Interesting posts and blogs I've stumbled across this week:
Beki rocking the duct tape. (@TheRustedChain) I was so tickled to see someone so open about their relationship with duct tape as I. A couple of years ago I discovered the new colors and patterns the duct tape people were putting out. I bought some bright, hot pink duct tape for my three year old class at church. The carpet is a darker blue, so it really "pops". We have anywhere from 12-18 kids each week, so getting them all to the bathroom can be a challenge. Part of our "system" is, three big, bright pick duct tape Xs on the floor next to the exit gate. As our "bathroom runner" has three in the bathroom, about the time they're to return to the room, I'll have three more standing on the "pink spots". That way when the other three come back, the next three will be ready to go!
I liked Joanne's (@JoanneKraft) post "Name Dropper or Networker?", advice for new writers especially, but I do believe it can apply to anyone. It made me think of my returning "grief" over us not winning our State Senate race this past November (district was gerrymandered against us, but I had high hopes!) I told Hannah when we won, and her class made their 3rd grade field trip to Raleigh (our state capital) this Spring, she'd get to point to a State Senator in the legislative building and say "I know him!". We didn't win, but we're still going to Raleigh. Only mommy will be the only one who knows people.
Sherra's (@bakingupchaos) little boy Case is turning six! Happy Birthday Case! I remember when we "met" when he was just a little tyke before either of us ever thought about blogging. She would create the prettiest graphic signatures with pictures taken of him. That was six years ago. She now has FOUR boys! My what time does to us :) Be sure to check out her photography blog. If you live near College Station, Texas, she's offering discounts for Spring weddings, go check it out!
Kim's little man Isaiah is having his surgery next Tuesday (2/8/11), please pray for him. She posted the nicest devotional the other day about ancient boundary stone (Proverbs 23:10) but the cutest post had to be about forgiveness, at 1am.
The greatest surprise I found on the web this week? Amanda's back! This is going to be awesome. I've missed her pictures of the girls, especially Emma's antics.
What have you seen on the web that's worth sharing? How about your "Around the Web" post?
Showing posts with label around the web. Show all posts
Showing posts with label around the web. Show all posts
Friday, February 4, 2011
Thursday, April 16, 2009
379: Raising Foodies: Recipe Reviews
We haven't done a lot of cooking together in recent weeks, but I have been feeling out some new recipes. I must say, my crockpot is going to be very busy from now on. The biggest cooking feat I have accomplished is:
I made my own yogurt!
YES! You heard right! I done it the other day. You can find the instructions here. I started out with whole milk, but so intend on trying lowfat next time. Also, next time, I believe I'm going to get a vanilla bean to cook it with and see if that makes a difference with the taste. Yesterday I added a tbsp of sugar to a scant cup of strawberry puree, and blended that with 3 C of the yogurt. It become smoothie type consistency, and Jackson and I had it after church last night. Hannah turned her nose up to it, of course. Jackson drank her smoothie. He loves it. I agreed with Jay it had a tart tang to it, but I was ok with it, he was not.
I done a black beans and rice crockpot dish, and it was yummy. Hannah picked at it and overall refused it, and ate her accompanying orange for dinner with it. The second day, I shredded some Monterey Jack cheese, sprinkled it over a flour tortilla, melted it and rolled the beans and rice in it, and BINGO! It was a hit! Hannah loved it and Jackson had it on two different occasions. There was no waste with this very frugal recipe.
For breakfast one morning I done a black beans and eggs breakfast scramble, and it was YUMMY! I'll be fixing that again for sure. Again, frugal, and fast!
"Wendy why are you using so many black beans?"
I fixed half a pound in the crockpot ;o) I spoke a bit about that last week. It's so easy to do, and so much more cost effective than buying canned beans. You just wash them off, throw them in the crockpot, cover with water (3x the amount of beans), and go to bed! You just let it cook 8-10 hours and you're good to go!
I used the premise of this recipe for salmon and spinach. I filled the crock with spinach, laid the salmon fillets on top, added 1/4 C chicken broth around the sides and cooked for two- 1/2 hours on low. It was DELICIOUS. This was my own dinner Tuesday night after soccer practice for after the kids went to bed. They had super secret chicken nuggets. I read Jessica Seinfield's book Deceptively Delicious and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who has a child that is (especially psychologically) picky with food. I picked up my copy at Target for $9.08 to check your local store and request it if they're out of stock.
The chicken nuggets I made was real, cut up chicken breasts. I took 1 C spinach puree, mixed 1 egg in; in another bowl I mixed 1C panko breadcrumbs with 1/2 C flax meal, and some parmesean cheese. I submerged the chicken in the puree, and pulled the pieces out with a fork dropping them in the bread mixture (I used a small rectangle baking dish). I would roll around the pieces in the bread mixture til covered, and cooked it in a fry pan in batches. I just sprayed the pan with cooking spray, no oil, etc ...
Jackson walked in and said "whatcha fixing?", I said "chicken nuggets, here, have one" .. he pops it in his mouth, says "mmm, this is good", and walks out of the kitchen.
Hannah walks in, asks "whatcha fixing?" I say "chicken nuggets, go on" (I didn't want her to see the puree ... oh well ..) she sees the puree, and starts fanning her face saying "eewww I don't like it can I have a grilled cheese?" to which I say "No."
Granted, the recipe also calls for garlic and onion powder in the bread mixture and I didn't have any, so that would had made them much more flavorful. I was due at church soon, so I left as Jay was fixing their plates. (Jay was oblivious to my antics). I got back that night, and on the way back from checking out the explosion, I said "you left me some of those chicken nuggets didn't you?" and Jay said "they wiped it out". Hannah said "Momma I ate two plates of it!" Jackson said "Mom you knew I liked them". Jay said "the only thing I'd change is to cook them in bigger pieces more like chicken fingers instead of nuggets. They were good".
Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner! WOOOO-HOOOOO!!
Next on the list is using navy beans in a ranch dressing recipe, butternut squash snuck in some grilled cheese sammies, black bean burgers (for me), crock pot mahi mahi, crock pot Garlic chicken, and I think I'm gonna try this recipe with navy beans instead of black beans. The mind is running.
Run over to Grace's Kitchen and see what the younger set is up to!
I made my own yogurt!
YES! You heard right! I done it the other day. You can find the instructions here. I started out with whole milk, but so intend on trying lowfat next time. Also, next time, I believe I'm going to get a vanilla bean to cook it with and see if that makes a difference with the taste. Yesterday I added a tbsp of sugar to a scant cup of strawberry puree, and blended that with 3 C of the yogurt. It become smoothie type consistency, and Jackson and I had it after church last night. Hannah turned her nose up to it, of course. Jackson drank her smoothie. He loves it. I agreed with Jay it had a tart tang to it, but I was ok with it, he was not.
I done a black beans and rice crockpot dish, and it was yummy. Hannah picked at it and overall refused it, and ate her accompanying orange for dinner with it. The second day, I shredded some Monterey Jack cheese, sprinkled it over a flour tortilla, melted it and rolled the beans and rice in it, and BINGO! It was a hit! Hannah loved it and Jackson had it on two different occasions. There was no waste with this very frugal recipe.
For breakfast one morning I done a black beans and eggs breakfast scramble, and it was YUMMY! I'll be fixing that again for sure. Again, frugal, and fast!
"Wendy why are you using so many black beans?"
I fixed half a pound in the crockpot ;o) I spoke a bit about that last week. It's so easy to do, and so much more cost effective than buying canned beans. You just wash them off, throw them in the crockpot, cover with water (3x the amount of beans), and go to bed! You just let it cook 8-10 hours and you're good to go!
I used the premise of this recipe for salmon and spinach. I filled the crock with spinach, laid the salmon fillets on top, added 1/4 C chicken broth around the sides and cooked for two- 1/2 hours on low. It was DELICIOUS. This was my own dinner Tuesday night after soccer practice for after the kids went to bed. They had super secret chicken nuggets. I read Jessica Seinfield's book Deceptively Delicious and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who has a child that is (especially psychologically) picky with food. I picked up my copy at Target for $9.08 to check your local store and request it if they're out of stock.
The chicken nuggets I made was real, cut up chicken breasts. I took 1 C spinach puree, mixed 1 egg in; in another bowl I mixed 1C panko breadcrumbs with 1/2 C flax meal, and some parmesean cheese. I submerged the chicken in the puree, and pulled the pieces out with a fork dropping them in the bread mixture (I used a small rectangle baking dish). I would roll around the pieces in the bread mixture til covered, and cooked it in a fry pan in batches. I just sprayed the pan with cooking spray, no oil, etc ...
Jackson walked in and said "whatcha fixing?", I said "chicken nuggets, here, have one" .. he pops it in his mouth, says "mmm, this is good", and walks out of the kitchen.
Hannah walks in, asks "whatcha fixing?" I say "chicken nuggets, go on" (I didn't want her to see the puree ... oh well ..) she sees the puree, and starts fanning her face saying "eewww I don't like it can I have a grilled cheese?" to which I say "No."
Granted, the recipe also calls for garlic and onion powder in the bread mixture and I didn't have any, so that would had made them much more flavorful. I was due at church soon, so I left as Jay was fixing their plates. (Jay was oblivious to my antics). I got back that night, and on the way back from checking out the explosion, I said "you left me some of those chicken nuggets didn't you?" and Jay said "they wiped it out". Hannah said "Momma I ate two plates of it!" Jackson said "Mom you knew I liked them". Jay said "the only thing I'd change is to cook them in bigger pieces more like chicken fingers instead of nuggets. They were good".
Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner! WOOOO-HOOOOO!!
Next on the list is using navy beans in a ranch dressing recipe, butternut squash snuck in some grilled cheese sammies, black bean burgers (for me), crock pot mahi mahi, crock pot Garlic chicken, and I think I'm gonna try this recipe with navy beans instead of black beans. The mind is running.Run over to Grace's Kitchen and see what the younger set is up to!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Red Velvet Cookie-sandwiches
This project was inspired by Bakerella, if you have not read her blog, you MUST- just as soon as you finish reading this ;) It was a Valentine intended treat, but we made them the night of Valentines I think. I was very impressed with the number of cookies this recipe (using a cake mix) yielded. I believe, by using conservative tablespoon drops I ended up with a lot more than what she did, but it worked out well because the sandwiches were just big enough- not like those huge cookie sandwiches you see in the stores.
I like the idea of making smaller portions and getting seconds if you want, instead of having bigger portions and having the psychological struggle of wanting to "finish" so you "don't waste" any. Whichever way is fine, whatever works out best for you and your family.
I did find, however, that it is better to let your cream cheese filling fit in the fridge and set up a bit before icing the cookies, it spreads a lot better that way.
Hannah thought assembly was easy, although I needed to use my electric mixer for the actual mixing. That was a nice suprise though cause I remembered to pull out my new one with the digital display *g*
I like the idea of making smaller portions and getting seconds if you want, instead of having bigger portions and having the psychological struggle of wanting to "finish" so you "don't waste" any. Whichever way is fine, whatever works out best for you and your family.
I did find, however, that it is better to let your cream cheese filling fit in the fridge and set up a bit before icing the cookies, it spreads a lot better that way.
Hannah thought assembly was easy, although I needed to use my electric mixer for the actual mixing. That was a nice suprise though cause I remembered to pull out my new one with the digital display *g*
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Around the web 12-30
Katie from Making This Home posted an idea about donating old Christmas cards to St Jude's Hospital- read more.
Simplemom is asking if you make New Year's Resolutions?
Ask Babykid is talking about what she learned about blogging in 2008.
Those are some good tips, too. If I believed in "goddesses", I would agree about that comment about Gisele. Cause you know what" Gisele ROCKS! :D What did I learn about blogging in 2008? That I have a lot more to learn ;o)
Gohn Crazy is sharing recipes- Yummy!!
Jessica is making me want to learn to sew and make clothes and stuff. Yah- like that's attainable for me. I can make digital clothes, will that work? ;) Look at these snippets of pics of the outfits she made her kids for Christmas, darling!!
Dawn posted some stunning photos on her newly redesigned blog, it looks great! :o)
That's enough for now! :o)
I don't throw my cards away, though ;) I like to keep them and hang them for
decorations the next year. It makes our dining room feel warm and fuzzy knowing
people thought about us enough to give us a card. :O)
Simplemom is asking if you make New Year's Resolutions?
I do but I don't. The beginning of the year always makes me reflect on
things I would like to do better, but I think I quit a few years ago actually
"making" resolutions. For me, I think this idea offers one the opportunity to
procrastinate something for the "New Year", instead of just doing it. Does that
make sense? Like the Bible in a Year challenge on CGDevo- it's open all year long for people to enjoy. They can start their "year" any month in 2009!
Ask Babykid is talking about what she learned about blogging in 2008.
Those are some good tips, too. If I believed in "goddesses", I would agree about that comment about Gisele. Cause you know what" Gisele ROCKS! :D What did I learn about blogging in 2008? That I have a lot more to learn ;o)
Gohn Crazy is sharing recipes- Yummy!!
Jessica is making me want to learn to sew and make clothes and stuff. Yah- like that's attainable for me. I can make digital clothes, will that work? ;) Look at these snippets of pics of the outfits she made her kids for Christmas, darling!!
Dawn posted some stunning photos on her newly redesigned blog, it looks great! :o)
That's enough for now! :o)
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