Update on Goals and Resolutions

Here is the list of resolutions and goals I made at the beginning of January, with my progress in red. I hope to re-visit this once a month (or maybe quarter) to track my progress.

Resolutions - in 2009, I resolve to:

~never go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink, even if it means going past my bedtime. Accomplished. A good habit has been established. YES!
~stay on top of laundry - meaning putting away the clothes once washed and folded. Again! Yes, another good habit established. I have gone beyond what I expected and my hamper and washer are empty, one load is drying now. And they are being put away. YES!
~spend less time online. Eh, not so much. I am on the computer too much, still.
~go for at least one walk a week with my children We went for 2 walks as a family (me and the kids, anyway) this month. I put a spare pair of tennies into my car this week so that when we visit Grandpa on Sundays, we can go for walks. I have only had my church shoes up till now so no more excuses.
~put my sewing machine to good use, a project a month. I have discovered that I am sewing challenged. This is harder than I thought. I have a full pattern all cut up but am stuck. I have a good friend that can come and tutor me, though. Gotta plan on that.
~knit for charity, at least one project a month. I have one started and will likely be done next week. SO for February, the project will be a little smaller.
~to speak my mind in a loving and respectful manner (not that I am unloving or disrespectful when I speak, I just don't usually speak my mind when something bothers me, and I end up stewing over it.) YES! I accomplished that twice this month. Oh what a feeling!
~drink 8 glasses of water a day. I don't know where I am with that. I need to create some sort of record keeping with that. I think I do it some days and not on others.

Goals - in 2009, I plan to accomplish:
~lose 20 pounds. This is not my ultimate goal, but I want to be realistic. One month down, no pounds lost. I haven't been working for it though. I eat healthy, but I haven't been exercising. I must get on that!
~learn how to run. I got some running shoes Sunday. That's as close as I have gotten. Now that DJ has a bigger bike, we can go together, and he'll keep me at a brisk pace. I will start out walking then go to a jog and so forth. Gotta get my resistance up.
~find part time employment (a job which I can impact my community in a positive way) in September. It's not September yet, but I have a couple of leads.
~make and sell soap, at least $50 a week. I haven't made any soap lately, but I found another gig that'll make me a similar amount of $$ starting in February.
~set up a chore schedule for the children and enforce it. I haven't tackled that yet. Ugh.

Artisan Bread - 5 minutes a day

Here is a loaf of the Artisan Bread that I mentioned in the last post.

This loaf was baked from the dough after living in the fridge for 7 days.

I know it's late but...

Here's our menu for the week. I have had it up on the wall, which is more important than here, I guess! It's been a simple week:

Monday - scrambled eggs/cheese chalupas and burritos
Tuesday - cereal/chicken soup that Danny made - YUM!
Wednesday - oatmeal/picadillo, rice, beans and tortillas
Thursday - French toast/homemade pizza
Friday - Smoothies or oatmeal/ribs, mashed potatoes, corn

Lunches have been leftovers. Today I ate homemade yogurt made with raw milk - I forgot about it when it was heating and it went too long, but I strained it when it was properly cooled - the consistency is a little off, but still delicious - I ate that with a dollop of homemade applesauce that I made y'day with some apples that were no longer pleasant to eat. I will never buy applesauce again, especially since homemade tasted better and wasn't laden with sugar AND high fructose corn syrup and whatever else.

Today's CSA delivery consisted of kohlrabi, beets, red cabbage, and broccoli. I also got some spinach in addition to the CSA stuff.

Monday's lunch at the soup kitchen was a mixture of beef, veggies and rice, served with salad and bread. The meals there are better than any restaurant, by far. Everyone deserves a hot delicious meal that was prepared with love.

I get the Mother Earth News online newsletter and this article was featured last week - it's about making artisan bread - you only have to work for 5 minutes a day for this delicious, crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside bread. I have been making the loaves and the flat bread. I made a whole wheat bread and will be using the other half of the dough to make pizza tonight. The dough stays in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and improves with each day. It is easy and well worth the effort of trying. Even if you have never made bread in your life, you will be able to make this...and impress your family and friends!

We are going to till a garden this weekend....on the *to plant* list is: lettuce, spinach, carrots, peas, broccoli raab, chard, parsley, cilantro, and more to be announced. Oh, and onions. Lots of them.

That's it for now....have a great one!

Stuff

I am having trouble finding the balance between teaching my children that stuff is just stuff, to not develop earthly attachments to it, and teaching them that it is important to take care of their stuff. Hmmm.

Meal Plan for the week

Here's our meal plan for the week:

Sunday - Spaghetti and meatballs
Monday - egg and cheese tacos
Mexican beans with chorizo and greens (and corn bread - at Emily's house)
Tuesday - oatmeal
Ham steaks with cabbage and carrots
Wednesday - banana cereal
Grilled Stuffed burritos (made with leftover MxBwCaG, beef rib meat and rice)
Thursday - Peanut butter and banana toast sandwiches
Grilled sausage, mashed potatoes and cole slaw (or cabbage some way)
Friday - smoothies
Pork tortas (Mexican sandwiches on crusty bread, topped with avocado)

Monday or Tuesday evening, I must will myself to make yogurt. I haven't done that in a long time and we are really missing it. Maybe now that I mentioned it here, I will more likely do it. I have been intending to for weeks.

Tuesday, I plan to saute the spinach I got from the farm with some mushrooms, garlic, and onions to use as a filling for quesadillas for lunch throughout the week. I have some nice white cheese (maybe provolone) that came in last week's cheese ends to go with it.

One day, maybe Wednesday or Thursday, I plan to make more cinnamon rolls. They were so good. I wonder if I can make all the icing ahead and freeze it in little baggies, because I would like to freeze some of the rolls.

Well, that's all my food talk for now. I know this blog has centered around food lately, but I have been finding it hard to find the right words for all the other stuff that's been going on. It is hard to write something when I don't have the words. The good news is , I feel some coming! So, stay tuned!

Love to you....

They say it's your birthday

Introducing...the last of my offspring to turn 5 years old!!!! Danny Jr.

This child has always been so full of smiles, laughter, and joy. His eyes are so big and beautiful, they can melt even the hardest of hearts.

Danny is Mr Sushi Boy. For his birthday, we made sushi candy - made with fruit roll ups, rice krispie treats, gummi worms and sour s'getti. Here are the rolls:

And here is his "cake" - a nice big pile of sushi candy. It tasted way better than you'd think! It lasted half as long, too. It went fast!

I can't believe my baby turned 5 today. He has grown so fast - there is never a dull moment in our home. He is the biggest Momma's boy I have ever known, and it is hard to imagine that soon he'll be going off to kindergarten. I have cherished every single moment of being his mom. I love every snuggle and cuddle (which he asks for often!), every deep question and discussion. He is very quick and seems to have a clever answer for everything. He and his sisters have so much fun, and although they have their *moments*, they are quick to forgive each other.
I can hardly remember when he was this little - good grief, was he ever a cute baby!

I am so thankful for this child - and for the laughter and joy that he brings to our family.

Happy Birthday, my sweet big boy! I love you!

And how were YOU created??

Another late evening, deep discussion between Danny Jr. and me happened last night. As we were doing our pre-sleep snuggle, Danny asked me, "What does growing mean?"

I answered, "God created us to grow. He made us to get nourishment and get bigger and bigger." I told him that when he was in my tummy, no one could see him, he was so tiny. Then he grew to be as big as a bean, a lime, a lemon, an orange, a grapefruit, and then a watermelon. Then one day, I felt a special feeling that made me go to the hospital and push him out of my tummy. Then I told him, "you drank milk from mommy and you grew bigger and bigger, then one day, you decided to eat food. Lots and lots of food, so much food I can't even get you to stop eating."

As quick as a wink, he replied, with a shrug, "That's how God created me, I'm an eater."

I guess he has it all figured out!

Meal Plan for the week

Hi there! Here is my meal plan for the week. Monday is my day full of fun, so I never had a chance to post it, although it was posted in my kitchen! : )

Sunday - Snack till you drop (S.T.u.D., hehe!)
Monday - Oatmeal
Eat dinner at Emily's (a new Monday thing) Cauliflower, couscous, and cheesy-meat sauce
Lunch at the soup kitchen was creamy baked potato soup and grilled cheese with cocktail fruit (inside joke, hehe!)
Tuesday - Creamy hot couscous cereal
BBQ chicken, potatoes, and broccoli
Wednesday - Toast and poached eggs
Enchiladas and beans
Thursday - French toast
Cauliflower soup and maybe grilled cheese
Friday - Smoothie
Ribs, salad, and corn


What's on your plate???

Saturday in my Kitchen

I want to thank you so much for following my kitchen this week. It has been a pleasure sharing with you!

This evening, we had a very simple dinner of broiled beef fajitas, sauteed onions, and beans on corn tortillas, topped with my famous roasted salsa. It is a go-to staple in our home. Everyone loves it and it is light and tasty.

Today I attended a baby shower for a very precious friend. I got pictures of the gals in attendance, but of course I didn't think to take pictures of the food. Yesterday, I made that big batch of Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls which were made so that I could take some to the shower. My cinnamon roll loving friend called them the best DAMN cinnamon rolls she ever tasted. And yes, they do make your friends smile...and groan!

Here is my kitchen helper, rolling out the dough...
...and the first three pans of rolls. The other four were in the oven at this time. It was pretty impressive, though, to see all SEVEN pans on the table!
And while the rolls were baking, Turkey said, "Argh!"
Because I was sitting in my kitchen when I finished this sweater, I will show it to you! It's a Baby Surprise Jacket designed by Elizabeth Zimmerman, knit in self striping sock yarn.

Thanks again for spending a week in my kitchen! I am looking forward to spending time in yours. May you have a lovely year in 2009, full of love, laughter, and joy!

Love,

Melanie

Friday in My Kitchen

This was a fun day in my kitchen! I got photos, lots of them, but my DH's computer stayed at the office this evening. I use his for uploading photos because my usb cord is broken and I can use the SD card with his. Sorry. Tomorrow will be double pictures.

I made a full batch of Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls. That makes SEVEN pie plate/cake pans full! SEVEN! Two are for a brunch tomorrow and I gave away two, we ate one, and there are two more for breakfast tomorrow and.... Let me tell you these are fabulous! And mine looked just like the ones in the recipe. I would like to encourage anyone to give these a try - the recipe is simple and the results are a dream.

Breakfast for the girls was smoothies. All fruit. Orange juice, banana, and frozen strawberry/mango/papaya mix. They were refreshing. Especially since our TX weather has been so warm lately. Dad had some leftover posole and I had coffee! Ack! After the cinnamon rolls were done, I had two for lunch. Double Ack! (I mean double delicious, just horrible eating habits!)

Dinner was at Jason's Deli. I had the salad bar and the kids had pizza and mac and cheese. Danny Sr. and his brother had the Maverick Wrap - if you're near a Jason's try one, it's the bomb!

Gotta get on with my night! I have some last minute finishing to do on a knitwear project.

Love to you!

Thursday in My Kitchen

Thursday is veggie day!!! It's the day that I volunteer at the farm that provides vegetables for the CSA I belong to. Early this spring, in conversation with the farmer, I offered to take over vegetable deliveries in exchange for my vegetables. She accepted and I have been working for food since! : )

Today's delivery was broccoli, cauliflower (yes, I will have to get creative again), radishes, and kohlrabi. The farmer gave me a good idea that she got from a market customer - to shred the kohlrabi into a slaw. That would be a great plan for me, because I only like it raw. Just look at the beautiful shade of deep purple. It's even more beautiful when it's still in the garden.

For Dad and the girls' breakfast this morning, I prepared one of their favorites - migas. Take two corn tortillas, tear into bite sized pieces. Heat up about a T of vegetable oil in a skillet (I like Smart Balance oil), add the tortillas and cook till slightly crisp. Add 4 eggs and scramble till eggs cook through. Salt and pepper to taste. That's it! Simple and nourishing. I served it with a half apple each.



Danny Jr. doesn't like most typical breakfast foods. He's kind of hard to feed because he's always hungry but doesn't go for the usual. Since we were in somewhat of a rush this morning, he settled for some cold cereal. For me, I threw together some oatmeal with flax and a half banana for the road trip to the farm (about 30 miles round trip).

Lunch was leftover cauliflower casserole. It was better today!

For dinner, we had Daddy's Super Duper Totally Awesome Bestest Burgers in the World. We make 1/4 pound burgers and serve them on dinner rolls from the local bakery. There is nothing better! For toppers, we had lettuce from the farm, American cheese, avocados, red onions, and pickled jalapenos. There was some leftover special sauce from our Reubens last week - made with mayo, ketchup, and minced kosher and bread and butter pickles. We had pickled okra, beets, and bread and butters on the side.

(sorry it's not the most flattering photo - I was so excited to eat the burgers that I forgot to take a pic - you can see mine at the far end of the plate - the whole burger was Dad's second one, haphazardly assembled. He doesn't eat with his eyes like I do!)

Here's the recipe for Daddy's SDTABBitW Burgers:

2# ground beef
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T Bragg's liquid aminos
1 t minced garlic
1 T minced red onion
1 T powdered Ranch dressing mix
1/2 t. Zatarain's Creole seasoning (or more to taste)

Fire up the grill. Use newspaper for kindling and sticks and branches that you find laying around to fuel the fire. When the fire gets going, add a piece of mesquite. Let it get smoky. Cook the burgers. Prepare to moan and groan with delight!

See you tomorrow!!!!

Wednesday in My Kitchen

I got two great big heads of cauliflower from last weeks' CSA delivery. They have been sitting in their canvas bag in my kitchen, waiting to be made into something interesting. My family can take cauliflower or leave it, so I had to get creative!

I envisioned a casserole dish, maybe a gratin served over rice. I decided to serve it with pasta instead. The cheese I used is ends from the local meat market that I get for $1/lb. There was a variety of cheddar, American, Muenster, farmer's, Colby jack, provolone, smoked Gouda, and more.



The meat we served on the side was a delicious sausage made from venison and pork. It wasn't gamey at all, and smelled and tasted like bacon. We all thought it was some of the best sausage that we ever tasted.



Cauliflower Cheese Casserole

14.5 oz multi grain pasta
1 large head cauliflower
1 c frozen peas
8-10 oz cheese, shredded
6 c milk
3 T corn starch
salt and pepper to taste
8 Ritz crackers, crumbled

Large casserole dish, sprayed with non stick spray. Preheat oven to 400.

Blanch cauliflower, set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and ad to cauliflower (this all works well in a great big bowl). Add frozen peas. Carefully mix together and pour into the baking dish.

Combine milk and cornstarch. Cook over medium till thickened. Remove from heat, add cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir till smooth. Pour over cauliflower and pasta, then top with Ritz crumbs.

Bake until bubbly, about 15 minutes.

This morning, the girls ate cereal. I had a long night and slept in - Dad took care of getting the girls ready and off to school. I got up a bit later and had coffee and a banana. Around 10, Danny came home to pick something up and we ate some posole together. Little Danny ate an orange. We snacked for lunch (we were doing some emotional eating this afternoon - blek).

I love Thursdays because it is CSA day. It is nice to have freshly picked veggies to work into our meals for the rest of the week.

I appreciate you taking the time to check in on my kitchen! It's been fun sharing this with you! See you tomorrow, and until then, Happy Eating!

Reader Poll

I want to ask your opinion on something.

We have always had pets. Dogs, mice, chickens. Our family has always been surrounded by furry and feathery friends.

In the last month, we have lost three of our pets. A month ago (give or take) one pet mouse died. We knew it was coming, they don't have a very long life span. Two nights ago, another pet mouse died. Again, it was expected, but still hard for the kids. Last night, around midnight, a nocturnal predator raided our chickens and made away with one of them. Sadly, it was the chicken that belongs to the child who has the most trouble with grief.

I feel that even with the heartache of losing a pet comes great pleasure from owning pets. I feel that they bring so much life to our family, they make us feel....good. I also feel that it is healthy for children to be exposed to such hard issues because they get the experience and are somehow prepared for larger issues later.

Another family member insists that the kids shouldn't have pets, because it isn't worth the heartache that they go through when they die or get lost.

My question to you is this: What are your feelings on pets - the good, the bad. How do you handle pet death? How do you tell your kids? Do you think it's worth it? Please leave a comment. I am very interested in how others deal with this.

Thank you!

A handy way to test if Jello is done

We made Jello the other day. I peeked into the fridge to see if it was ready. Apparently someone beat me to it. : )

Tuesday in My Kitchen

This morning, my girls had oatmeal and bananas for breakfast. I whirred some whole flax seeds in my super chopper and added them to the oats as I cooked them. They aren't huge eaters, so I ate their leftovers for breakfast. Waste not!
Dad had a cheese omelet with corn tortillas and hot sauce. Danny Jr ate an apple.

Here's the posole. I had it for lunch today. It is topped with cabbage, radishes, onions, cilantro, lime, and avocado. Like I said, this is my all time favorite comfort food. Can't wait for lunch tomorrow! More leftovers!

Here's a coffee cake that I made with Amish Friendship bread starter. I have been bored with the cinnamon bread recipe that comes with the starter, so I came up with this recipe:

-once you divide your starter for giving and save some to bake, add

2/3 c oil

3 eggs

1 t vanilla

1/2 c brewed coffee

1 1/2 c flour

1/2 c oats

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t yeast

1/2 t salt

Mix together and pour into 9*13 baking pan that has been greased and floured. Top with a streusel mixture of 1/4 c butter, 1/4 c flour, and 1/2 c brown sugar (mixed together till crumbly). Bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes, till a toothpick comes out clean.

This came out nice and light, not too sweet or dense.

For dinner we had Crash Potatoes , one really huge smoked pork chop, and some super sweet corn. As you can see, the potatoes could have gone longer in the oven to crisp more, but the smell was so tempting, I couldn't wait! They were still great.

Thank you for visiting my kitchen! I love sharing my food with the folks around me, and I love sharing the photos with you! See you tomorrow! : )

Monday in my Kitchen (and another special kitchen!)

During the school week, I get up about 30 minutes before the girls. I let Danny sleep in as long as he wants to unless we need to be somewhere. The breakfast that I plan on my weekly menu is usually for the girls only. I don't get hungry till a couple hours later, and the Dannys eat different foods, such as PB&J (Jr) or leftovers (Sr). I usually eat a banana, a smoothie, bagels, or fruit for breakfast. It depends on my mood and how hungry I am.



This morning, the girls ate a half of a multi-grain bagel with raspberry jam, a half of a poached egg (my favorite flavor combo, try it!), and a half clementine. They usually get a whole egg, but we only had one. I ate a Gala apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter, some coffee, and Kombucha.

Lunch was spent at the soup kitchen. I meant to take my camera, but I forgot! Sorry! The chef made chicken noodle soup - funny, he doesn't typically serve soup, but he was using up veggies that were donated from the weekend. The soup was served with crackers, fruit cups, and tea.

Dinner was posole. This is a brothy Mexican soup (some call it stew) that is one of my all time favorite comfort foods. The broth is a rich, deep red combination of re-hydrated Pasilla (0r Ancho) chiles, garlic, and oregano. Pork meat is slow cooked in the broth till tender (I used about 1.5 pounds of smoked pork loin, sometimes I use butt roast or pork carnitas). Since I used such a lean cut of meat, I added some pigs' feet (just a bit) for richness. Add some drained hominy - I can never decide between white and gold so I add a can of each. While the soup is simmering away, I thinly slice some cabbage, chop onions and radishes, tear up some cilantro, and wedge some limes. Serve the soup in a bowl with the plate of garnishes - the top off with a drizzle of lime juice. It is so delicious! In fact, so much so that I forgot to take a picture of it before it was gone!!! I will take a pic tomorrow when I serve myself a bowl of leftovers. : )

Tomorrow I will be baking the friendship bread that I didn't bake today, who knows what else!?

Good night!

Sunday In My Kitchen

Greetings! Thank you for following me this week! Sundays in my kitchen are always BORING. We have a free for all, snack until you drop kind of day. We finish off any leftovers and eat junk that is left over from the week. Since we are following a long two weeks of celebration and eating, we are all sick of sweets (finally!!!) and are craving more savory stuff.

We went out to eat lunch after church today - we were all very hungry and have been wanting to try out the new restaurant near Grandpa's house. It didn't make it to my list of favorites! When we came home I took a long nap to make up for lack of rest and sleep for the last two weeks.

Since there will be no cooking today, I will give you my meal plan for the week. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, as there is friendship bread to bake, kombucha to bottle, soup kitchen volunteering, grocery shopping to do, all added to readjusting to back to school. I am thankful that the kids' extra-curriculars aren't starting back up just yet.

Here's the meal plan -

Sunday - free for all

Monday - 1/2 bagel with jam, poached egg

Posole (Mexican pork and hominy stew)

Tuesday - oatmeal

Smoked pork chop, Crash hot potatoes, corn

Wednesday - cereal

Cauliflower casserole, brown rice, and sausage

Thursday - migas (scrambled eggs and corn tortillas)

Burgers

Friday - smoothies

Beef fajita tacos, pinto beans

Saturday - TBA

OK, then, see you tomorrow!!!!!

***HUGS***

Guest blogging

This week I am a guest blogging at Happy To Be at Home, featured in the Kitchen of the Week series. All week, my blog will be dedicated to chronicling what happens in my kitchen! Stay tuned.....

Happy New Year! Goals? Resolutions?

Happy New Year to all of you! May your year be overflowing with laughter and joy and love!

I read a few blogs today, all with the New Year's theme of resolutions and goals. I never really thought about setting goals instead of resolutions. After thinking about both, I have realized that they each have a purpose. I want to approach the new year with a new perspective, goals, resolutions, and all.

The "resolution" that I set out for last year, looking back, was actually a goal, one that I accomplished. In case you are curious, my goal was to read my bible from cover to cover, and I did! It was an enriching, life giving experience. I learned so much. Completing this has also empowered me to achieve my 2009 goals.

In previous years, I made lists of resolutions and never really followed through beyond the first couple of weeks. This is a story that I suspect happens all too often. Following will be my two lists, goals and resolutions. My hope is to revisit this post once a month with an update on how things are going.

Resolutions - in 2009, I resolve to:
~never go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink, even if it means going past my bedtime.
~stay on top of laundry - meaning putting away the clothes once washed and folded.
~spend less time online.
~go for at least one walk a week with my children
~put my sewing machine to good use, a project a month.
~knit for charity, at least one project a month.
~to speak my mind in a loving and respectful manner (not that I am unloving or disrespectful when I speak, I just don't usually speak my mind when something bothers me, and I end up stewing over it.)
~drink 8 glasses of water a day.

Goals - in 2009, I plan to accomplish:
~lose 20 pounds. This is not my ultimate goal, but I want to be realistic.
~learn how to run.
~find part time employment (a job which I can impact my community in a positive way) in September.
~make and sell soap, at least $50 a week.
~set up a chore schedule for the children and enforce it.

Well, folks, there it is. I might add to (or even subtract from) the lists. No matter the outcome, I promise not to beat myself up if I fail or exalt myself if I succeed. I want this to serve as an outline for living a better life in 2009.

Love to you...