Paper Towel Challenge

I wrote earlier this year that I was going to be more eco-friendly and economically minded this year. Being a very big paper towel user, had to figure out how to cut back on that expense and waste.

So, I got a bunch of bar mops for Christmas and decided to be more diligent about wiping up messes with bar mops instead of paper towels.

I am happy to report that I am reformed! :-)

We are using less than one roll of paper towels a week. This was a big feat for me b/c we were using a lot more than that a week.

Also, on the dishwasher and clothes dryer front, we have noticed a difference in our electricity bill. I also have noticed since I've been following the directions on the packaging for washing powder/detergent...that we've not had to buy as much detergent. A lot of times we put more soap in than was really required.

Anna's Taco Dip

Ate this Taco Dip at a Baby Shower recently and my friend, Anna, sent me the recipe.

Taco Dip

1 block cream cheese - softened
Sour Cream (several dollops - I don't measure, but appox. 3/4 cup)
1 packet Taco Seasoning
8 oz. Mexican blend cheese, shredded (or cheddar)
Jar of salsa - drained

Mix cream cheese, sour cream, and taco seasoning. Spread evenly on bottom of pie plate. Drain salsa. Spread on top of cheese mixture. Sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Chocolate Lovers Event for Teachers

This week our PTA put on a Chocolate Lovers Event for the teachers and staff at our elementary school. It was part of our monthly Teacher Appreciation project. All the food was donated. We provided drinks and chocolate for the teachers. Then parents emailed in comments/notes of encouragement for the teachers and we put those comments on hearts and hung them up in the teacher's lounge.

We wrapped gift boxes and covered the tops with wax paper and placed all the dessert on the boxes. The idea was to not have to worry about returning a lot of dishes to parents and to make for a quick clean up. It did take awhile to set up.

The Teachers and Staff at the school really enjoyed it. Mission accomplished: they felt encouraged.

Valentine's Day Cookie

I went to a Preschool party this week. For dessert one of the parents brought these cookies. She baked a big cookie/pan cookie/cookie cake. Then took heart shaped cookie cutters and cut out the cookies. Then added a little icing.

Very cool! I didn't know you could do this. It was the perfect size for the preschoolers.

Fruit Trays

So, I can never figure out how to do a fruit tray and it not be super expensive. We had a PTA event recently and they needed a fruit tray. I usually buy my fruit trays from the grocery store, b/c they are time consuming and I can never pick out the best in season fruits.

This time I didn't have the extra money to spend, so I did my own.

$5.50 on 2 lbs of Red Seedless grapes
$1.00 on 3 tangerines/sliced and then quartered them
$1.00 on 3 oranges/sliced and then quartered them
$3.00 on 3 kiwi
_________________
$10.50 Total

I think it was a pretty good deal and the fruit was good.

Tracy's Stamping Party

Handmade cards. We used stamps. Aren't they cool?

I am a stationary addict. I spend hours in card stores looking at stationary.

This week I got an email from a new friend, Tracy, that lives in my community. She asked if I'd like to come over to her house, once a month, to hand make cards.

She designs the cards, we just come in, sit down and make them. She'll teach us if we don't know how. We have to pay $10/month in supply charges, but she does the rest. This was a win-win situation for me. I like crafty things, it was a good chance for me to meet other women in my area, and I didn't have to design the card or buy any "expensive starter kit" to get going. I just had to show up.

It was fun! Tracy had yummy snacks, music in the background and there was a bunch of good conversation. I met women from all over the United States and at different stages in life. Some worked outside of the home, some didn't. It was just good to hang out.

Tracy's stumbled on to a good idea...have your friends over, share something you love to do with them and just relax.

A Coupon Hero

There is a woman in Iowa, Kay MacVey, who clips coupons for military personnel and then ships the coupons to them worldwide. I read about her in the American Profile in our local paper. She has a goal of saving our men and women in uniform over 1 million dollars.

I clip coupons every week, and I am sure that I save enough money each week to pay for a stamp to send the coupons I don't use to Mrs. MacVey.

Here is her address:
Kay MacVey
3419 Polaris Dr.
Ames, Iowa 50010

I don't think you even have to clip them, you can just send the stack of coupons in your paper to her and she has people that are her "clippers". If you are local to me, and would like to just hand your coupons to me, I'll mail them for you. :-)

Chili Recipe

Please forgive my photography! We always serve chili with rice around our house. It stretches the chili out so it serves us longer.

Okay, so I adapted a recipe out of Cooking Light Magazine. Honestly, it is pretty good. It tastes better the 2nd day after it has been sitting in the fridge, freezes well too and tastes even better after it has been frozen.

Here goes:
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 pkg. Turkey Sausage (don't get Polly-O stuff is gross)
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 Tbs. chili powder
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. ground cumin
3 Tbs. tomato paste
1 Tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
2 bay leaves
2 (28 oz.) cans whole tomatoes, undrained, coursely chopped
2 cans (15oz) red kidney beans, drained (I like Bush's brand)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Remove casings from turkey sausage.
Chop your veggies
Measure out all your spices/seasonings.
Drain your kidney beans.
Open your tomato cans
Be careful when you add the tomato paste and seasonings cause it'll burn!

Here goes:
Heat large pot over medium high heat. This is when I add a little olive oil. Add sausage, onion, bell pepper, garlic, sirloin, jalapeno pepper to your pot cook around 8 minutes or until sausage and beef are browned. It makes your house smell fantastic. Add Chili powder, brown sugar cumin, tomato paste, oregano, black pepper, salt, and bay leaves. Stir quickly add tomatoes and beans. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Stir occasionally. Uncover and cook for 30 more minutes. Take out bay leaves. Sprinkle each serving of chili with cheddar cheese.

I Burned the Toast

I have a bunch of stuff to write on the blog. It's just been wild and crazy the last few weeks.

I really did burn toast. I often wondered how people can burn toast, and then it happened to me. I did such a good job, I set off all the smoke detectors in my house, so I had to open my doors and let the freezing cold air in and the smoke out. Then, b/c of where my house is situated in our neighborhood you could hear the smoke detector sound echoing through the neighborhood.

My husband was laughing b/c as he sat on the couch, he thought it was hilarious that I had burned the toast and then in my madness to get all the smoke out of the house, I started to burn my spaghetti sauce. And I guess I was just hysterically funny as I ran around trying "to fix" it all.

I was just a big 'ole mess.

But I do have some recipes to share with you and a few ideas on how to encourage the teachers at your child's school OR your co-workers. Pretty inexpensively too. :-)

So, I'll try to post later today!

The Red Plate

I heard about these plates "You are Special/The Red Plate" a few years ago. You use them on special days to recognize someone in your family. A mother of 3 teenage girls told me, she the red plate when raising her girls. She pulled it out on their birthdays, days when someone had reached an exciting goal or was recognized for something and then on days when she felt like one of her girls (or her husband) really needed some encouragement. That family also tied the tradition of everyone going around the table saying something special about the person who had the red plate. One day this mom was having a bad day, one of her girls was slated to set the table, she started to serve dinner only to find, that there was the red plate sitting in Mom's spot at the dinner table. Then everyone in her family went around and said how much they loved their Mama. It meant so much to her that her children would love her that way. She cried and has always remembered their loving words.

Here is our first use of the red plate. We used it to serve my husband breakfast on his birthday. Thanks to my sis-in-law, CB, who gave it to me. I've always wanted one! I've had friends that used the "red plate" or they went to a paint your own pottery place and made their own. There is a pen that comes with the red plate that allows me to document when we used the plate.

Brown Stew

We absolutely love this recipe. My mom-in-law gave this recipe to me.

Brown Stew
2 pounds beef chuck, cut in to 1 inch cubes
2 tbs. olive oil
4 cups boiling water
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 glove of garlic
1 medium onion, sliced
1 bay leave
1 tbs. salt (seems like a lot!)
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
Dash of allspice

6 carrots, quartered
1 pound small white onions (optional- I don't do it)
2 cups cubed potatoes

I always measure out all the spices first and put them in a prep. bowl. Things get to moving kind of fast once the stew gets going. Pick a big soup pan do cook this in. In another saucepan boil your water. Brown meat in Soup pan, add boiling water. Add all ingredients through allspice. Cover, simmer 2 hours; stir occasionally. After 2 hours remove bay leave and garlic.

Add carrots, potatoes. Cover continue cooking 30 minutes or until vegetables are done.

Slightly off topic...but worth it!

Okay, so my husband says that I cannot post about this, b/c it has nothing to do with hospitality. I say this is my blog....I can do whatever I want.

Today I had the day off and a gift card to the Cheesecake Factory.

Never had their cheesecake before, but I talked my husband into a piece. It's $8.99, but worth every penny.

The 30th Anniversary Cheesecake.

It's got plain cheese cake and chocolate. Look, there are just days when you need cheesecake. I am thinking that even though I haven't made it to tomorrow, I may need another piece! :0) Just kidding. It was great though!

Be sure to share with someone else b/c the piece is huge. We weren't crazy about the dollop of frosting on top, but hey what are kids for...give them the frosting you eat the cheesecake!

Soup and Sandwich Dishes

Check out these dishes I got as a wedding gift.

Soup n Sandwich plate.

Isn't it cool? There is a place to put the bowl so it doesn't slide around.

It's a great gift idea!

New Soup

Trader Joes has a tomato and roasted pepper soup that part of my family is really enjoying. It's organic. Pretty healthy tasting.

My husband and father in law like to eat it with a sandwich and some fruit.

Give it a try! But be sure you shake the carton, all the good stuff is on the bottom!

Random, but funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83JDXXKzOXg

You have to go to the the You Tube video above. The link on Blogger doesn't work. I tried to get to work several times but it won't. So sorry you have to copy and paste the address in.

But I promise I laughed until I cried.

Check it out.

Something to laugh about on this cold NC evening.

Money and Energy Saving Tips

So, I have a recipe I hope to publish on the blog later today. So, come back and visit!

In the mean time:

I just read energy saving tips on our Electric Company's website. It says most of the cost of drying your clothes, comes from the the heating element/coil in the dryer having to heat up. So, it says keep a continuous cycle of clothes drying going, so the heating element doesn't have to heat up over and over again. So I've switched doing doing laundry on certain days, instead of everyday, in order to save money and energy. It's actually worked out well. I am also hanging up more and more of my clothes to air dry. I've been doing this with my daughter's jeans and I promise she's been getting a lot more wear out of them.

I've been cooking a lot of chili, soups and spaghetti sauces. I have decided as long as the stove is on and the kitchen's a mess, might as well spend a bunch of time cooking and preparing stuff to freeze, to save time and energy later.

I requested a bunch of bar towels/mops for my kitchen, in an effort to save paper towels. That has also worked nicely.

I got a a Brita Ultra Water Pitcher/Filter system for my fridge. It has already saved us a bunch of money from having to buy bottled water. Bottled water was a must in our house, since I have a sensitivity to our town water.

I turned the drying cycle off on my dishwaster. Who cares about a few water spots? And the plastic never dried anyway, so just opening up the washer at the end of the cycle and letting it air dry, is making a difference.

Now if I could just convince my three year old to stop turning on all the lights.

The First Meal I Cooked and Delivered.

Stress. I still feel stress when I think about the first meal I volunteered to bring over to a family with a new baby.

Good grief.

Okay, let me tell you all the things I did wrong. First, I decided to cook a recipe that I'd never made before. Keep in mind, that I barely cooked to begin with and I decided to make a gourmet roast chicken. Also keep in mind that I still had a baby at my house, so this was an ambitious project for me. Also, it was an expensive recipe to make.

So that's all the things I did wrong. The meal was late, I was a wreck. I am pretty sure I neglected my own kid trying to get it ready.

Why do we feel the need to impress people? It just ridiculous. When I realized that I was in over my head, I should've called the family and said...your dinner didn't come out the way I planned for it to. Could I please bring you guys your favorite take out? Chinese, Pizza, or curbside service from a restaurant?

Sometimes it is just best to realize we have limitations. When you are doing something for someone else, and you try to go over the top, you have to realize that you may be missing the whole point of caring for the other person/family. It's not about how well it came out. It is about helping when there was a need.

This particular time in my life is just another example about how I made showing hospitality/helping others about me and not about those I was trying to help.

Having been on the receiving end of meals after a baby was born, it's just nice not to have to think about what to cook. Your tired, emotionally exhausted and hungry...it's just good to have someone bring food and put it in front of you.

Gourmet Roast Chicken...what a nuthead I was. Seriously. I barely knew how to use my gas oven! I didn't even know what a roasting pan was. I was a mess!

Strawberry Bread

My poor neglected little blog!

Check out this recipe that I got from from Martha Phelps Stamps The New Southern Basics Cookbook.

The bread is gooey. My husband likes it okay. My old College roomie, makes it all the time and loves it. So it will either be a hit or miss with you.

Strawberry Bread

(This will make 2 loaves of bread)

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
4 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup strawberry jam
1 cup chopped walnuts (I think nuts are a waste..but you do what you want)
1/2 cup sour cream


Preheat Oven to 325 Degrees

Prepare loaf pans (grease and flour)

Cream together butter, sugar and lemon juice. Add eggs and beat. In another bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking soda and then mix into butter/sugar mixture. Mix together in another bowl, jam, nuts (optional) and sour cream. Fold into batter. Pour the batter into the loaf bans, bake for "around" an hour. Sorry there is not a precise time to this one. Keep your eye on it! Cool in pans for 10 minutes before placing on the baking rack.

This bread is good toasted as well.

A New Year!

=
More fondue! This is on the list of to-dos for 2009. It's so much fun to share with friends and it can be inexpensive, IF you plan it right.

Also on my list of to-dos for 2009, learn to make soups and to use my crock pot. I have only used my crock pot maybe 5 times.

On my list is eat my fruit and Veggies. Below--Isn't this a cute orange sunshine my 8 year old made for a brunch we went to?




Happy New Year!

Snapshots of Christmas

Three more of our favorite things from Christmas! Ritz Peanut Butter Crackers dipped in white chocolate. Addictive. Very, very addictive.

Snowman Soup. Hot Chocolate Mix with chocolate chips, M&Ms and Marshmellows. A very nice gift and very thoughtful!

Snyder's Pretzels with chocolate and an M&M on top. Yummy. Also Addictive.

Keep these in mind for your Christmas gifts and celebrations for next year.

Electric Griddle, Excuse for a Party!

So my husband got an electric griddle for Christmas because he is a Pancake-a-holic. We were so surprised at how perfect the pancakes came out and then later in the day we made grilled cheese sandwiches (13 Weight Watchers points! Good Grief!) and they turned out really well too.

This winter we are going to start having people over every Thursday. We figured sandwiches on the griddle served with hot soup or breakfast for dinner, might be a great excuse to have people over.

It also helps that we have a direct connect to the best maple syrup on the planet, Currey Farms Maple Syrup out of Michigan.

Tea With 13 Other Ladies

 

Pictured here are just the desserts from the afternoon tea. 3 kinds of chocolate, 1 carrot cake and 1 cheesecake. YUM!

I've been to a Tea House before, it has just been a long, long time. This time I went with 13 other ladies and we sat in an English Tea Room in a small down town about an 1 hour from my house.

It was a lot of fun! I am not a huge hot tea drinker myself, but the triple chocolate cake was delish!

You'll have to give it a try.

Christmas Stockings

Santa worked over time on a Christmas Stocking holder for a family of 40+. Top Row is the original family and in most cases the stockings they grew up with. Parents and 6 kids and their spouses in birth order. Middle Rack is the Grandchildren and in some cases their spouses because they range from (33 to 3) and then on the bottom row Great Grandchildren.

It's really cool to have a large extended family. We always hold our Christmas together the day after Christmas. The party includes appetizers, wine tasting, a large lunch buffet and soooo many desserts. Then a massive gift exchange.

This year we exchanged everything from earth friendly...a soil kit and the bags at the grocery store that you can use over and over again, but never actually buy..someone made a donation in our name to the Local Food Bank, family heirlooms were gifted out(which brought joy and even tears to many eyes), maple syrup from a family maple syrup farm, favorite wines, to books, homemade goodies,blankets and games. It was awesome!

Single, Double or Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

There is a lot of virtue in following a recipe. I find a lot of times that people just decide "to add" or take away. My suggestion is, make it like it says the first time and then change things up next time you make the recipe. That being said, I recently tried a recipe out of a Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: The Essentials of Baking.

When you get to the chocolate chip part...you can have a little fun. I've changed up the chip part of this recipe several times and every time they taste good.

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temp. (or I put it in the microwave and soften it slightly)
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
6 tbs. granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet(plain) chocolate chips
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Kelly note: for double chocolate chip: 1 cup semisweet choc. chips and 1 cup milk choc. chip cookies. For single chocolate chip cookies: 2 cups semisweet choc. chips.

My favorite of three: believe it or not...the single chip. Guess I just like a plain choc. chip cookie

Place rack in the middle of oven, pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Drop dough on cookie sheet placing cookies 2 inches apart. Bake cookies until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned and tops firm to touch about 10-12 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for about 3-5 minutes, then move them to a cookie cooling rack. Makes about 30 cookies.

Don't let them go too long in the oven...they'll come out "brick-like".

Enjoy!

Chicken Soup

Here is what I do to make "homemade" chicken soup.

Kelly's Chicken Soup

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 onion, halved
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 tsp. salt (you can add more later...)
1/2 tsp. pepper (you can add more...)
1 bay leaf

2 carrots chopped
1 cup frozen peas
Noodles- elbow, shells or bow ties as many as you like but be carefully not overload your soup!

Place chicken breasts in large pot, cover with cold water and then add another cup or so of water. Add onion, celery, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes. (Makes your house smell good too!) Remove chicken and let cool. Bring broth back up to a boil, add carrots, frozen peas and noodles. Cook according to noodle packaging.

While the noodles, etc. are cooking. Slice your chicken into small pieces. Add chicken to the broth towards the end of the noodle cook time.

Sometimes we pour half of our broth into another sauce pan and just make enough noodles for one sitting...then we put the rest of the broth in the fridge and make the rest with noodles later.

Idea taken from: Martha Phelps Stamps: The New Southern Basics Cookbook

cookie exchange from last week!

we had an informal cookie exchange during our MMO (mom's morning out) last week. everyone brought 3 dozen cookies and (having bought gift boxes for the cookies at kb's suggestion) several of us filled the boxes equally for everyone to have a box to bring home. it definitely would have been a lot of fun if it (and adult time) was the only focus...but it was nice to bring home a variety of christmas treats to enjoy at home.

News Article about Food Prep.

Ran across this article today on the 5 dirtiest foods. It was pretty interesting. Made me really think twice about peach season.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/the-5-dirtiest-foods-327375/

Hope all your Christmas plans are coming together. I had to remind myself today that Christmas is about loving our family and friends. So stressing, may happen, but excessive stressing and complaining doesn't do anyone ANY good. Besides the whole point of the season is to celebrate the biggest gift of all, a baby born in a cattle stall that would take on things much bigger than we'll ever understand.

Back to baking for me! :-)

2nd Annual Cookie Exchange

Today marked my culdesac's 2nd annual Cookie Exchange. It was a bit smaller this year, than it was last year, but I was so glad to have time to hang out with my neighbors and friends.

This year I wrapped gift boxes and covered them in wax paper to help display the cookies. It's kind of a fun way to do it, when you don't have a lot of space.

I had each of my guests bring 3-4 dozen cookies to swap. We didn't eat cookies at the actual party, we had appetizers. I served: cheese fondue, chocolate fondue, Spinach Artichoke Purses, Baby Quiches and a Veggie Tray.

We had all kinds of cookies. Plum cookies, peanut butter cookies, double chocolate chip cookies, lemon crisps, Ginger Molasses, Gingerbread, Ginger Salt and George's M&M Cookies. And they made the house smell wonderful.

P.S. Trader Joe's Apple Cider is AWESOME.

Oreo Cupcakes!

So, we have a sweet little friend who celebrated her 2nd b-day this weekend. She has some food allergies, but recently was given the "all clear" to have Oreo Cookies. Since she can't have cake, her mom found some festive cupcake holders and filled them with Oreo Cookies instead. The Birthday Girl was quite pleased.

Laura and Jeremy's Black Friday Cook-Off

My friends, Laura and Jeremy, have all their family gather for Thanksgiving and the following day (Black Friday)they have an Appetizer Cook-off aka Black Friday Cook-Off. The winner wins their named written on the trophy pictured above. Pretty cool, huh? The trophy is made of mostly kitchen utensils and tools.

Biscuits

Ty's version of the only way to eat biscuits, with honey poured all over them!

I tried! They tasted great, but I need to figure out how to make them rise better.
My husband poured honey over them and devoured them. I got the recipe from Williams-Sonoma "The Essentials of Baking"

They Taste Good but Need a New Name...Baking Powder Biscuits. :-)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbs. cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2in pieces
3/4 cup whole milk (I used 1% which could be part of the problem)

In a bowl, stir together with a spatula or wooden spoon, the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the butter. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter just until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of small peas. Pour in the milk and mix withi fork or rubber spatula just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place dough on to lightly floured work surface. Knead dough a few times until it clings together. Roll or pat out dough until it is 3/4 inch thick. Use 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits and lift straight up. Place biscuits on baking sheet that is lightly buttered or covered with parchment paper. Gather scraps repeat rolling, cutting and placing biscuits.

Bake biscuits until lightly browned 15-18 minutes.

A Christmas Tea

A friend and I had a Christmas Tea this year. We are surrounded by women that we really enjoy seeing either at school, in our neighborhood or in our church, but found that we never really get the chance to sit down and talk without distraction.

So we decided to throw a Christmas Tea and invite women from various parts of our lives. We had a really awesome group of ladies and will probably do this again next year or maybe a few times a year.

I have pictures, which I will post later.

It really was an amazing time. We took a group picture, sat around talked, tried different appetizers and desserts. The home we were in was beautiful and we didn't have any agenda, other than to sit down, chat and eat. No program, just fellowship.

I really had a good time and look forward to doing it again!

Campbells Select Harvest Soups

Try them they are really good. And they are low on the Weight Watchers points. They are around $1.50 each, but that's a good lunch. My hubby and I can split a can of soup and have salad or fruit or sandwich on the side and it is plenty!

Check them out.

I did try the sugar cookies...

...and they turned out wonderfully! We had some friends and a neighbor over (7 cookie making kids total) and I made the cookie dough the night before (which proved to be a very good idea). Loved the recipe....loved the icing. :)

I know that Kelly has mentioned that our littlest has had some health things going on (i'm posting a picture so you can see who it is that you've been praying for)...

thank you so much for praying for us! Things are improving and we continue to have follow-up appointments every 3 or so weeks. I've been so thankful for how often I've heard friends tell me that their friends are praying or their church is praying....complete strangers showing us their support has been a blessing!

Needless to say, we haven't been very hospitable...it's been a semi-inward time for our family with Leighton being sick and the 7 of us passing a bad cold around for 5 weeks. However, we have been shown hospitality (wikipedia says: Hospitality is also known as the act of generously providing care and kindness to whoever is in need.). We have had many random needs filled by friends close by (meals, grocery shopping for us, watching 1 or more kids, folding laundry, spending time with me while I had to spend hours and days in the hospital) as well as far away (praying, sending money, gift cards for a meal, grandma driving 16 hours to spend a week with us, daily phone calls to check in)....it has been a sweet picture of hospitality to my extroverted heart....and a challenge to me as I think through "generously providing care and kindness to whoever is in need". Kindness is hospitality?? definitely something to remember.

Anyways, thank you. You are much appreciated.

Friends Tried the Sugar Cookie Recipe

So, my friend,Karen tried the Sugar Cookie recipe. She doubled it and did it with around 8 kids. I think they had a good time.

My First Set of Actual Dinner Guests

They were my first actual set of dinner guests. And I let them know it about 15 times in the course of their visit with us. They were so gracious and thoughtful and I was a complete wreck.

They weren't just my first dinner guests, they were complete strangers. So here I was having to not only make my first company meal, but I was having to do it for strangers! And let me remind you that I am an introvert. Which made it even more crazy!

I made an Irish Stew kind of number,which proably wasn't heart healthy, but it tasted good and I put in a Mrs. Smith's Apple Pie,which is always a safe bet for dessert.

They actual liked the food and once I relaxed, I could actually enjoyed them.

But I can honestly say, that this first time having someone into my home, was where the term "Mad Hostess" was probably first spoken. My poor husband, he probably didn't realize how mad I would get b/c of my perfectionism. It was graduate housing, so it was only 900 square feet, but the whole thing had to be spotless. The food had to be perfect and the table setting flawless. I think I probably fussed about everything and with everything.

I think I may have even accomplished making my guests nervous for me.

So while the meal may have come off as a success, my heart was a mess. My attitude a mess. The way I treated my family a big mess. And that's were God's grace comes in, I may have failed, but God used the time to point me in the right direction, towards Him. I have to say I failed and failed at hospitality more times than I can count, but God has (and is) taking this angry, perfectionist, selfish-need to succeed heart and turning it to something He can use.

Gloves, Hats, Mittens, Oh, My!

I was storing all the hats, mittens, etc. in a container and then digging through it on a regular basis, since my girls insist, and I mean INSIST on wearing accessories. So, I decided that wasn't going to work for me. It takes to long to dig through the stuff.

So I thought about an over the door shoe storage thing I had and I put it to work. These things are awesome. You can store Barbies, Groovy Girls, Card Games, Art Supplies. So far so good. I figure if I have to many accessories for my current set up, then we can rotate accessories or we need to give some to the poor. I have them in the front hall closet where we have our coats.

Applesauce

I tried my hand at homemade applesauce. It made the house smell wonderful. It tasted pretty good and it made me think how yummy it would be over vanilla ice cream.

Here's the recipe:

4 to 6 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.

Kelly note: The applesauce can get kinda sweet. But I love sweet, so I asked my hubby and he said the same...this is good, but...we could probably cut back just a little on the sugar. So you are going to have to figure out if it needs less sugar or not. I would suggest making it once and then making the call for future batches. I think it will probably depend on the apple as well. I actually made 3 batches of this stuff tonight b/c I had so many left over apples from Thanksgiving.

Keeping All Those Kids Busy!

We had 8 cousins at one of our family gatherings. Granted 2 of them were small babies, but the rest were full of energy, happy to be together and ready for some fun. And we were sure they needed to stay out of the kitchen and out of the areas the babies were in and we we wanted to make sure we didn't lose our minds. So, we had a fun schedule:

Family Picture
Grandkid Picture
Free Play
Lunchie snack
Treasure Hunt
Hide and Seek/Sardines
Pinata
Free Play (Bikes, street hockey, etc)
Down time-snack/movie/free quiet play
Thanksgiving Dinner
Movies/Free play in a designated part of the house
Dessert
Family music concert
Home

Everyone slept soooooo well that night! Especially me.

Apple Pie Suggestion

I made a bunch of apple pies this weekend for various Thanksgiving events. Here are my suggestions on the pie...

-Use the Joy of Cooking Apple Pie Recipe
-McIntosh apples
-Pillsbury Ready to use crust in the red box...no need to do scratch..they work great.
-Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the top of the crust

Enjoy!

PS I opened up my cookbook, and on the inside was a note from my Grandma. It said "to Kelly, my oldest granddaughter, I love you very much, Love, Mama" It made both my husband and I teary. What a sweet note to have just before we made pies for one of her favorite times of the year.

So, what am I thankful for?

I am thankful for so much..it would be hard to list it all.

I am thankful for my amazing husband and sweet curly headed girls. For a supportive and loving extended family. For a neighborhood where I don't just wave at my neighbors, I actually know them and enjoy them. I am thankful for our church. I am thankful for how God took care two very sick little girls, both Lydia and Leighton this year. I am thankful for my home and how God took care of my family when my husband was laid off from his job earlier this year. I am thankful for our family trip to Disney. I am thankful for so much more...

But most of all I am thankful, that I am loved by a God who has no ordinary love for me. His love for me is extraordinary. He "gets me" and loves me anyway.

I Will Be An Expert

By the time this Thanksgiving Holiday comes to an end, I, Kelly, will be an expert on Thanksgiving. Because I, Kelly, will have eaten not one, not two, but THREE Thanksgiving Meals. I am not kidding.

The First one will have Louisiana Flare and Norweigen Traditions
The Second one will have North Carolina Roots.
The Third one will have mix of Upstate New York Born, but raised in NC.

I think I was counting and it is like 75 people in 3 days! Woo-hoo!

So I'll have everything offered to me from pickled herring to Rutabegas to carbohydrate heaven.

I promise to be report back. I am sure it will be fun, and the great part is I'll get to sleep in my bed every night and not have to venture to far.

Silly Quote on Thanksgiving

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

-----Anonymous


I am pretty sure that this isn't the right perspective to have on Thanksgiving, but I thought it was cute nonetheless. Actually I think it pokes fun at all the things that we really care too much about. Is the food good? Does it look good? Are we getting the praise we deserve for such a flawless meal? And how do I look when it all is over....

Thanksgiving Prep. Tips- 6,7,8

6- Do you have enough ice?

7- Do you have lite appetizers in case things don't go off in time and in case someone arrives late?

8- Keep the kids out of the kitchen, unless they've been specifically drafted for duty. We all love kids, but Thanksgiving meal is a hard time to keep them safe from hot water, hot food, the chopping of knives and anxious cooks. Do your part by keeping the kids out of the hosts' kitchen and play with them quietly and removed from the kitchen/dining areas.

Butter Cream Frosting For Sugar Cookies

Here is a butter cream frosting recipe to go with those sugar cookies you are going to make:

Butter Cream Frosting
1 16-oz box Confectioner's Sugar
1/2 cup salted sweet cream butter (1 stick), softened
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
4 to 6 tbs. of milk


Mix together with hand held mixer or with a fancy shamancy mixer (use the flat beater). Add more milk to make it thinner, more sugar to make it thicker. Note from a frosting expert (my sis): always end with sugar. We just made the recipe as is, and it was fabulous!

This is yummy frosting. My daughter said, "Forget the cookies, let's just eat frosting!"

It makes a ton of frosting. Remember the more food coloring you add, the runnier your frosting will be so add carefully.

Thanksgiving Tips 3,4 and 5

Many of you have read that my Grandma, "Mama" died in August. Thanksgiving and Christmas memories at her house are some of my fondest and favorite memories. So I decided to model Tips number 3,4 and 5 after what Mama would've done. She was one of the greatest hostesses, I've ever known.

3- Clean out your fridge the Sunday before and straighten your pantry.

4- Give your house a detailed cleaning the weekend before. Enlist the whole family. Little kids get dust rags and can organize books on the bookshelves. Big kids wash the windows and kitchen appliances.

5- When you are doing all of this smile, talk, hug and laugh with your children and grandchildren. This is vital. Because I never minded helping Mama clean up, because I was getting to clean up with her, my Mom, my Aunt, my sis and brother. And it wasn't such a big chore, because we did it together and Mama always had time to love on us.

We always watched an old movie or old movie musical when we were cleaning. It was nice background noise. And when anyone needed a break they took it.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving! Tip 1 and Tip 2

I could not believe how crowded the Grocery stores were today 1 week before Thanksgiving!!! Over the next few days I am going to give my tips for getting ready for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays.

Here are my tips for getting ready:

1- Sister Shubert's Yeast Rolls (Parker House Style) the ones in the circle tin in the freezer section. Folks, these are the real deal. YUM! They have to thaw before you put them in the oven, so don't forget that! And buy two or three of these pans (2 for $5). It is very easy for one guy (I will not mention names) to eat the whole pan of them. They are packed with calories, but this is just a holiday tradition! They will sell out of these, so buy in advance.

2- Got kids? Go into the kitchen, go through what your kids eat and drink during the day, b/c you know they are kids---and they are going to not do things the way they are suppose to on a holiday--like break with their day to day traditions when it comes to food. Start with breakfast and work through the day...what do your kids eat for meals, snack and what do they drink? Make sure you or Grandma are stocked up to prevent crazy last minute runs to the Grocery Store. Make sure you have bread, milk, butter or in my house RAMEN for a 3 year old who has decided she can live on Ramen alone.

My Favorite, FAVORITE Stir Fry Recipe

Oh, this one is soooo good. My husband and I cooked it together on one of our date nights. Rice Vinegar can be a little expensive. We always fight over who gets the leftovers!!!

Ty and Kelly's Stir Fry Recipe

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts- cubed
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 small white onion, diced
4 carrots, cut in matchsticks
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup broccoli florets, bite size
1/4 cup sesame oil (or olive oil and add sesame seeds)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
Directions
Cut all of the meat and veggies, so they are ready to cook.

Start your rice. The cooking time for the dinner is equivalent to the cooking time for rice. Start steaming your veggies.
Using a wok or large frying pan, heat sesame oil over medium-high. Add in the garlic. When the oil starts to sizzle, add in the soy sauce, vinegar,sugar, and ginger. Mix well.
Add chicken. Cook until there is no pink at all. Chicken will have a rich brown color from the sauce.
Add in the veggies (steamed & drained) and cook until the rice is done.
Serve over rice.

Yum, Yum, Yum, Yum, YUM!

Ok, Sugar Cookies!!

Alright, the point of this blog is to make sure I understand that Hospitality can be a gift for some folks, and it might be harder work for others. I find it can be hard work for me, but it is getting easier the more I try. The point is, sharing food with others, having them into your home, etc. doesn't have to be perfect every time. Doesn't have to be a candle light dinner, doesn't have to be gourmet food...sometimes sharing a pizza with your neighbors and a pan of brownies is a lot of fun!

Last night my 3 year old and I made sugar cookies together, but as we got closer and closer to the finished "dough", I realized it was looking more like cornmeal than dough. Hmmmm, I looked over the recipe about 10 times before I realized I used salted butter instead of unsalted butter.

I was frustrated. I had big plans to share these cookies with a friend and spend time with my daughters decorating them and they weren't going to turn out. I had to apologize to my 3 year old that they didn't seem to be quite right and we weren't going to be able to bake them.

Much to my amazement, she replied, "Mommy, it's okay--still tastes good to me!" She ran her finger a long the beater and put her finger in her mouth and smiled a cookie dough kinda smile.

So, while it didn't turned out as a planned, I did get to spend some time with her and I learned a lesson about carefully checking my indgredients.

I love kids, they take things in stride a lot better than us adults do sometimes.

Sugar Cookie Dough Recipe

Picked up a new book on Cookies. I know, I know...what an odd book to purchase, but honestly I needed a good sugar cookie recipe. Now I need to bake some, so you can see a picture!

And a great recipe for sugar cookies and butter cream frosting I got!

Sugar Cookies
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbs. water (optional)

Mix together and set to the side flour, salt and baking powder. In a large bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar on medium speed. Beat in eggs Add the flour mixture (SLOWLY) and blend on low speed. Add vanilla extract and blend. You may add a tablespoon of water if the dough feels dry.

Knead into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Roll dough out and cut your cookies. (The more flour you add to your surface the tougher the cookie)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes (small) or 12-15 (large). The cookies are done when the edges are golden brown.

Recipe from:Meaghan Mountford's Cookie Sensations