3 Posts for the Price of 1!

Man, are you getting your money's worth with this one! LOL!

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I normally don't much care for fall or winter because I hate the cold so darn much, but there is one good thing about Fall: the return of comfort food. Summertime is typically too hot for most of my comfort food favorites, so I have definitely missed them. However, with my favorite weathermen forecasting 40's and 50's as highs this week, I have officially declared this week "Comfort Food Week."

Last night, I whipped up a lovely wedge salad (1/4 slice iceberg lettuce, tomato, walnuts, bacon, blue cheese dressing) with some warm and tasty chicken and dumplings. I don't think Mike got past the salad. So yummy - so yummy.

Today is my nod to Mom - beans and ham hocks with cornbread (non-sweet thankyouverymuch). I can't tell you how long it's been since I've had beans and ham hocks. I'll probably be the only one eating it, but that's everyone else's loss and more for me! LOL!

Tuesday brings a pot roast. And for Wednesday? Homemade macaroni and cheese. I think that is the only one I served throughout the summer since the kids love it so much. As for the rest of the week? I haven't decided yet. Maybe some tuna casserole or some chili. Maybe I'll make some brisket for Mike.

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We put the kids to bed, as usual, on Saturday night. We let them sleep in the same room on the weekends but not on school nights because they just don't go to sleep when they are in the same room. Saturday was no exception...lots of goofing around. About 9:30, Daniel comes out for a drink and we hear a Hannah scream coming from the bedroom. Whatever it is, we know Daniel didn't do it, for once :). Anyway, after about 3 seconds of horrific screaming, it stops. That's never a good sign.

Mike and I run upstairs and Jacob says she hit her head on the bed. I look at her face and she's got a huge blue and purple mark under her eye and it's spreading. Mike goes to get ice and I give her some Motrin but it's still very ugly looking. Hannah calms down and tells us exactly what happened. Jacob was on the bed, holding a stuffed frog. Hannah was on the floor trying to get the frog from him. At some point, Jacob got tired of the game and simply pulled as hard as he could to make her stop. She flew forward and hit the bed frame (it was my old daybed with the metal frame). *Edited...I hadn't been able to figure out how Jacob could have let go and have her fall forward into the bed. It turns out that he yanked harder and did not let go.*

So, Hannah and I sat, for a while, ice pack on her face, on the couch. At some point, Daniel yells that it's not fair that Hannah gets to stay up (he'd somehow missed the drama). Mike tells him to come down and see why she's staying up. He comes down and thoroughly inspects Hannah's eye. "Oh," he says and heads back upstairs, clearly satisfied that she, indeed, has a good reason to be up.

Now, a day later, she's still a little swollen and very black and blue. It seems we've traded swelling for color. It does look a little better...at least her eye's open today. It really is painful to look at. Poor baby girl. She got a lot of sympathy at gymnastics, this morning, from everyone there. Unfortunately for her, as we were walking out, she ran smack into the door with her forehead and fell on her butt in front of everyone. She actually thought that was pretty funny. "I thought the door was open!" She said while laughing. All I could do was sigh and giggle a little.

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My favorite weathermen have been saying for the past week that there was a storm coming Sunday night. The only questions were timing and severity. I took the dog out around 10:15 last night and not only was it freezing (the cold front pushed through) but there was a lot of lightning. I checked the weather blog (freaking football game pushed the 10:00 news back to 11:00) and there were a handful of reports of rain. Then, the thunder - oh my - house shaking thunder. I checked the radar and there wasn't anything really near us - yet. I had posted my report of thunder and lightning but no rain and was told that it was coming. Not long after, the rain started. After the weather on TV (at like 11:25!) I headed for bed, but was having a hard time falling asleep. After about 45 minutes of tossing and turning, I thought I'd heard the tornado sirens going off. I opened the window to see if that's really what it was, and yeah, that's the sirens. I went downstairs and looked out the back door and front door - rain and cold but nothing looked or felt off. Plus, my weather radio was completely quiet, so I thought that maybe it was just some police sirens or something. I go back to bed and Mike asks if we need to go to the basement. I tell him no and fall asleep.

I check the weather blog this morning and someone else asked why the sirens were going off last night. It wasn't just me! They really were going off. Apparently, all of Overland Park's sirens malfunctioned around 12:45AM and since we're right on the border, we could hear them. What a bad time for the sirens to malfunction.

Fall Baking

Okay...so it's technically still summer, but I've been bitten by the baking bug. I'm all into apple recipes right now, which will soon give way to pumpkin recipes. I've stumbled upon a treasure trove of recipes that I can't wait to try and I'm quite sure Mike will be bringing tasty leftovers to work soon (there's only so many cupcakes you can eat!)

Last Friday, Hannah and I made an apple upside down cake that was awesome. It was probably the first time that I've ever baked anything that looked almost exactly like the photo (the only difference was that they fanned out their apples and I just dumped them in the bottom of the pan).

Today, we've made apple cupcakes with apple cream cheese frosting. So freaking yummy. Jacob said that they were all he wanted to eat today...Daniel proclaimed them the best cupcakes he's ever had. One of the best parts to all of this is the house now smells like a bakery! Love that.

Now, if I could just figure out how to get my challah to rise with raisins in it. Why won't it rise?!? It's really starting to piss me off.

A Special Treat

I belong to a group for Christian women raising Jewish children (there's a group for everyone, isn't there?) and someone posted that it's not too early to start thinking about the upcoming holidays (we're planning to do an early Rosh Hashana dinner when Bobbi and Ed are here in September). That led to a discussion about challah and whether or not you can eat it whenever and wherever because someone's mother-in-law told her that she couldn't (you can). Anyway, that led to challah recipes, one of which I made this morning. Stuffed Challah French Toast. The kids loved it. The kids love it when I make challah in the first place, but dump jelly, syrup and brown sugar on it and they're in Heaven. LOL! Daniel asked why there was yogurt in his challah and I told him that it was actually cream cheese. He thought that was really funny. Anyway, this recipe's a keeper.

Whatcha Got Cookin'?

I'm desperately trying to find new things to cook for dinner. All of my reliables are more winter dishes and don't seem appetizing when it's 90 degrees outside. So, I've been hunting around and trying some new things. Tonight, I made grilled chicken with cous cous - not out of the ordinary for us, but, I also made ratatouille. I have to say was a little intimidated since I don't cook eggplant often - okay, never, but I figured it was worth a shot. The kids were really excited about it. Jacob was thrilled, until he saw that it was all veggies. I have to give him credit, though. He tried every vegetable that went into it and almost liked the yellow pepper. He did say that he loved the seasoning.

The house smelled fantastic from it. Daniel and Hannah loved it. Daniel wouldn't eat anything else until he'd eaten it all. He kept saying, "I love ratatouille!" I guess this is one that I'll have to make often. It leaves such a good taste in your mouth. Yum.

Tomorrow, I'm making meatloaf, rice and okra with tomatoes. That just sounded so fresh and summery. Wednesday, I'm trying a slightly different pulled pork recipe with homemade coleslaw. I'm not a real fan of coleslaw but maybe if I'm in control of what goes in it, I'll like it better. The funny thing is, I like almost everything that goes into coleslaw. I love cabbage and carrots and I'm a fan of all things mayo. Hmm. I'll keep you posted.

And just in case you're feeling like something new, here's the Ratatouille recipe

1/3 cup olive oil
5 cloves garlic, smashed (I used a lot more because we love garlic)
1 onion, sliced
1 dried bay leaf
1/4 tsp dry oregano
1/4 tsp dry tarragon
1/4 tsp dry thyme
1/4 tsp dry savory (I didn't have this so I omitted it)
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/8 tsp ground corriander seeds
3 cups eggplant, diced into bite size pieces
1 small zucchini, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
one pint cherry tomatoes (I actually used grape and cut them in half)
(I also used one yellow squash because I love them, but the recipe doesn't call for one)

Heat the oil in a large pan (I used a large skillet) over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, bay leaf, oregano, tarragon, thyme, savory, fennel seeds and ground coriander and cook until onion is soft.

Add the eggplant and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 7-8 minutes. Add zucchini, pepper and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, about 7 more minutes. Cooking times depend mostly on how you like your veggies. If you like them crunchier, cook less. If you like them softer, cook longer. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately (or you can do this ahead and reheat)

You Know You Want Some...But You Can't Have Some

Here it is...yummy, crispy...a heart attack waiting to happen. I have been dreaming about Lumpia for months. Don't ask me why. So, Mom and Dad brought me three packages of Lumpia wrappers when they visited and I couldn't wait to fry some up. I could have been nice and made these while they were here but that would have meant less for me! And I'm not kidding! Okay, I am kidding...but not really! :) Of course, I made the call to Mom tonight...thanks for saving me from putting the egg in with the filling. That would not have been tasty.

Mike jokingly asked the question, "these are low fat, right?" Ummm...do you SEE the grease on the paper towels?!? LOL!

Some Days Are Just Better Than Others

I tried. Really I did. I was being all good about Lent beginning. I even made Tuna Casserole for dinner. I got the good tuna that's packed in olive oil (way tasty...Mike said it was "meatier") and was trying to make it really tasty (not that tuna casserole's not tasty, but it's not the meat fest I had been planning LOL!). So, I put it all together, put it in the oven and then made a horrible realization. I used cream of chicken soup instead of cream of mushroom soup. Ugh. Here I was, trying to do good and go meatless and I ended up ruining the whole thing with one can of soup. Mike called to tell me he was on his way home and I told him the story. He didn't get it. He says, "cream of chicken soup in the tuna casserole? Umm okay." I told him that it's what I usually use in the casserole. He says, "really?" LOL! I figured God would see the effort and would be understanding, so I ate the casserole. This got me and Mike into a discussion about funny things that have happened before...the best story was this one...

We decide to take a weekend trip to Indiana. It was a horrible trip and we were tired, exhausted and hungry. In the evening, Mike tried to support me by going out of his way to get me tea since I had given up soda for Lent. He figured that I must be hungry, too, so he gets me a cheeseburger as well. He brings it back and I don't think I've eaten something so quickly. To hear Mike tell the story, I was actually licking the paper it was wrapped in because it was so good. LOL! Just for the record, I wasn't, but it was a very tasty cheeseburger. After eating and sitting back to enjoy the tea, I made the realization that it was Friday. Nice. So, Mike, in his effort to help me stick to Lent, had also helped me break it! We laugh regularly about this story.

After dinner, I told Mike a story about what happened when I took the kids to school. His immediate response was, "you have to blog that!" So, here it is...

I went to take the kids to school yesterday morning. We left a little earlier than normal since it tends to get really busy on the first day back after a break. Anyway, I pull up into the line and I see that there are people going around a couple of cars. Making the realization that the cars are parked and are not in the carpool line, I go around as well. I pull into the lot and wait in line. And wait. And wait. I look at Jacob and say, "boy, this line is not moving today!" Just then, there's a knock on the window. I roll it down and see the crossing guard who informs me I'm sitting behind another row of parked cars. Nice. I felt so stupid. Jacob looks at me and says, "are we going to be late now?" I tell him no and try desperately to get out of there as quickly as possible.

This morning, I was getting the pot roast ready to put into the crock pot. Hannah comes in and asks what I'm doing. I tell her that I'm making a roast for dinner. She says, "I hate pot roast!"
Me: But Hannah, it's a lot like snake. (she calls steak, snake)
Hannah: I love snake! You're making snake?
Me: No, I'm making pot roast, but it's similar to snake.
Hannah: (again) I hate pot roast! I want snake!
Me: How do you know you don't like it until you try it? Do you remember eating pot roast before? (we actually eat it quite often)
Hannah: No! (this was more like NOoooooooooOOO...very sing-song)
Jacob: Hannah, you eat pot roast all of the time! You love it now quit complaining.

I don't know why I thought that was so funny!

Cooking Like A Fiend

I've been going a little crazy cooking the past couple of days. Yesterday, I made beef barley soup. I was able to do it in the crock pot because mine boils on low. Normally, that makes me mad but it was good in this case since I get nervous leaving it on the stove overnight. Daniel and Hannah proclaimed it tasty while Jacob decided that it was icky. Whatever. I thought it was a perfect dinner after a day of playing out in the snow. Today, I roasted some chickens. Mike walked in after work and began to pick at the meat still left after I carved them up. He told me that my chicken was better than Boston Market! Score! My table is in charge of bringing breakfast to MOPS tomorrow, so I had to put together some stuff. I had bought a Potluck cookbook at the book fair last week and put it to use twice tonight! I got a good fruit salad recipe (using cherry pie filling...yummy!) and I made a bacon and egg lasagna. This thing is certainly not low fat. 1 pound of bacon, a pound of swiss cheese, 1/3 cup of bacon drippings, 12 eggs...you get the picture. I didn't actually taste it so I'm hoping that it's edible! LOL!

Anyway, I've decided to start counting my points again since my fat pants don't fit very well anymore. :( Wish me luck!!!

Recipes Anyone?

I am more than thankful that tonight is the school's Family Night Supper because I'm stuck in a dinner rut.

I NEED HELP!!!!

I've been making chili, chicken soup, stew, tuna casserole and hamburgers over and over and I'm tired of it! I roasted some chickens a little while back and that was a nice change but it's just not enough! Does anyone have any good dinner recipes that are quick and easy? What do you make that your family just can't get enough of? I would really appreciate anything new!!!! (or new to me)

Sleet Day

I can't call it a snow day because it's not. It's not doing a whole lot right now, the sleet comes in waves, and right now, it's stopped. According to our ABC guy, the precip will continue to be sleet and we're expected to get about 1 to 2 more inches before this evening. I haven't heard anything about the 4 inches of snow that we were suppossed to get tomorrow, but we'll see.

All I know is I have a big pot of chicken soup on the stove (I was finally able to use one of the chickens that had been just screaming to be made into soup), kids playing with moon sand at the kitchen table and a husband taking a nap on the couch. Did I mention we're all still in pj's? LOL! I love days like this!