Salmon Chowder

I made this last night and it was sooooo delicious! It's off the internet and the only thing I had to change was using salmon fillets grilled on the BBQ instead of canned!

3 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups diced potatoes

2 carrots, diced

2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1 lb salmon cooked on grill or baked

1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk

1 (15 ounce) can creamed corn

1/2 pound Cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion, celery, and garlic powder until onions are tender. Stir in potatoes, carrots, broth, salt, pepper, and dill. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat. Cover, simmer 20 minutes.

2.Stir in salmon, evaporated milk, corn, and cheese. Cook until heated through.

I served this with whole wheat sourdough rolls. It was soooooo yummy! :)

going organic

So I am so impressed that I did our costco run in 90 minutes door to door with all 5 kids today! :) I found a bunch of deals on organic stuff that I wanted to replace in our house, so I'm super excited that it worked out, and stayed under budget(I was praying in the checkout line HAHA). I was laughing so hard yeasterday when hubby(who wasn't super sure about the switch especially when it came to sugar) said to me, "Hey, who ate all my sugar?" Yeah, he was talking about the organic cane juice! YES, score one for hippy mama! :) I also love that our kids are starting to look at labels, and talk about healthier options, and organic food! So awesome. I expected to meet a whole lot of resistance, and instead I've got almost all supportive comments, and praises over the food. This is so much easier than I thought it would be. The biggest challenge has been remembering not to buy the stuff I usually would, and figuring out how to make or buy everything we need! We're probably only 25% switched over so far, but it feels good to get started! :)

makin some hair stuff

Spending the day today ripping off a store that starts with a G and ends in ymboree! Haha! I found a tutorial online that shows you how to curl the ribbon like that super popular store does. My friend Stephany and I have been having a blast lately making a ton of them. The crazy part is ours are cuter, and way sturdier!


Anna had a great 2nd day of school, and today is FRIDAY!!!! I love Friday nights with my family, we almost always have a movie night, so much fun! :)

Anna's first day of school

In the past we've home schooled all of our kids, all but one year. Our preference would be private school but it doesn't always fit in the budget, so we home school when it's not going to work, either because of money, or moving(the Army likes to move us halfway through a school year). My hubby was pretty determined that he wanted them in public school last year so we gave it a go. That lasted all of a month and a half. First of all their attitudes were atrocious. Second, the teachers weren't even attempting to challenge my kids and they were bored out of their minds. So, we pulled them out and home schooled for the remainder of the school year. I love homeschooling, it's so much fun and so awesome to see your kids learn the way they learn best. I love that we can take breaks whenever we want, go on vacation whenever we want, and that my kids are always getting challenged and allowed to progress at their own pace instead of having their classes "dumbed down" to the slowest kid in the class. This year they are going to private school.

My youngest daughter, however, is homeschooling this year. She's pre-k age, and could go to school with the big kids, but the kid still takes a 2 hour nap everyday. I'm thinking in my head while trying to make that decision, do I really think that the teacher is going to be able to handle her if they have to wake her early from her 2 hour nap... uh, NO! She's super ready, and really will probably be reading by next week, but she's just not ready to give up that 2 hour nap! I really hope she's ready by next year... Haha!

We had our first day of school today, and she was so excited. Pre-k school at our house lasts all of 20 minutes. When they are getting that one on one attention with you, it really doesn't take that long. Shoot, last year even getting 4 to 1 attention, with a baby thrown in the mix, unless I had a kid intentionally being lazy, they could be done with an entire school day in 3 hours or less. I think people don't understand how easy it is to teach your own child. Yes, sometimes you get a kid like my oldest where everyday is a struggle b/c they think that they are so beyond schoolwork that their pencil eraser is more interesting. However, on most days, b/c you know your kid, and know what they like to learn, and how they learn best, you are their best teacher. Ever heard that saying that God gave the kid to you b/c you are the best parent for the kid, the same is true for teaching the kid. Otherwise, you'd never be able to teach the kid how to be an adult, and don't for a second think their getting THAT at school! Homeschooling is not for everyone, and even those it is for sometimes need a break. My kids HATE home school right now b/c it's all they've been able to do for 2 years and haven't had a choice. I anticipate at least one of them in the next couple of years coming back home for school, just b/c if you have the option of doing 3 hours of work vs 6, most kids pick 3. Right now all of mine are LOVING the classroom environment and all their friends. And I am loving my break! :) 

Off my soapbox now! :) My littlest girl had a great first day of school. We talked about the letter I and the number 1, did some flashcards, coloring, writing, talked about calendars and all that good stuff. She's so smart it's scary. I can't believe what a difference a few months make in a kid's motor skills. I shouldn't be surprised, we've taken a summer break every year and I've been homeschooling for 6 years, but it still amazes me. Last year she couldn't make that darn pencil do what she wanted, and now, 3 months later she's a pro. She even wrote her name a few times. I'm such a proud mama!

fruit crisp

This is so yummy and quick and can be made with pretty much any fruit! I'm not a big fan of pie crust or cobblers, but I love a good crisp! Tonight I made pear crisp, as I had 3 pears that were getting ready to go bad if they didn't get used. This is what I do with any fruit that's about to go bad(it's pretty rare at my house but it does happen occasionally!)

3 cups chopped up fresh fruit or 2 small cans(or 1 large) fruit
1/2 cup butter
1 cup whole wheat flour(or whatever)
1 cup oats
1 cup organic sugar(or whatever)
1/2 tsp cinnamon(optional)
1/4 tsp nutmeg(optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Put the fruit in a pie pan or similar casserole dish. Use a pastry blender or a fork to mix the butter, flour, oats, and sugar together until the butter is pea size or smaller. Sprinkle the crisp on top of the fruit, and bake for 30-40 minutes. It's done when the topping is golden brown and you can see bubbles going in the fruit. Enjoy! :)

Defiance

Wow! Have you ever had one of those days with one of your kids???? My youngest girl is always a challenge, I'm pretty sure she was born that way. I used to think it was because she stayed the baby of the family for so long. She has been a pretty sneaky kid in the past, but the last couple of days it's been head on defiance! Whew, it's a really good thing I'm really stubborn! That child makes me tired at night! :)

Whenever one of my kids is being naughty on a consistent basis, I tend to take a step back and see where I'm failing them. Right now, my husband is convinced that she is lacking attention. I'm not fully convinced. She gets more time with me that any of the others. She stays home with the baby of the family and I while all the older ones go off to school, and last night she even got to go off on a mommy daughter date for a few hours. Then today was probably her most difficult day in a while. I'm thinking I'm not being consistent enough! I think I'm letting her get away with stuff, so now she thinks she can do whatever she wants! Little stinker! :)

I'm hoping that when we get her pre-k books and start school, that it will help in the attention and the consistency department! We'll see...

flour, flour, and more flour!!!

So, apparently I seriously under estimated how much flour I needed for all that bread making. I went through 15 lbs of flour! I just had to send T to the store for another 10lbs! Oooops! On the upside, I got all the bread started, and I'm just waiting for it all to rise so I can bake it! :)

Off to clean the disaster of a kitchen I made while making all that bread!

Weight Loss

Ok so today I stepped on the scale and I lost 3 lbs this week! This has been a struggle for me, so I'm super happy to have got that 3lbs off! I've been working at it since I had our 5th child, but especially the last 9 weeks. So over the last 9 weeks I've lost 19lbs! I weigh the same today as I did 5 years ago when I got pregnant with our 4th child! :)

So today we have alot on our agenda. Mondays are always my baking day. Since we have decided to make as much of our own bread as we can, it's the day I bake all of our bread for the week, so that means for our family of 7 I have to make 4 loaves of whole wheat bread, 2 loaves of french bread, some sour dough rolls, and sour dough bread bowls, 2 batches of bagels, and a batch of pizza dough! Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it!

We're also working on my crafty corner today, since T has the day off. So I have 3 boards that need to be covered in cloth and had tool hangers attached to them for the wall in my area! I'm really excited about this project since it gets me more organized, and when I'm organized I'm way more creative... weird, I know! I'm working on some really fun crafty ideas I'll share soon! :)

The last thing on my very long list is to go have some girl time with our youngest daughter! She's been acting out a lot lately which usually means she isn't getting enough one on one time with Mommy and Daddy! We used to do this thing called alone night which means each kid as 1 day a week that's their day and they get to stay up an hour past everyone else to hang out with us, but lately that's been a bust. T's been going to the gym after work, so by the time he gets home, we literally have 1 hour to get the kids dinner, showers and into bed, so they can be up by 5:30 to get ready for school! Ugh! Who knew having kids in school would be more exhausting and more work than homeschooling????

Lemon Cream Pasta With Chicken

This is def NOT a low calorie dish, but oh so yummy! :)

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite sized peices

1 TBS olive oil
1 lemon, quartered
2 teaspoons garlic powder, divided
1 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 (8 ounce) package whole wheat rotelle pasta
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1.Season chicken breasts with 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Squeeze lemon quarters over chicken and saute in olive oil in a saucepan.
2.Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, season the chicken broth with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil and add lemon juice and pasta. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.
3. Stir chicken into cooked pasta, along with the cream and lemon zest. Cook, stirring, over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Stir thoroughly before serving.

Baked Ziti

This one's off the internet too, but tweaked a little.

1 pound dry whole wheat ziti pasta

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork sausage
1 1/2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
salt to taste
1 (6 ounce) package provolone cheese, sliced
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup ricotta
1 (6 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese


1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
2.Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook onion in oil until tender. Stir in rosemary and garlic. Transfer to a small bowl.
3.Place ground beef and sausage in the skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Stir in the onion mixture and the spaghetti sauce. Season with salt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
4.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. In the prepared dish, layer 1/2 of the cooked pasta, provolone cheese, sour cream and ricotta cheese(combined together), and a little less than 1/2 of the meat mixture. Then layer the rest of the pasta, mozzarella cheese, remaining meat mixture, and Parmesan cheese.
5.Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until heated through and cheeses are melted.

This is the recipe that started my love affair with rosemary! I had never used it before and it is just beautiful and totally MAKES this! :)

Ham N Potato Soup

This one is off the internet and one of our absolute favs!

3 1/2 cups diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons unbleached white flour
2 cups milk

1.Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2.In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
3.Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Hippy Granola

This is the recipe that started the hippy jokes! Funny enough, it's my mom's recipe! Not that I'm calling you a hippy mom... HIPPY! LOL

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups oats
1 cup coconut
1 cup nuts and seeds
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup raisens or other dried fruit


Combine honey, butter, cinnamon, and vanilla in saucepan and heat until butter is melted. Combine all other ingredients in a large bowl. Pour honey mixture over and stir until coated evenly. Bake on a cookie sheet in the oven 350 degrees for 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through baking. Store in tuperware or ziplock bag.


I like to use different nuts/dried berry combinations so there's a variety of cereal! :)
T's fav is cashews, sunflower seed, cherry.
My fav is macadamia nut, cherry.
The kid's fav is no nuts with blueberries.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

1 tsp organic evaporated cane juice
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 TBS active dry yeast
1 TBS olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1. In a large bowl, dissolve evaporated cane juice in warm water, sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for 10 minutes, until foamy.
2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the white flour until the dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with remaining four, and knead until all the flour is absorbed, and dough is smooth. Place dough in oiled bowl and turn to coat, cover with towel, and let stand in a warm place until double in size(about 1 hour)
3. When dough is doubled, tip out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 for thin crust, or leave whole for thicker crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise about 45 minutes until doubled. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Roll/spread onto oiled pan, Top and bake 16-20 minutes.

I want to try this with all whole wheat flour, but I haven't had a chance yet. I'll let you know how that turns out! :)

Blueberry Muffins

I've been making these for a few years now, but I just started to try to make them a little healthier and they are still so delicious!

Muffins:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup organic evaporated cane juice(or white sugar)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup applesauce
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup blueberries(fresh or frozen)

Crumb Topping:
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup organic evaporated cane juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with muffin liners.
2. Double sift flour, 3/4 cup evaporated cane juice, salt and baking powder into a large bowl. Place applesauce into 1 cup measuring cup, add egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix gently with the flour mixture. Fold in the blueberries. Fill muffin cups to top.
3.Mix flour, butter, cinnamon, and evaporated cane juice with a fork or pastry blender. Sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake 20-25 minutes.

This recipe only makes 6-8 muffins, so I ALWAYS double this one!

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

I love to make this for potlucks, or parties! 

2 cups spinach(can use canned, fresh or frozen)
1 can(14 oz) quartered artichoke hearts
1/2 cup alfredo sauce(can use canned or prepared from powdered packet)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded swiss cheese

Baguette french bread, bagel chips, pita chips, or other tool to get the yumminess to your mouth! :)

Cook and drain spinach, squeezing with a fork to remove all excess liquid. Finely chop spinach and artichoke hearts. Combine everything but the bread in the crockpot. Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours.

Beef Stew

This is a super hearty stew that's great for cold winter nights, or whenever you need a crockpot meal!

1 lb beef stew meat
2-3 large potatoes or 4-5 small ones
1 large onion, diced
2 can beef broth
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup green beans(I use frozen)
1/2 cup peas(again frozen)
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 Tbs tomato paste
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients into the crockpot and cook on low 6-8 hours.

Italian Sausage Soup

This one all of my children LOVE even though it has a TON of veggies. I'm sure the sausage isn't great for you, but you could substitute it with something else, or since it has beans, you could leave out the meat! :)

1lb Italian Sausage
2 cloves of garlic, diced
2 cans beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped carrots
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 small zucchini quartered and sliced
2 cans great northern beans
2 cups spinach, rinsed and torn

Brown sausage and garlic in a dutch oven, large saucepan, or stockpot. Add beef broth, diced tomatoes, carrots, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add zucchini and beans, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add spinach and remove from heat. Let sit, covered for 5 minutes to allow the spinach to cook.  

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

These are super delicious!

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups organic evaporated can juice(or 3/4 cup brown, 3/4 cup white sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1/2 cup shredded coconut


1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Double sift flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, evaporated cane juice and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually stir in flour mixture, until JUST incorperated. Stir in morsels and coconut gently. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Oatmeal Craisen Cookies

You can really use any dried fruit in these, but we hate raisens, so the craisens work well for us! :)

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups organic evaporated cane juice(or 1 cup brown and 1/2 cup white sugar)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups oats
1 cup craisens(or other dried fruit)




Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat together butter and evaporated cane juice until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Combine flour, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Sift twice, then mix into the butter mixture gently. Stir in oats and craisens gently. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes.

Zucchini Pineapple Muffins

These muffins are super yummy, and really pretty good for you! This is not my recipe, it's one a friend of mine got off the internet, and then I switched it up a bit, enjoy! :)

4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups organic evaporated cane juice(or sugar)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups applesauce
6 eggs
3 cups shredded zucchini
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour 4 muffin pans, or use paper liners.
2.Double sift into a bowl: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the applesauce, eggs, zucchini, pineapple and vanilla. Mix gently JUST until smooth. Fill muffin cups 2/3 to 3/4 full.
3.Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
-Makes 4 dozen muffins. These freeze really well, and make a healthy and quick breakfast. I take mine out the night before to let them thaw.

Being Productive

So with the baby of the family tucked into bed and the older 4 started on their movie night, I finally have some time for me. Tonight I am planning on being productive by adding some of my favorite recipes, and then maybe some crafty time before I crawl my exhausted behind into bed! :)


First I wanted to tell you a little bit about our day. Today is Sunday, which is our family day. We usually start our day with a big breakfast, then off to church, then lunch out, and the last 13 weeks, we've been going to a class called FPU(Financial Peace University) at our church. It's by Dave Ramsey, and the basic idea is: get an emergency fund going, get out of debt, finish your emergency fund, and then get a ton of money so you can give a ton of money! I love love love this class, and I would recommend it to ANYONE(and no I don't get a commission for saying that)! So far we have paid off over $26,000. in debt, and saved almost $500. (in 13 weeks!!!) If we can do it, YOU can do it! It's just such an awesome feeling to be on our way to being debt free, managing our money better, and knowing if there's an emergency we have some cash we could spend fixing it! So after our awesome last class, we headed home to get our beautiful children into bed.


Ok, enough with my financial crap, now for some fun stuff! :)

getting started

This blog is about our crazy life, family, food, and crafty stuff. Basically, it's about my life. Read on if you're interested, don't if you're not. Super real, all the time. If you see something on here you want to steal, feel free to steal away. Most of my ideas I steal from someone else first anyway. So.... here goes nothing...