Summertime in the kitchen.

With seven mouths to feed and sometimes one more, when Chip is home from work, I find myself in or around the kitchen most of my waking hours. At least it seems like that in the summer. I am lucky that most of my kids wake up and are pretty mellow about easing into the day as far as breakfast is concerned. They love a hearty breakfast and Brock especially enjoys his morning coffee. But nobody really wakes up demanding food. Some of them even go to the pantry and pick a box of cereal or make themselves a piece of toast without any help from me. So that is a nice perk to having night owl kids. =)
I still have a hard time making meals that all the kids like, and I still feel like our repetoire of foods get boring very quickly. I would love for my kids to like more varieties of foods, but it just turns out to be more trouble than it's worth when I make new recipes these days. We eat as many fruits and lots of fresh vegetables this time of year. We cannot keep enough fresh berries or watermelon or corn on the cob around here. I think my kids could live on blueberries, raspberries and peaches if I let them for three months.
I thought I would share a couple of pictures and recipes of two of the things we had to eat this week. Both these recipes are easy, semi-healthy as far as muffins and pie go, and they were gobbled up by every one of my kids.
The first is recipe is for Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins. I modified the recipe when I doubled it and used half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour. I added fresh blueberries and fresh peaches diced up too. They were very good, especially piping hot out of the oven. I am going to make them with raspberries and peaches next time, just because I love that combination too.
The second recipe is one that has been a favorite of mine since I was a little girl. I never liked chocolate as a kid; I have since grown to appreciate and even love rich, bittersweet, delicate chocolate in many forms. But my first love is still toward the vanilla, custard-type and anything coconut desserts. This pie is so easy to make that it has earned the name Impossibly Easy Coconut Pie. Or Impossible Pie for short. The ingredients are placed in a blender and it makes its own crust. It is virtually fail-proof. Which is a wonderful thing for beginning pie makers. I know there are a couple of variations to this pie- one even calls for Bisquick, but I have always stuck to this recipe my mom made. There is something to be said about tried and true.
The recipe is as follows:
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar (I use less becase I usually have sweetened coconut)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup coconut
2 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup of melted butter or margarine
Directions: Place all ingredients into a blender and mix until combined. Pour into a lightly greased 9" pie plate and place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Bake for about one hour.
I always keep an eye on it those last 10 minutes or so just to make sure it doesn't get too golden brown on top. We ate ours with fresh whipped cream and peaches and we polished off the last piece between 4 of us for breakfast the next morning. I figured it had enough eggs and fruit in it to count as a jumpstart to breakfast. My kids didn't argue with me about that.
If you have any favorite summer recipes you make over and over, I would love you to tell me so in the comments. Especially if you think kids would love them. I am at that point in the summer where I am ready to try anything new in the kitchen. I hope my kids might be ready for something new too!

My Pie in the Sky memories.

I found this old TGIFriday's dessert menu in a drawer of papers the other day. It's glossy and double-sided and I've kept it for a long time. Teagan wanted me to frame it and hang it on the wall by our kitchen table at one point. It's just some old pictures of desserts, but boy does it bring back memories to me!

I almost added a paragraph in the post about my Letter to my 16-year old self that I should have not eaten so many TGIFriday's Thin Onion Rings or Pie in the Sky dessert. I lost count of how many I ate during my college years- they were so good and you know what? I have some wonderful memories of those days and the people I shared apps and dessert with back then that I don't know if it such a bad thing that I lost track of how many baskets of rings we had together. They were times and people I will always be fond of.

Is it a wonder to you, as much as it is to me, just how closely food and memories are tied together? I think of the meals I shared with my family as a kid. I still remember Sunday meals with friends and family around our big table together. I always think of my Grandma Shirley on St. Patrick's Day. She loved the holiday, anything green and especially making her famous corned beef and potato dinner for friends and family. I think of picking berries at my other Grandma's house. Her strawberry patch always had loads of berries and even though they were ripe and sweet and delicious, we kids still loved to dip them in a bit of sugar when we ate them. She always made the best dinner rolls too. I've never had anything close to them. And her chocolate cake bites covered in coconut...mmmm. I feel like a kid again just thinking about them.

I sometimes wonder what my own kids will remember about growing up. I am not the best when it comes to making dinner and meals. Chip is a great cook. I am good when I have recipes, time to shop and plan and people that I know will appreciate my efforts. When it comes to nightly meals, I have to admit we eat more homemade buttermilk waffles and orange julius than we probably should. But my kids never complain when I make that meal and so the meal stays in our dinner rotation frequently.

I know food is powerful in many ways. Do you have any favorite foods that evoke strong memories? I'd love to read yours...

Today I am missing Pie-in-the-Sky for some reason. And I don't think it just has to do with whipped cream.

French inspiration.

Sort of. =)

I've been seeing occasional updates from Heidi Swapp's facebook status as she's been enjoying an amazing adventure in Paris. I doubt I'll ever get there in my lifetime, so it's been even more fun to click through her pictures and enjoy it through the computer screen.

I happen to be a BIG FAN of anything pastry, and the crepes and other delicious food in Paris just got me inspired. So yesterday I pulled out my recipe for cream puffs and then whipped some cream, filled them with pistacio pudding and drizzled Hershey's Special Dark chocolate over them and we all enjoyed our French Inspiration.

I doubt they tasted anything like what we'd find in Paris, but they were tasty nonetheless and they were eaten so quickly I didn't even take a picture. {The photo you see above is from xtheowl on flickr.com. } My sudden urge for cream puffs just happened to be the perfect way to "celebrate good grades" that my kids brought home on their report cards too. I never like to miss an opportunity to let them know we're proud of their effort and hard work.

Poor Wyndham though. She's been sick all week with some sort of tummy bug. She's keeping liquids down fine, eating little bits of food- like crackers and milkshakes, but wasn't up for a cream puff with the rest of us. She's still not herself today and we're really hoping she perks up soon. It's no fun to see her in tears and unable to tell us how she feels. But I'm sure we'll whip up some more cream puffs when she gets back on her feet and is ready for a treat. She will have earned hers for sure!

How fun!

So random number generator picked "Just call me b" as the winner of the DIY Holiday Workshop online class. Congrats to you! Just email me and I'll get KA to hook you up with all the class info that you need to get started. Fun!
Now, I wanted to give you all a little something for playing along, and I chose these adorable and festive winter brownie pops as just the thing. I found them through the Bake It Pretty blog- which has some of the cutest cupcake toppers and packaging ever. There was a link to the Inspired Bride, and that's how I found the photo above and the recipe for this cool dessert. I know my kids would love them. They would be really great for classroom parties and for holiday buffets too. So, I hope that helps get you all in the mood for making something this Christmas season.
To top it off, I'm also sharing a coupon code for 20% off purchases made at Snapfish.com. I got a custom photo book from there last year and love it. I get their flyer in the mail and it says to just enter coupon code HOLIDAY09 at the checkout to get the discount. There are some fun calendars and wall canvases for good prices on their website. I've been very pleased with my photos from there and hope maybe the savings will help a few of you stretch your Christmas budget just a bit.
It doesn't feel like winter is coming right now as here in Michigan we are finally getting a taste of nice autumn weather. But I have a feeling it will be here before I'm ready! Enjoy your week- wherever you are or whatever you're up to!

Celebrating Easter.

We colored our eggs yesterday, while Crew kept watch in his latest spot- the exersaucer. We were up, hunted eggs, ate chocolate, showered, dressed and arrived at church early enough to even have coffee and donuts. But, in all the excitement, I didn't manage to get a family picture. So, once home, I did snap one of me and Crew. And another of me and homemade Nutmeg Cheesecake whipped up by my hubby- who is doing really well on his fitness/nutritional plan. I'm proud of his will-power, even if mine fell prey to his dessert. It was worth every calorie.

Especially since it's the first food that has tasted good to me in over a week. I've still been fighting congestion/coughing, but I think as of today, I am much closer to feeling back to my normal self. Whatever that may be.

In celebrating Easter, I have to share a link to some thoughts on Christ and His resurrection. It is the very fact that He conquered death and gives each of us the eternal hope of Heaven that literally has seen our family through so much. Without the reality of His triumph over death, we would live with sorrow and pain. Instead, Christ assures us that death is only a temporary separation from God and one day those of us who trust in Him will live forever.

It is reason to celebrate, not just today, but each and everyday. He IS risen and lives! What a wonderful truth and Hope we have because of His great love and sacrifice! Amen!

How sweet!

Am I making your mouth water?! I just got done making some Peanut Butter Krispy bars- the kind that are so easy to make, so delicious to eat, and so bad for your waistline! Yes...these: Peanut Butter Krispy Treats
In a saucepan over medium/high heat, bring to boil 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of corn syrup. Then stir in 1 cup of creamy peanut butter. Stir until combined and then pour over 6 cups of krispy rice cereal. Mix well and spread into a greased 9x13 pan. (You can melt chocolate chips in the microwave and spread over the top of these to make them even worse, I mean, better for you! Finally, try not to eat the whole pan in one sitting!
Bella is home from school for the second day due to fever and achiness. She's sad to not be helping in the kitchen, but I told her we'd make something yummy when she starts feeling better. I even went hunting for a new recipe. The picture you see above is what I found (I take no credit for it, just love it!). Bella loves Samoas Girl Scout cookies, and I googled and found a recipe for Samoas cookie bars here! This recipe looks easy, tasty and indulgant too. I won't be making these right away. Swimsuit season is just around the corner; I'm fully aware of that!
The last sweet thing I'm sharing with you today is a link to Polly's blog. Polly won the drawing here for a Starbuck's minibook and she is offering a giveaway in return! So stop by her blog and leave her a comment and her kitchen items giveaway could be yours! Happy gooey, yummy Friday!

Making stuff.

Have you ever made cake box cookies? I'm telling you, they are easy and tasty. I whipped up a batch of chocolate chocolate chunk ones today, along with Ava's help and thought I'd share the recipe link with you here. Easy and good...did I say that already? My tip is to underbake them by a minute or two. They are thin and chewy that way- just the way we like them!

The kids have been painting for the past four or five days on our dining table. The pages and books are drying and I'm swamped with clutter on my counters and buffet table. But for some reason, I have no motivation to clean any of it up. I think I secretly like piles, clutter and chaos. I think I've slowly given in to the reality that I am outnumbered and therefore I am going to have piles and stuff around as long as there are kids around.

Unless a team appears at my front door from one of those TLC clean house shows, I think I'm destined to just get used to the idea of living with stuff. As long as we can still eat our meals at the table, I think it's all okay in the end. I took the day off of doing laundry today and so far nobody has died as a result. So maybe letting stuff pile up once in awhile is not such a big deal afterall. Half the fun of messes is making them, isn't it?!

Sugar & spice and everything...Mmm!

These pictures are mainly for my two sisters...they should bring back some good memories. I took Bella and Ava on a special outing the other day to our local mall. I hardly ever go there...and very rarely bring the kids. In fact, other than a couple of trips to the attached Chuck E. Cheese, I don't think they've been there more than 3 times in over 4 years.
So it was a pretty special thing to go to the mall with mommy- and even more fun for them when they had their first cinnamon pretzel sticks at Auntie Anne's. I almost felt bad that they are 4 and almost 6 and this was the first time they'd had hot, fresh-out-of-the oven pretzels. You can probably guess what one of their new favorite foods is now! I couldn't help but tell them about how their own Aunt Jacque loves hot pretzels too. At least she did back in the day...
Speaking of back in the day, one of MY favorite foods has always been Carrot Cake. I especially love it moist with coconuts and walnuts and not too much cream cheese frosting on top- just enough to bring it altogether. Chip and I had carrot cake at our wedding reception and we also met and worked at a restaurant that for quite a long time served Carrot Cake Haagen Daz ice cream on their dessert menu. I loved it so much- it was no secret among the employees either! I'd sometimes skip my employee meal and just have a bowl of ice cream before my shift. And you can imagine how sad I was when they stopped making this favorite flavor of mine. I've craved it for years since then...but never found it anywhere.
Until this weekend.
When I had to make a stop at Wal-Mart. Some of you know that I don't particularly care for grocery shopping, but with the number of people in our household, it's a weekly chore for sure.
The only craving I've had during this pregnancy has been ice cream, and it's only been for about the past 3 weeks. The kids have been very happy with my new-found obession with ice cream for dessert and we've been going through lots of fun flavors too. I was just finishing up my grocery list and headed to the ice cream section at Wal-mart fully expecting to grab some plain old vanilla so that we could make some malts at home. I went straight for their 'cheap, store brand' knowing we would add our own fruit and malted milk when suddenly I spied "Carrot Cake" on the shelf. Needless to say, I am now a huge fan of Wal-mart, and I am hoping that enough people start buying this flavor so that they make it a staple in their freezers all the time! The best part isn't the bits of spices that you can see in the ice cream, but the swirls of cream cheese frosting. Mmmm.
My biggest concern is that I still have several weeks to go in my pregnancy and with this ice cream craving I've had topped off with this new found flavor, I will blown my total weight gain long before the 9-month mark! And if 'you are what you eat' really is a true statement, well then I have a feeling that this baby boy I'm carrying is going to be a whole lot more 'sugar & spice' than he will be 'puppy dog tails'. And that's perfectly okay with me.

Wrapping up the month.

I am happy to report that this week is off to a good start. Any week that has homemade cream puffs with vanilla pudding (cooked on the stove...not instant) and real whipped cream is a good week in my book. =)
I grew up loving cream puffs and often requested them instead of birthday cake for my own birthday. In making this batch of cream puffs, I really did have Chip in mind and knew they would make him happy. We had an early birthday celebration sharing dessert with the kids tonight, because tomorrow Chip and I will be going out for dinner with some friends. The kids didn't mind singing and having fun early. For me, the memories are more important than the date. =)
As we close this month of March, I am looking forward to April and hoping that spring shows up in all its glory. We, like everybody we know it seems, are anxious for sunshine and fresh air. I again want to thank many of you for taking on some of the little 'challenges' I posted here- from sending a card to Lois to help lift her spirits as she battles cancer, to the donations made for the childrens' hospital in Uganda, to your own personal reflections. I love that each day, each week, each month, we have the opportunity to make new choices, discover new things and take on challenges that can stretch and change us in many ways. I wish you all a Happy April!
If you must have the recipe for cream puffs, here it is...enjoy!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a heavy saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) with 1 cup of water and bring to boil. Next, add 1 cup of flour and stir until it forms a ball of dough. Add 4 eggs, mixing in one at a time, until the dough is smooth. (It will be slightly sticky.) Drop large spponfuls of dough onto a sheet pan...makes about 12-16.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Allow to cool for as long as you can before filling them with your favorite pudding, whipped cream, mousse or whatever else you love. =)

Love and chocolate~

My dear friend Wilna has the biggest heart and she is amazingly talented and creative too. I have so enjoyed getting to know her through Scrap In Style tv and feel our friendship is a gift to me. I can't believe how in less than a year's time I have grown to love and respect the whole Fashionista design team- individually and as a whole. I am humbled to know that my simple scrapbooking style somehow landed me in this place and I am blessed in so many ways, as a result.
Wilna is truly gifted and so I wanted to share with anyone of you who may be interested- the link to her blog. The scrap layout here is one that several of us put touches on in a round robin scrap this past July. On this page, Wilna painted our names and the background of the picture so that we sort of 'pop' on the photo. Even though she got to keep this particular page, I still think of it as 'partially mine'. Wilna is offering a Valentine class right now, where she is giving you some unique ideas for projects, delectable recipes, links to music, movies, books and more, than will gear you up and get your heart ready for one of her favorite holidays. =)
It's definitely worth a peek. The rest of the details and info about her class are on her blog.
I'm already loving it and excited about February 14th! And the wonderful thing is that her ideas go beyond just Valentine's. They are inspiring for many aspects of life and just get your creativity flowing!
This afternoon I found myself in the mood for chocolate...and so I searched the internet and found a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. I made a 1/2 batch and modified the following recipe just a bit. It calls for vanilla pudding mix...and I only had the sugar-free box on hand. So I used that, and I also added a 1/2 tsp. salt and 2 tsps. of vanilla. Let me tell you this...I could have eaten half the dough before it was baked! Mmmmmm!
So, as a treat from me, here's the recipe I made today~
Award-winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar.
Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla.
Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.
Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown. Enjoy!

Fall and fondue-

It's finally looking more like autumn around our place...the leaves have started to fall and I even heard their crunch and caught that unmistakeable 'scent' of fall as the leaves crushed beneath my feet. I love this time of year. I don't necessarily go all out with decorations and elaborate costumes for my kids, but I love the sounds and smells and flavors and colors all around. For sure.
Last night Chip and I enjoyed dinner out with our friends; we stuffed ourselves with great food at a wonderful fondue restaurant. Start to finish- from the melted cheeses and fruits and breads to the lobster and steak and veggies, to the fruits, cakes, marshamallows and chocoloate, it was a meal that would be hard to top.
I have had a few busy weeks and even if I hadn't earned this night out with my hubby and friends, it would have been wonderful just the same. But it seemed all the more sweet as a result of the crazy, full days we've been living.
Happy week of Halloween. Ours is off to a great start...chocolate and all. =)

Entertaining guests.

That title is a play on words, if you didn't notice. We entertained some guests in our home...but they are the kind of guests who normally do the entertaining. Chip's sister, Melissa and her bandmembers spent the afternoon playing with our kids and relaxing in our home and catching up with laundry as they made their way from Detroit to Chicago as part of their tour. I had fun snapping a few pictures of them altogether...they are formally known as Visions of Atlantis.

Chip made his famous spicy ribs and topped their meal off with homemade pumpkin cheesecake with spiced cream and chocolate sauce. Most of the bandmembers are from Austria, so it was fun to talk about the differences in our cultures. Although I was laughing seeing my family- especially Chip, interact with them, because even if we didn't have different countries to compare, we live such contrasting lifestyles anyway. =) Chip and Melissa are always giving each other a hard time about their differences (Melissa is Chip's younger sister), and so they bring up topics from politics to globabl warming and recycling to religion and everything in between. I love the picture of the two of them together. I had to post if for their Mom to see. It must make her smile to see how diverse her kids have 'turned out' after they were raised in the same home. I imagine my own kids will have their differences and I will see their personalities come through more and more as they grow.

I also had to snap a picture of Melissa washing the dishes after dinner, just to show her Mom that she is a great houseguest. All of the bandmembers were. They only had to be told to turn their music down once. =) It was actually kind of funny...our kids had just been tucked in their beds for the night and a couple of them decided to do some practicing.

And I was just beginning to look through my blog and at my life and was thinking, "how very routine and ordinary...why do I even blog anyway?!" and the next thing you know I am hanging with rockstars in my own kitchen and watching my hubby and son try to look cool with electric guitars. =)

Good luck with the rest of your tour, VOA...and I hope you all made it safely to Chicago! With fresh clean laundry!

The lazy days of summer...

I did some more {quick!!} scrapping today, as well as baking and just hanging out with my kids today. The summer is soon coming to an end and we're just having fun filling our time with simple, good memories. I know I'm going to miss the long, leisure mornings. There's just something in me and all my kids that loves staying in 'loungeware' for most of the day. =) But I also have to admit I love the thought of jeans and sweatshirts and fall flavors.

So we pulled out a recipe just to get us in the mood for fall...apple crisp. Mmmmm. Ava was totally into it. Sweet memories indeed.

Baking and scrapping and hanging with the kids.

Okay. If I suddenly don't post for days at a time, it's because I've forgotten that I have a blog. Seriously. I am having so much fun over at the SIS message boards that pretty much the rest of my life goes on hold for a few hours at a time. Like right now. My girls are in the tub and I'm letting them splash all over...just so I can blog. They are happy. I am happy. So there's really no problem here. Yet.
Truthfully, if you haven't stopped by and registered and you want a fun, laid-back place to hang out and chat...especially about scrapping and inspiration and life...then this is the place to be.
That picture was taken by Chip on Mother's Day. We almost all looked at the camera and smiled. Getting closer. Just had to share that for my mom and Chip's mom.
Those Lemon Bars and Rachael Ray Raspberry Tart I made last week? I forgot to post their pics and recipes here. If you want me to, I'll get around to the recipes. If not, I'll go chat on the boards during the time I would spend typing out the directions for you here. Good stuff though. Especially love these desserts for summer entertaining- picnics, potlucks and family reunions...these are the stuff people love at events like that. =)
What else can I say? Tomorrow is the last day of preschool for Bella and Wyndham. They will have a little program and then there is time for punch and Krispy treats. Which I just remembered I have to make yet. Before 10 am tomorrow. =) I knew there was a reason I was posting on my blog...to remind myself to make Krsipy Treats. Yum.
So, that's what's happening here in the Nitty.Gritty. real world. Happy, scrappy, and always something to scrub or clean. Or bake. =)
Hope you're having a good Thursday!

It works. =)

Just had to post pics of me wearing the apron that I was sewing in the previous post. Just don't look too closely at the stitching. I'm definitely 'learning' as I go. =)
Anyway, I would like to play around and modify the pattern {again} on my next attempt. Thanks again, Leslie...for making me want to do this! So fun to just see scraps of material turn into something wearable. Wow. I will not gripe about the price of sewn clothing for awhile now. Especially of the items have buttons or zippers. =)
And with that, I am off to whip up some lemon bars...ala my apron, of course! Who knows? I may have to open an Etsy shoppe soon.

Sugar overload...

From Lik-m-dip's to mini cheesecake brownies to pie and ice cream. Whether real or pretend, we have had our share of sweets around the house this week. Chip's birthday is on Sunday. I would declare our house 'sugar-free' this weekend, but I have feeling we will have to have a little something in celebration.

Monday morning starts our kids' spring break. I am planning on laying off the sugar and pushing the veggies instead. Wish me luck! =)

Somehow, Chip has managed to stick to a fairly healthy diet through all our desserts. Maybe there won't be birthday cake and buttercream afterall. Poor guy...with an April Fool's birthday, he never knows quite what to expect from all of us!