A Tasteful Week: Applesauce and Pie

Homemade Applesauce
4 gala apples, quartered and cored
3 rome apples, quartered and cored
2 fij apples, quartered & cored
2 c water
1 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Heat apples and water over medium heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; heat to boiling.

Place ricer over bowl to mash apples. If you don't have a ricer, you can mash them with a potato masher - but be sure to peel the apples before cooking.

Chocolate Chip Pie
2 eggs
1/2 c flour
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c butter, melted and cooled to room temp
1 c chocolate chips
1 c chopped pecans
9" pie shell (the recipe suggested a store bought shell, I used my pie crust recipe)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat eggs until foamy, beat in flour, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until well blended. Blend in melted butter. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Pour into shell. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven. Serve warm.

A Tasteful Week: Pizza

I've always wanted to try to make a pizza from scratch, but never took the time to look for one and always found it easier to use the purchased packets of mix and sauce.

That was until my friend, http://mylifeasannie.com/, posted a recipe she had just tried. She said her family raved about it - her hubby even suggested she open a pizza shop. So, I just had to try it - and it was delicious! I had all ingredients on hand - my favorite kind of recipe!

Pizza Crust

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 cwarm water (105 to 115 degress F)

1 tsp sugar1 tsp salt

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 1/2 c flour

Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the rest of the ingredients in and mix. Dump onto a floured surface. Knead into a smooth dough (five minutes or so). Roll out and press down onto a greased pizza pan. Add some pizza sauce and your toppings. Bake at 450 degress F for around 12-15 minutes until the crust looks crispy and lightly browned. Dough can also be frozen as well.

Pizza Sauce

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1/2 c water

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp olive oil

1-2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

"A Tasteful Week"

After my "wordless week" I thought a "tasteful week" was in order. Since the beginning of the year, I've been trying some new recipes out on my family to see if there are any keepers. We've found quite a few - I thought they'd be fun to share this week. However, since it is dark at supper time, the pictures aren't the best. But trust me, if my crew loves them, I'm sure yours will too!

Ok, this first one is for kids! Quintin saw a recipe for "banana dogs" on an afternoon pbs show and wanted to try it the next day for lunch. I just happened to have everything on hand, so he showed Colin, Elle and me how to make them.

Banana Dogs (or what I like to call PB,B&J)

1 hot dog roll

1 banana, sliced in half lengthwise

peanut butter

jelly

Place sliced banana in roll and spread with peanut butter and jelly.

If I could have bottled up his enthusiasm that day, I would have loved to. I tried to stay in the background as much as I could and let him do everything. It was a very touching moment. And, the kids loved their sandwiches.

I had planned to heat up some leftovers from the night before. I had to walk away from the table and while I was gone, Quintin finished. I heard him say he was going to make another sandwich for himself. I looked out towards the table and Elle was standing on her chair watching. I knew something was up, so I stayed away a little longer. After a few minutes, I walked towards the kitchen saying, "I guess I'll make my lunch now."

Elle, in a loud whisper, tells Quintin, "Hurry! She's coming!"

As I walk out to Quintin in the kitchen, he is just finishing adding the jelly to my sandwich. He said, "They are so good Mom, I wanted you to try one!"

"I sure will, son! I sure will!!"

Wordless Week: Friday

7:15PM, Thursday evening

Wordless Week

Thursday

***Happy 43rd Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!***

Wordless Week: Wednesday

(The lemon scented yellow water color marker, partially responsible for yesterday's post, came right out with baby wipes. It was perfect because the perpetraitor could be responsible for clean-up!)

Wordless Week: Tuesday

(Sorry for the confusion of yesterday's post - I was trying to show the new home of our little trees that adorned our porch at Christmas.  Hopefully today's pictures will tell this story better.)

Wordless Week

Monday 

before...

after...

Is that sew?

My mother sews...her mother sews...it just makes sense that I sew...

Here is my mom's latest beautiful creation. It is a queen size comforter, for my nephew, made from flannels. If you click on it to enlarge, you can see it isn't quilted, but knotted. Knotting, like quilting, keeps the 3 layers together, otherwise, the middle layer of batting would shuffle around.

I've been working on a comforter for almost a year now. It is being made for a very special friend...and I know she is waiting so patiently for it. I'm in the knotting phase and it is a slow process since I must do it while sitting. Sitting isn't something that happens a whole lot around here. And, I can't leave it lay out to come back to it because I've got 3 monsters children that LOVE all things soft and big!

But it will be done soon, I promise Sharon! If I have but one goal for 2009, it is to finish this comforter! :-)

Daddy is up to his tricks again...

Quintin's journal entry 1-07-09

Quintin's journal entry 1-08-09

That Daddy! This is actually the second tooth he's pulled out while "helping" to brush Quintin's teeth.

Can you see the excitement??

Wordless Wednesday

It's pretty, but doesn't make for such a nice day.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

T stopped home for lunch yesterday - which was great because I was in the process of dismantling our Christmas tree. I asked him if he would mind pulling the top portion off for me while he was home. As he did, Quintin asked, "Isn't there a button you could press?"

T and I both looked at each other like, yeah, that would be a great idea and we both moved our arms in robot-like fashion pretending to finish the tree and package it in the box.

My only question, will that button offer the option to remove itself, once in the box, to the basement?

Ever since, I've felt the urge to watch Jetson re-runs.

For more Tiny Talk, visit Mary.

The long awaited recap

'Twas the night before Christmas

And what do we see?

Three anxious children on the couch

Holding presents and filled with glee.

To their suprise,

they found jammies, ornaments and books,

What fun!

And what cute looks!

We drove to my sister's house for Christmas day and had a wonderful time.

I love our faces on this above picture - it's like, "Stop taking pictures, we are trying to eat!" ROFL!

Quintin received one of his favorite gifts from my parents. An Ind.iana Jo.nes hat.

The Sunday following Christmas was spent with T's family.

We spent New Year's Eve bowling with some friends. There were 7 families - 19 children.

"Parade Lady" was there but she was being a stinker about letting me take her picture - love you!!

I apologize for all the butt shots - it's kind of hard with bowling. :-) (See Tracy, your picture could have been a lot worse, LOL!!!)

These next 3 shots, are all of the same turn. The ball rolled at just the right speed that I was able to snap 3 pictures - even with the camera charging in between! It was a slow roll! :-D

The kids loved the bowling. Which is good, because we have a bowling activity with our Sunday school class and our children's church has a bowling party, but only Quintin is a part of that.

Afterwards, we were invited to one of the couples' houses but we decided to head home. We were all in bed by 10:15 that night. And I wouldn't have wanted it any other way!

If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy - this Momma needs her sleep!