato, chopped

2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
Milk, as needed

Prepare 2 cups cooked rice in chicken broth, put aside.
Cook chicken strips through, in salad dressing.
Add cooked rice to chicken, stir.
Add in cream cheese stirring to melt and combine.
Add baby spinach, put lid on and allow spinach to wilt....stir.
At this point you might want to add some milk to up the cream factor.
Add chopped tomatoes and serve!

We really liked this meal, and actually ended up with enough for a second dinner! It was great...everything in one pot and relatively healthy and certainly delicious!

Enjoy!

My Oma's Spaetzle and Goulash

This is the real-deal, authentic German Spaetzle and Goulash recipe: DELICIOUS!

Of course you'll need to pick up one of these bad boys to make it: Don't waste your money on a plastic one, it will break. There are other methods, but this is the best and easiest way. Hey! It’s how my grandmother always did it.

Spaetzle

Ingredients

         *4 cups all-purpose flour
         *3 eggs
         *1 teaspoon salt
         *3/4 cup water or milk

Directions

1. In large bowl, combine flour, eggs and salt. Add water/milk a little at a time to form a soft dough.
2. Boil 2 quarts of water in a large pot.
3. Put dough in holder of spaetzle press, then squeeze press handles, pushing noodles out and into the water.
4. When noodles float to the top of the water, they are done (3 to 4 minutes).
5. Remove from water with slotted spoon and place on platter lined with paper towels. Serve as a side or main dish.

You do want your dough to be relatively stiff, so that your noodles hold their shape well. If your dough is too watery, the noodles will become more of a congealed mass than anything else. I will admit, it will be tough to push the dough through the press. Matt likes the noodles to be very noodly {is that a word?}, so the deal is I make the dough and he presses it.

Crumble-ies

These are what make the spaetzle in my opinion. We always have crumble-ies on our spaetzle {sometimes on our broccoli too!} Take a decent amount of butter {a couple of tablespoons} and some bread crumbs, melt them together in a pot until they’re browned and pour them over the top.

Goulash

Ingredients

          * Stew beef (approximately 2-3 lbs, depending on how many people you're feeding)
          * 1 can tomato paste-optional (small size)
          * Flour (approx 1/4 cup)
          * Salt and Pepper (to taste)
          * 3 cloves garlic, minced (more if you like garlic)

Directions

1. In large bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper Dredge all pieces of stew beef until well-coated with flour mixture.
2. In a large pan heat olive oil, and brown garlic.
3. Cooking as many as will fit at a time, brown all the pieces of stew beef.
4. Place all browned beef in large pot, fill with just enough water to cover meet, put on lid, and allow to slow cook for several hours, being sure to stir and scrape bottom frequently (crock pot works great for this).
5. Add in your tomato paste (this is optional). Mix well. Allow to continue to cook.
6. About an our before it’s ready to be served I throw in my carrots. If there isn’t enough “sauce” to actually cook the carrots in I will cook them in a separate pot and then toss them in at the end.
7. When the meat is sufficiently tender (I let mine cook all day), you should be able to break the chunks into smaller bites with a fork. It's ready to serve!
   

   

This is one of those things that tastes even better the next day....so feel free to make it ahead of time, just add extra water when you're re-heating it. The finished product should have the consistency of a thick gravy. Enjoy!

Maple Glazed Squash

Take an acorn (they're green and look like a big acorn nut) or a butternut (they're orange-y and are kind of bell shaped) squash and cut it long-wise (from top to bottom). Scoop the seeds (aka "guts") out of the squash and do whatever you would like with it (some people will take the seeds out and roast them or save them for next year's garden).

In the belly of the squash (where you scooped the seeds out of) put a 1tsp of butter, a sprinkle of brown sugar, and a good dollop of maple syrup (there is NO WRONG WAY to do this...it's entirely up to you and the flavor you want, also how many extra calories you want to add).

Place the squash halves on a cookie sheet (you might want to line it with foil or parchment to make your clean up easier) and bake for about 45-50 minutes on 375*. Depending on the size of the squash it could take longer (or shorter). You want the squash to be soft and to be able to scrape it out of the shell. Voila! It's done!

I usually figure a 1/2 an acorn per person, and depending on the size of the butternut squash a 1/4 per person.

Apple {or Pear} Galette

This is a wonderful apple recipe (we love apples!): The carmelizing of the apples prior to baking them gives such a rich flavor! You can substitute pears for the apples to give it a whole different taste.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) plus 2 tablespoons cold butter
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
1/2 cup walnuts
2 pounds tart apples (3 to 5), such as Pink Lady or Granny Smith
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 large egg, beaten to blend with 1 tablespoon water

1. In a food processor or large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Cut 1/2 cup butter into pieces and add to flour mixture; pulse motor, cut in with a pastry blender, or rub in with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. With motor running (or stirring with a fork after each addition), add egg yolk and 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time; process or stir just until mixture comes together in a ball. Form dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill until firm but still pliable, about 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, spread walnuts in a baking pan and bake in a 375° oven until barely golden under skins, 6 to 8 minutes (leave oven on). Coarsely chop nuts.

3. Peel and core apples; cut each into eight wedges. In a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan over medium heat, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. When it's foamy, add apples and stir often until slightly softened and brown at edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle brown sugar and nutmeg over fruit and stir until liquid is syrupy and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Stir in walnuts. Remove from heat.

4. Unwrap dough. On a lightly floured surface, with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll into a round about 15 inches in diameter. Line a 12- by 15-inch baking sheet with cooking parchment (or butter the sheet well) and carefully transfer dough round to sheet (edges will hang over sheet).

5. Pour apple mixture onto center of pastry, mounding wedges in a circle about 8 inches wide and 2 inches high. Gently fold edges of dough over apples, pleating as you go, leaving an opening about 4 inches wide in the center. Brush pastry all over with beaten egg.

6. Bake in 375° oven until pastry is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced, 40 to 45 minutes (35 to 40 in a convection oven). Transfer galette (with parchment, if using) to a wire rack to cool. Transfer to a large plate, gently pulling parchment from under tart. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges.

Sloppy Joes with Honey Whole Wheat Rolls

Love the way that just flows off the tongue!

We haven't had sloppy joes in a long time, I thought today was a good day to have them! Also, I've never followed a recipe to make them...but this time I did write things down to share with you. However, just kind of add stuff until you like how it tastes...that's pretty much what I do.

Here is my recipe for Sloppy Joes:
1lb ground beef
3 cloves garlic minced (or however many you would like to add)
1 medium onion chopped
2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1-1 1/2 cups ketchup (if using regular ketchup, as opposed to no salt, decrease your salt)
2-3 cups water

Cook onions and garlic in pan with a little bit of olive oil.
Add in ground beef and cook until done. Drain off grease.
Add in ketchup and water. It should be rather soupy looking.
Reduce heat and simmer until the consistency you would like.
Flavor with additional salt, pepper, and garlic powder to your flavor.


Honey Whole Wheat Rolls
1 cup warm water (110-115*)
3 cups flour (I used a mix of 1 cup hi-gluten flour (such as Sir Lancelot) and 2 cups whole wheat flour and out bran)
1 tbsp honey
2 teaspoon dried milk
2 teaspoon yeast
2 teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients and either mix by hand or kneading hook. Place dough in lightly buttered bowl, allow to rise until slightly less than double.
Tear fistfuls of dough and knead into balls, slightly smaller than a tennis ball.
Place 2" apart in greased pan. Allow to rise again until double
Bake at 350* for 30 minutes...or until golden brown.

Split rolls in half, top with sloppy joe meat and your choice of shredded cheese (pepper jack is our choice) and serve!

ENJOY!

Stuffed Chicken Breast

Very easy to make: Pound the chicken breasts until thin, mix however much ricotta, mozzarella, and garlic you like together, spread on the chicken breast, top with tomato and spinach, roll up, place in dish seam down, bake until cooked through (about 45 minutes at 375*)...voila!

Orange Cranberry Scones

I bought these originally as a mix from King Arthur Flour, but it's a bit pricey and they were just so yummy. One of the great things about King Arthur Flour is that they have a lot recipes on their website...and everything I have tried is delicious!

• 1 3/4 cups King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat Flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice, optional
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup half and half
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 large egg
• the grated peel of 1 medium-to-large orange OR 1/2 teaspoon orange oil

• 7 ounces King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 1/4 ounces sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice, optional
• 2 1/2 ounces unsalted butter, chilled, cut into pieces
• 2 ounces dried cranberries
• 2 5/8 ounces half and half
• 1/2 ounce orange juice
• 1 large egg
• the grated peel of 1 medium-to-large orange OR 1/2 teaspoon orange oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) a baking sheet.

1) In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, then add the butter, rubbing it in till the mixture resembles coarse meal.

2) Stir in the cranberries.

3) In a separate bowl, whisk together the half and half, orange juice, egg, and orange peel or oil. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir till the dough just comes together.

4) Transfer the dough to a thoroughly floured work surface, knead it a couple of times, and shape it into a 1/2"-thick round, about 8" across.

5) Transfer the round to the prepared baking sheet. Brush with milk, and sprinkle with coarse white sugar, if desired.

6) Cut the round in 10 wedges. Separate the wedges slightly. Just as with the biscuit recipe, it's best to let them rest for 15 minutes in the freezer before baking.

7) Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, or until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and serve immediately.

Tips from our bakers

• Scones are like biscuits—tender, soft, and best made with as little handling as possible. Once you add the liquid to the scone's dry ingredients, stir VERY briefly; just till everything is moistened. Pat the dough out gently, cut, and bake.
• Don't like whole wheat? Make these scones with King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour instead.

Fudge Brownies

When I was a kid I was always trying to make brownies from scratch and they usually came out gritty, so I gave up and for the past 15 years have used box mixes for brownies. Then I got brave. Someone suggested King Arthur's recipe for Fudge Brownies....I'm never going back to a box mix again!

Fudgy, cakey, fudgy, cakey... can't make up your mind? If you're looking for a brownie that's right in between those two styles, you've found it. These brownies combine a fudge brownie's ultra-moist texture with a subtle cake-like rise, for the best of both worlds.

Our guarantee: These brownies, deep chocolate brown inside with a lighter-colored top crust, will be about 3/4" to 1" tall when cut. They'll be ultra-moist without crossing the line into gooey/underbaked.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 cups chocolate chips

• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 15 3/4 ounces sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 3 3/4 ounces Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-Process Cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 6 1/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 12 ounces chocolate chips

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan

2) In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it's hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.

3) While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth.

4) Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.

5) Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth. Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the baked brownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips.

6) Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9" x 13" pan.

7) Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

Swedish Creme

This is one of Matt's favorite recipes that I've gotten from his mom. It's great to use up sour cream if you have it (for some reason we always end up with 1/2 used containers of sour cream hiding in the fridge).

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup Sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (1 tablespoon if you got your gelatin from The Market Place)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups sour cream
1 cup fresh raspberries or strawberries

Combine cream and 1 cup sugar in saucepan and cook, stirring constantly over low heat until candy thermometer reads 160* or steam rises off from pan (DO NOT BOIL!). Stir in gelatin until dissolved, add extracts. Cool 10 minutes. Whisk in sour cream. Pour into eight dessert bowls. Chill 1h our. Spoon fruit over before serving.

Enjoy!

"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six." Yogi Berra

There used to be this little pizzeria in the town where I worked....they made the absolute best pizza....the crust was thin, chewy, and yet crusty, the sauce was perfect...with just a little bit of a spice to it, and the cheese....I love cheese.

They closed down about a year ago. The building they were renting was getting demolished and that was the end of it. I've been lost without it. I love pizza....if I had to choose one of the things (food-wise) that I could not live without, it would be pizza.

A while back we subscribed to Cook's Illustrated for the artwork....if you've never seen the magazine...check it out! They have beautiful illustrations of food. We are planning on framing a bunch of the back covers (which are cheeses, spices, sausage, herbs etc) and hanging them in the store. This past issue there was a recipe for Thin Crust Pizza. I put it aside, planning on trying it.

It took me a while, but I finally got around to it. The thing is...the dough needs to be made 24 hours ahead of time and quite frankly I don't always think that far ahead about dinner. Yesterday I did. And tonight we had pizza.

One word: YUM! This was, by far, the BEST pizza I've ever made...and may just be the best pizza I've ever had (the sauce wasn't quite right, in my opinion). The crust was fantastic: The flavor and texture and everything was there!

There are really no words to describe what kind of an experience this was....just make it yourself and find out!

Here's the recipe ....It's worth trying it!

Ratatouille

One of our favorite movies is "Ratatouille": The story of a rat who arrives in Paris and voila! a chef is born. Great family movie....it's filled with laughs, a good message, and great looking food. Every time we watch this movie we say "We should make ratatouille sometime". Well we finally did!

One of our family New Year's resolutions was to pick out 12 new recipes and try one each month: Ratatouille was January's experiment.

I kept finding a variety of different recipes for ratatouille....all of them completely different from the next. I found one from Julia Childs that sounded really good, but it was made only with eggplant. I could have sworn I saw some sort of squash in the one from the movie. I kept searching and finally I found it: Remy's Ratatouille Recipe.

Delicious! And surprisingly easy to make. It could be even easier if you just use a delicious pasta sauce as your piperade rather than making your own sauce from scratch. I also recommend using fresh garlic....I used bought minced garlic and it just didn't have the flavor intensity that it should have. I did alter the piperade, because I didn't have peppers...I just increased my tomatoes. Also, I used a summer squash, a yellow squash, and an Italian eggplant.

What surprised me the most about this dish is that there was no cheese in it! I kept rereading the recipe thinking that I must have missed it, but I didn't. I think, if nothing else, I would probably sprinkle some Parmesan (fresh grated if you have it) over the top in the last 30 minutes of baking. I think it would just give it a little bit extra.

When I first read this recipe I just kept thinking this is an intense recipe, but really it's the cooking time that's intense...not so much the actual prep work. Another great trick to this would be to lay some chicken breasts in the bottom of the pan, then put your piperade on that and continue the recipe. I had a roast chicken from our store, that I took the breast off of and served that on the side with a bit of the piperade on top.

We'll definitely be adding this one to our new family favorites!

FALL FOOD FRIDAYS!

Welcome to FALL FOOD FRIDAYS! I got an email from VABlondie for Jamie Oliver's Guinness, Beef and Cheese Pot Pie, which sounds absolutely delicious. It looks like an in depth recipe, but it's actually pretty straight forward, no more difficult than stew. Thanks VA for sharing the recipe! Here it is...

steak, guinness and cheese pie with a puff pastry lid

main courses | serves 4 to 6
This pie is a real winner! As it uses bought puff pastry, it’s quick to prepare, and you can make the filling the day before if you want.

• olive oil
• 3 medium red onions, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2Tablespoons butter, plus extra for greasing
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, trimmed and chopped
• 4 field mushrooms, peeled and sliced
• 2-2.5lb brisket of beef or stewing beef, cut into 1" cubes
• a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 x 440ml can of Guinness (no lager, please!)
• 2 heaped tablespoons plain flour
• 7 ounces freshly grated Cheddar cheese
• 1 package high quality puff pastry (phyllo dough)
• 1 large free-range or organic egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a large ovenproof pan, heat a glug of olive oil on a low heat. Add the onions and fry gently for about 10 minutes – try not to colour them too much. Turn the heat up, add the garlic, butter, carrots and celery and scatter in the mushrooms. Mix everything together before stirring in the beef, rosemary, a pinch of salt and a level teaspoon of pepper.

Fry fast for 3 or 4 minutes, then pour in the Guinness, stir in the flour and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and place in the preheated oven for about 1½ hours. Remove the pan from the oven and give the stew a stir. Put it back into the oven and continue to cook it for another hour, or until the meat is very tender and the stew is rich, dark and thick. A perfect pie filling needs to be robust, so if it’s still quite liquidy, place the pan on the hob and reduce until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and stir in half the cheese, then season carefully and leave to cool slightly.

Cut about a third of the pastry off the block. Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll both pieces of pastry out evenly with a floured rolling pin to the thickness of a pound coin. Butter a deep pie dish, then line with the larger sheet, leaving the edges dangling over the side. Tip the stew into your lined dish and even it out before sprinkling over the remaining cheese. Brush the edges of the pastry with a little beaten egg.

Cut the other rolled sheet of pastry to fit the top of the pie dish and criss-cross it lightly with a sharp knife. Place it over the top of the pie and fold the overhanging pastry on to the pastry lid to make it look nice and rustic. Brush the top with beaten egg, then bake the pie directly on the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes, until the pastry is cooked, puffed and golden. Delicious served simply with peas.


I have another recipe from a fellow blogger, Amanda: What a great, EASY, meal this one sounds like.

Vegetarian Dump Chili

It doesn't get easier than this

1 large onion, chopped

A couple of carrots, chopped

1 can tomato soup

1 large can diced tomatoes

1 can chick peas

1 can cannelloni beans

1 can black beans (but I like to use 2 cans)

1 can corn

1 packet of your favorite chili seasoning (or 2 if you really like spice)

Dump all ingredients into a large pot. Always drain and rinse your beans and chickpeas before adding them (this washes off the ogliosaccharides and prevents gas). Add water to produce desired consistency. For really thick chili, add a couple of table spoons of corn starch. Simmer 1 hour. Also good for refrigerating and eating the next day.

This is one of me and my husband's favorite recipes when it gets cold outside. Unfortunately it seems that Michael is allergic to the beans and chickpeas in it, so we will have to skip it this year.

Enjoy! Those are the FALL FOOD FRIDAY recipes...please join in and email me what you love to cook this time of year!

FALL FOOD FRIDAYS!

Two years ago I did something on my blog: Fall Fridays...which was a collection of short stories that I wrote while I was younger, and actually took the time to write stories (click the pic to be taken to those posts).

This year I decided to do something again, but instead of stories it's going to be foods....foods that are easy, quick, delicious, and most of all wonderful during Autumn's cooler days (and nights).

So without further ado, I introduce to you

But, I'm doing it differently this time...I'm opening it up to all my readers to submit recipes! I'll be posting a few of my own too! If you've got a delicious Fall Dish email it to me :-) Get me your recipes by Thursday night and I'll be sure to include them in the FALL FOOD FRIDAYS post and link them back to your blog.

Happy Fall!!

Christmas Conundrums

We're trying to be productive around here...what with Christmas a week away. Tomorrow we're driving to Maryland for Matt's cousin's wedding (yes we're driving into the storm for a wedding...yes we're crazy).

Today A and I got more Christmas cookies made...actually 2 different kinds (for a total of 5 kinds now): We now have fudge, nut balls, linzer cookies, magic cookie bars, and chocolate kisses. I'm hoping to get at least 1 more kind made.

The other thing I was working on is a doll for A. I cannot believe how much a DOLL for a baby costs! It's ridiculous: $25.00! I flat out refuse to pay that much money for a doll. So, I did what anyone would do...made my own. I found a pattern online for a rag doll and set to work.

The pattern I found was an OK one...I know if I had looked a bit longer I would've found some better ones (because I've looked since and have found better ones). It actually isn't too hard to make a doll (if you have the right pattern). Mine wasn't hard, but it was a bit frustrating because of the way it's constructed. BUT, it's done and that's all I care about.



I'm relatively happy with how she came out. The hair is something I still need to perfect and then next one's head will be made a bit differently....the shape is weird....but A's getting a doll for Christmas, I made it, and it didn't cost me $25.00 :-)

“Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our

blankets for a nap." ~ Robert Fulghum

I think I've redeemed myself in the cookie department. After the nut ball debacle A and I headed over to the store, where we made magic cookie bars and baklava...both turned out the way they should: WOOHOO!

Then this morning I managed to get a batch of the nut balls done. They taste so much better when the nuts aren't bad. So far I have 3 tins of cookies downstairs...well 2 actually, because I'm trying to figure out how to store the baklava, but at this rate they're going to be gone before I get them downstairs. I'd love to blame it entirely on Matt, but, alas, I am just as guilt as he.

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I ended up going over to the store this evening to help them clean up. My mom had surgery on her foot yesterday. Her feet are screwed up and working 60hrs a week on her feet doesn't help. She ends up changing shoes 4 or 5 times a day because they all start to hurt her feet after a few hours...even the expensive nursemate ones she bought.

The doctor said that in her right foot the toe bones are rubbing incorrectly, so that was today's surgery. They went in and shaved all the bones in her right foot. She's also missing a joint in both of her baby toes and has a torn ligament in the left foot. Hopefully once this is all done and healed she'll feel a lot better and not have to suffer.

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We had a bit of an issue with A: All day/evening Thursday she would eat barely anything. She'd take a few swallows (unusual for her...she'd blow through the whole bottle if you let her) and start screaming. She'd do this for about an ounce, then fall asleep. She'd wake up about 20 minutes later and repeat....this went on the whole day and into the evening.

I was looking on the boards while I was pumping and someone had asked about when to switch nipples to a faster flow. I clicked on it and some did it as early as 7 weeks, but all did it once their LO started collapsing the nipples and doing the scream and eat thing. I stopped using the nipple I was using (the one that came with the pump) and switched her to the evenflo level 1 and she guzzled down 5 ounces (and spit some of it back up).

The evenflo nipple is a bit better(she at least eats regularly and doesn't scream), but she still collapses it repeatedly. I ordered the level 2s from amazon.com and have them over nighting to us (I got their free trial of amazon prime so overnight is only $6 - I'd spend more than that in gas and time to go to the store an hour away). Hopefully they'll arrive on time and this won't be an issue.

Christmas cookies batch #1...Nut Balls

Epic FAIL!

I thought those walnuts smelled funny...didn't know that they could go bad even in the freezer :-( Of course I wasted a 1/2lb of butter and mini chocolate chips to find out. YUCK!

Just checked all my nuts...and they're all outside for the birds now: Some of them were "expired" 2008....I probably just threw out 4lbs of almonds, pecans, and walnuts. Off to The Market Place to get more.

Lifes short....eat dessert first

A while back my sister and I were asked if we would be willing to make desserts for one of the formal ballroom dancing "societies" we belonged to (we don't belong anymore because it was just costing too much and we rarely actually made it to a dance and then there was the whole thing with Matt's back and not being able to walk let alone dance...but I digress). My sister and I said sure...we both could use a bit of extra income.

The first dance that we're baking for is tomorrow night...so the preparations start today. So far A has been agreeable...of course I am only halfway through one of the desserts. On our dessert menu we have:

Chocolate Truffles ~ rolled in chopped walnuts or cocoa (this is actually a recipe from Godiva's website and is absolutely EASY and delicious!).
Key Lime Calypso Bars (from Pillsbury's Best of the Bake-Off: Cookies and Bars...EASY!)
Mini Cheesecakes
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

It's all done: FINALLY! I have not left my kitchen since 10:30am, except to take care of A, the entire day. I really wish I could get a full nights sleep...because I need it. Hopefully A will be just as agreeable tonight as she has been all day.

I didn't take pictures of all of the dessert (carrot cake and cheesecake are pretty simple), but here are the truffles and the Calypso Bars.


And just because she's so awesome and completely adorable: MISS AVELYN!

I think she was a bit bored with my antics in the kitchen today...

"Be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead!" - I Peter 1:6

I don't like when weekends come to an end...it's always sad.

Yesterday I got out of working in the store (yay!). My parents were out of town and we had 2 people, other than Matt, scheduled to fill in. It was a slow enough day and the one guy's girlfriend stopped in and she helped with the cleanup. I was free to do what I wanted...which entailed about 6 loads of laundry (all Matt's...that boy has more clothes than anyone I know!), cleaned the house a bit (mopping mostly) and made a pot of apple sauce from the apples we picked.

This morning we went to church for the first time since the end of June (pathetic, I know): We've had something going on every single Sunday since then. Of course we didn't have a restful nights sleep and it was a bit tough getting out of bed to go to church.

Matt was up brewing until after 1am last night...then at 2am the dogs started barking. I got up to take them out, but could tell it wasn't their typical "I need to go pee/poop!". Somehow, in my half asleep stupor, I had enough sense to not just open up the backdoor and let them go out (like I usually do).

I had them on their leashes and opened the door and was going out with them...when I noticed a fluffy white tail next to the garbage can on the back porch and the dogs were heading straight for it: A SKUNK! I grabbed their leashes and quick hauled them back in and shut the door. I think the skunk was as startled by us as we were of it...because it never sprayed. That's not to say if I hadn't been paying attention it wouldn't have.

Out the front door we went and all the time me checking to see that it hadn't moved out front. The dogs barked almost constantly the whole night because of the darn skunk outside, so we didn't get much sleep. Could you imagine if that skunk had sprayed?! It would have been the whole back end of the house, me, and the dogs...Matt would have just moved out for the next few weeks. I'm so thankful the skunk didn't spray.

After we got home from church I made some butternut squash soup, which came out really good and was REALLY easy. We had squash in the freezer from last fall...and I figured since we hadn't eaten it as squash, maybe soup was the answer. It's certainly an easy and quick meal!

Matt cleaned the basement today and got the furnace ready for the winter...we now have room in the basement to store some wood. After he had a nap we worked some on the bookcase: It's too tall, in my (wrong) opinion. I had wanted it to be 3'x5': Only to realize that 5' is a lot higher than I thought it was (I'm 5'5"). I tried to get Matt to cut it down shorter, but he absolutely refused and I could not get him to change his mind....so it stays.

This week I have to sand the whole thing down and prime it with a couple of coats, then paint a couple of coats as well. One of the shelves could be a bit more spaced, but Matt wasn't waiting for me to come back from upstairs with the book I wanted to test it with (can you tell he was being a poop-head?). The book fits, but it's a bit tighter than I would like.

We had dinner at my parents' house, but before heading up there I wanted to do an impromptu photo shoot...it was a beautiful afternoon. We decided not to spend the money on a photographer and are just going to do a couple of sessions by ourselves. Hopefully we'll be able to get my sister or my mother to come down and take some of the two of us. Matt did a really good job! I'm very proud of him! While the frame positioning isn't always perfect, at least a couple of his pictures came out looking quite professional. I will leave you with these...have a good week everyone!

Maternity Shoot - Session 1

“We shall neither fail nor falter; we shall not weaken or tire...give us the tools and we will finish the job.” Winston Churchill

I'm still sick, but it's Friday. My cold seems to have migrated from my head to my chest/lungs...I have a wonderful cough that doesn't seem to do much other than cause me to lose my voice. Last night I spent about 30 minutes in the steam-filled bathroom coughing, trying to get something up...not happening. I often wonder if my colds following the same routine and my having a really hard time with breathing is because of the cystic fibrosis gene. I'm hoping for a lot of sleep this weekend, but we'll see...we have a lot that we want to get done.

Anyways...we've gotten a lot done in the room, but it's not finished yet, so I'm not showing you :-P I'm a brat, I know. I do have a couple of teaser pictures that I've taken, just to give you the general idea.

We're waiting on the quilt to be sent back (should be by the beginning of October), Matt has to install the doors in the closet and room, we need to build the bookcase and paint it, get pictures on the walls, and finish putting away a few things. Once that's all done and I can say that the room is finished....THEN I'll show you all the finished product.

I've finally finished the Christmas stocking: YAY!!!!! You have no idea how excited I am to have that thing done! It's wonderful to know that I somehow have seemed to get almost everything done this month that NEEDED to be done. Of course, there are the apples that we picked from our tree that I need to make into sauce, as well as the couple of sewing projects I wanted to do....we'll see.

Here's something else I'm showing. Last year at the harvest festival I saw a wall hanging that I absolutely loved, but it was $65 and I didn't really want to spend the money on it. All year I've thought about it and wished I had bought it.

I visited the quilt stand again this year and was scoping through things, not really seeing anything that blew me away (being able to make most of the stuff yourself kind of puts a damper on it). I digging through the piles and I find some fabric that I really like.

I pull it out and low and behold it's the wall hanging that I liked from LAST YEAR! Well, since the thing sat around for a whole year without being bought I decided that it was holding out for me and bought it. Now it's hanging quite nicely in our upstairs hallway, where I can see it every day!

Even the quilt lady said I was meant to have it, since it had been sitting there waiting for me. Someday I would love to make a lonestar quilt (that's the pattern in the middle)...there's so many points and angles that have to be perfect, it may be a few years before I get to it :-)