Cute Bookmarks

We love to read at our house. We love to go to the library.  We also love crafting.  Recently Kelly has been making a variety of bookmarks. These are so cute!

These are made from popsicle sticks!

Spaghetti Casserole...aka...World War II Pasta

This recipe is a family favorite. I first tried it when I was dating Pablo (that was a loooong time ago). His mom said that her mom used to make it. We renamed it World War II Pasta because of the era from which it came. I finally asked my mother-in-law last year for the recipe. I changed it a bit and made it bigger - because this is also great as leftovers (even people in this house who don't always love leftovers like this). So this is the type of food my family prefers over the previous posts.

1 box spaghetti (14.5 ounce) - break into thirds
1 onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 large can tomato soup (family size) + 1 small can tomato soup (that is 2 cans total)
1 can diced tomatoes
Parmesan cheese

In a large pot, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Before you add it, break pasta into thirds.

Add onion and ground beef to pan. Brown meat, then drain off fat. Stir in soups and tomatoes. Combine with pasta. Put mixture into a greased casserole dish (I like my oval corning ware). Top with Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

Delicious!!!

Butternut Squash Sauce

More adventures in cooking! I can't figure out how the palates in our house can be so varied and different. It tends to fall into 25/75 -- meaning what I like (the 25%), the others (the 75%) do not. However, I keep trying. My next post will be one of my husband's favorite meals. That way you can get a sense of what is going on here.

I will be honest - this recipe was not a huge success at our house. I LOVED this recipe, ate 2 helpings and had it for lunch the next day. Two others ate it without a ton of enthusiasm, and one cried - then ate plain noodles with parmesan.  I thought that everyone would appreciate a new take on spaghetti. I was wrong. They all wished that I had just made regular spaghetti. This makes me think that butternut squash is not as popular as I would like it to be. On mother's day I made a huge pot of Barefoot Contessa's Butternut Squash and Apple Soup and it was barely dented. Hmmm.....

This sauce ended up being vegan (if you omit the parmesan) and gluten-free (if you use brown rice pasta or some other gluten-free pasta).

Butternut Squash Sauce

1 butternut squash (peeled, seeded and chopped into pieces) *see tip below
1 onion, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth

1 package spaghetti (I used brown rice pasta)
parmesan (optional)

Saute onion until soft. Add chopped butternut squash and 1 cup broth.  I also added a splash of white wine, some garlic powder and a few shakes of Italian seasoning (just use whatever you like). Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until squash is tender 10-15 minutes. Now just puree it until smooth, adding more broth to make it the consistency that you like. Serve over noodles. Top with Parmesan if desired. You can puree in the blender, food processor, or if you are like me and don't want to dirty a large appliance, use the immersion blender. It is a bit trickier to use it for this purpose since you are trying to keep it thicker than a soup.

*My big tip here is making it easier to peel and chop a butternut squash. First, poke holes in squash (about 10-15). Wrap in kitchen towel. Microwave for 3 minutes, then leave to rest in microwave for 3 more minutes. Unwrap from towel. It is now a little bit steamed (and a little bit soft), making it easier to peel and to cut. This method works great if you are pureeing your squash in the end. I don't recommend using this method when you need to have nice little cubes of butternut squash for your recipe.

Vegetarian Paella

I love making one dish meals. This is one is easy turns out so colorful. I had been making a paella before using turkey sausage, but I wanted to do one that was vegetarian. So I changed it around a bit.  This recipe is very easy to throw together for dinner.

Vegetarian Paella

1 package yellow rice (see picture below)
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, cut up (I just make strips out of it and then cut the strips into shorter strips)*
1 can petite diced tomatoes, not drained
1 cup green peas (if frozen, soak in warm water for quick thaw, then drain)
1 can quartered artichokes, rinsed and drained

*if you are feeling lazy or short on time, I'm sure you could just use a jar of roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

Saute onion in oil for a couple of minutes. Add bell pepper and continue to cook until onions are soft. Add rice, diced tomatoes and however much water your package of rice says to add. Bring to a boil, then simmer and cover for 20 minutes. At this point, uncover, add peas and artichokes, adding more water if necessary to make it a good consistency. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes longer. Scoop and serve!

Now in order to avoid a revolt among the inhabitants of my house, I served the paella with this on the side:

Here is a breakdown of how we ate this meal:

Me: just paella 

Husband: cut sausage into pieces and mixed into paella

Child #1: sausage on side and paella

Child #2: sausage on side, tried paella, had jelly sandwich instead

To help them all recover from eating this variety of vegetables, I served good old fashioned CCC's (which stands for chocolate chip cookies - nicknamed this by Child #1, aka "Captain Dessert")

Lego Minifigures

Lego has started selling packets of minifigures. It looks something like this (well there are a couple of series, so some packages are different colors). It is a surprise what your minifigure will be. Connor has a knack for picking the same one over and over. Kelly on the other hand, takes her time and feels the package. She picks a different one each time.

 Here are some of her minifigures she has:

I just love the disco guy!!!

Well, she surprised me one day with my own mini figure packet:

And inside:

How appropriate! I love it!!

In addition to mini figures, we also love the Lego Architecture Series.

This one is the Farnsworth House, which the actual house is just outside of Chicago. We want to take a field trip there to see it in person.

Lego Hotel

I love when the kids build things out of Legos. It makes me a bit sad because they are spending less time building Legos than a couple of years ago. I love to see them change and grow, but it makes me a bit sad because they used to spend so much time on Legos. Here they built a hotel - complete with roof-top pool (notice the girls hair - the rest of her is supposed to be underwater), restaurant, rooms and lobby.

Great New Blog

There is a great new blog out there called Through the Lens. It was created by none other than my firstborn! Connor received a Nikon D1X camera (on loan) and some initial instructions from his Papa. He then played around with it for a bit and decided to post some of his results. I, of course, am super biased - but what mother isn't? I have to add that my dad is a super great photographer. If you've received my Christmas cards over the years - that is always his work!

Lollipop Centerpiece

Who doesn't love candy now and again? We have been a enjoying Dylan's Candy Bar book ever since Kelly received it for Christmas.  We decided to make our own table decorations - a lollipop tree (which is not in the book - but something we just decided to make).
It is super easy - all you need is a pot, a styrofoam ball to comfortably fit on the pot and lots of lollipops!

Just start sticking them in all over the portion of the styrofoam ball that is sticking out of the pot and eventually it will look like this:

Now just try to keep the kiddies from "picking" the tree too often!

Cantaloupe, Mozzarella and Proscuitto

I love this dish. It is easy to make and looks pretty and keeps your kitchen cool on a hot summer day. I found it in Martha Stewart's Everyday Food from May or June.  I cannot find the link on her website.  Sometimes I really find her website difficult to use. Anyway, this is great as an appetizer or main dish with some crusty bread.

1 cantaloupe balled using a melon baller

1 container of bocconcini (small, fresh, mozzarella balls)

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

1 package proscuitto

fresh basil leaves

Arrange on platter. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy!!

Lego Creations

The kids come up with the best Lego creations. This one happens to be a dojo (a karate center)

There is a small Lego trophy on the right hand side. I love their attention to details!

Sunday Waffles

Sunday was a beautiful day. I love this time of year because the bugs and bees have not all come out yet and so we get to eat outside. We just bought a new picnic table which I love!!!! Our family enjoys waffles with fresh strawberries sliced on top. We use strawberries in lots of meals. It is one of the foods that the kids can help prep in the kitchen - washing, pitting, and slicing. I found 2 gadgets (one last year and one this year) at Williams-Sonoma (love, love, love Williams-Sonoma) that make the process a lot easier and child-friendly (no sharp knives).

The first one pits the strawberries. Just press the plunger, stick it in the strawberry top, twist, and out comes the green top and pit!

The second is a strawberry slicer. It makes slicing strawberries for waffles, crepes, etc. so much faster!

Now this last part is a GAME! Take a look at the next 3 photos and try to decide which family member is NOT a Morning Person.

Um, that might be too easy!

Cross Stitch Tips

Today I want to talk a bit about cross stitching.  This is something I have done off and on since I was in high school. I always worked small projects, but lately I've done a few bigger projects.  This latest one is from Mochimochiland. I actually have done 2 projects from this site - one for each child (this was for Kelly). I originally found this site for its cute knitting patterns and then over time, saw the cross stitch patterns.

Connor was studying tessallations in 5th grade math this past year. I had to look up what a tessallation was - and ended up learning something new! A tessellation is the arrangement of repeating polygons with no gaps in between.

It is easy to find cute cross stitch patterns for girls, but boys are another story. When I came across this pattern - I knew it was perfect for him.

Here is the finished result:

I substituted some of the colors to suit a my boy's taste. I also did not change the color of the tooth and spikes because quite frankly I don't like doing small color changes. It was enough to do the eyes. I think it came out pretty cute and need to get a frame for it. 

Here are my cross stitch tips for you:

• I always use Aida Cloth 14 count.  This is a personal preference. I have tried other size (16 and 18) as well as Linen and Evenweave. I like this best because - my eyes can see the holes without strain! I also like that the cloth keeps its shape.
• If you are using 14 count cloth -- use 3 strands of embroidery floss. Most patterns or directions always tell you to use 2 strands.  I find using 3 strands does not leave gaps and makes the finished product a little fuller looking.
• This product I just came across and cannot believe I have ever lived with out it. When cross stitching it is helpful to use some sort of wax to keep your embroidery threads from tangling or getting nasty knots in them.  I had been using this - which can be found in both the quilting and needle section at the fabric store (Joann's).  

(wax)

While I was searching around, I found this little treasure and decided to give it a try. It works sooooo much better than wax and makes the threads feel silky smooth. It is called Thread Heaven.  Their website gives more information and good instructions on how to use it (not that it is complicated). 

(best product)

My last link is for my 2 favorite sites to purchase small cross stitch patterns (Andwabisabi and Sewingseed).  Small patterns are fun to do, don't take a lot of time to finish and are portable. I like these sites because there are not a lot of small color changes and the results are always very cute. If you never tried cross stitching before, these patterns are perfect. Also, both sites give you basic instructions to get you started.  You can make Christmas ornaments, coasters, small framed pictures, bookmarks, etc. 

Happy Stitching!

Summer Drink Coasters

In anticipation of summer, I wanted to make these cute crochet flipflop coasters. I found the pattern here:

http://yarn-pixie.blogspot.com/2009/07/walk-on-beach-coaster-free-crochet.html

There are actually a bunch of cute crocheted coaster patterns.

I used one of my favorite yarns, Cotton Classic and a size F hook. Anyway, I think they turned out pretty cute considering my crochet counting isn't very good. I understand how to crochet, but have a hard time reading a pattern. With the flipflops, I always ended up with more stitches than the pattern called for after each round. Though I did get closer (but not perfect) to the actual pattern by the fourth one. So each flipflop coaster is unique and will soon have some sort of smoothie, shake, or sno-cone resting on it!

Out for a walk on the beach

Blueberry Muffins

75% (that is 3 out of 4 for those that prefer a math breakdown) of our house here loves blueberry muffins. I came across this recipe and it has been a hit at our house. I told child #1 that I was going to make blueberry muffins and he wanted to make sure I was making the "perfect blueberry muffins."
This recipe is courtesy of Smitten Kitchen. This is a great website.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/08/perfect-blueberry-muffins/

I didn't change anything in the recipe but I will re-write it to make it my notations on it.

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt  *I use 1 plain yogurt container (Dannon 6 ounce) - no measuring, just open and pour
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest  *just grate until you think you have enough - more or less will be fine (the muffins are even ok without zest - I just added a little lemon juice from a bottle when I didn't have a fresh lemon)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking poder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup blueberries  *I like to add about a cup, but lots of times I don't measure and just put in what I want (fresh or frozen work equally well -- don't defrost the frozen ones though)
• Sugar in the Raw -  It comes in a box or packets and is large sugar granules. Now this is different than the original. I use this to sprinkle on top of the muffins before they go into the oven. It's funny because the kids like this touch and always comment on it.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 10 paper liners and spray each cup with a nonstick spray.  Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well, then yogurt and zest. Put flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a sifter and sift half of dry ingredients over batter. mix until combined. sift remaining dry ingredients into batter and mix just until the flour disappears. (remember my tip from donut muffins - don't over mix!). Gently fold in your blueberries. The dough will be quite thick, closer to a cookie dough. Use an ice cream scoop (spray with nonstick spray) to fill your muffin tin. Sprinkle each muffin with some Sugar in the Raw. Bake for 25 minutes, until tops are golden and a tester inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean (just press your finger lightly on the top -- if it feels done take it out, if it feels too soft, keep cooking). Let cool on rack. Now if you made these correctly there will not be any leftovers. However, if that does happen, they still taste good the next day too! Enjoy!!

Sock Monkey Crafts

We have a special sock monkey that lives at our house.  His name is Nebert and he belongs to Kelly.  She loves to make things for her sock monkey and this is the latest.

Every good sock monkey needs a tank top! All sewn by Kelly herself.  We will post some pictures of the  sock monkey hammock soon.

On another note, Pablo wasn't too happy about his picture from the mango sorbet post. So I will try again.

There! That is much better. He is very cute!

Easy Laundry Detergent

I started making my own laundry detergent. Mainly because I was intrigued and also because I like the "old school" feeling of it. There are so many detergents to choose from out there that it made me just want to get back to basics.  While doing this, I also discovered how economical it is as well.  When I wanted to make my own detergent, I googled a few different ways, some were for powder, others liquid.  The liquid seemed to be too much of an extra step - and then there was the problem of how to store it.  I like to make things in bulk - so it will last a quite a bit.  Also, if you are going to go through the trouble of dirtying the food processor, you better make it worth your while (I love the food processor - but hate how many pieces you have to clean in the end).  I decided on powder detergent - and changed the recipe from cup measurements  (who wants to measure out cupfuls of borax) to containers. Just dump and blend. It couldn't be easier. It may be difficult to find all of these ingredients. I was lucky that our local grocery store Sunset Foods (special shout-out to Sunset -- they are the best) carries all 3 ingredients.  Target has only Borax, and I didn't really check out other stores.

Homemade Powder Laundry Detergent

8 bars Fels Naptha Soap
2 boxes Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (55 ounce each)
1 box Borax (76 ounce)

Cut each Fels Naptha bars into thirds (lengthwise) so they will fit into the food processing tube. Using the shredding disc of your food processor, put in the Fels Naptha soap (I had to do this in two batches -- shred 4 bars, then dump into a container, shred the next 4 bars, then dump into a container). You can use it as it is, but I like it to be a bit finer so I run the shredded soap back through the food processor using the steel chopping blade.  I pour that into my container (a large sand bucket purchased in the Target dollar section).  Pour in the 2 boxes of Washing Soda and the 1 box of Borax. Stir to combine. How easy was that? Now how much to use per load? Not much. Use only 1-2 tablespoons per load. 1 tablespoon for small loads and 2 tablespoons for large loads.  How long will this last?  I'm not sure - this is an experiment for me.  I will let you know when I use this up.  I do know that I do quite a bit of laundry for my family of 4.

Let's add up the cost of this project:
8 bars Fels Naptha at $1.19 per bar = $9.52
2 boxes Washing Soda at $2.89 per box = $5.78
1 box Borax at $4.49
Total Cost = $19.79

Fabric Softener
As long as you are on a roll making your own laundry detergent.  Let's move on to fabric softener.  If you want to get back to basics with your fabric softener - this couldn't be easier. White vinegar! I swear that's it.  Just add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup to your load (I have a little area in my machine to put in the fabric softener).  A one gallon jug of vinegar cost me $2.64 at Target. I love vinegar - and will be doing another post later on about the many uses of vinegar!

Now I just have to come up with a solution for folding all that laundry!

Mango Sorbet

Kitchen gadgets can be important.  I happen to think that my ice cream maker is one of those important ones.  Nothing tastes as good as homemade ice cream.  It evokes childhood memories of eating our once-a-summer homemade ice cream made in the machine using rock salt.  How delicious that was!!  However, consuming food made of whole milk, whipping cream and sugar may not be on your healthy food list.  I stumbled upon this recipe from Ina Garten (who doesn't love Barefoot Contessa).  This recipe is from her Barefoot in Paris cookbook (I think the only one of hers I do not own). It is for an ice cream bombe dessert -- I didn't make the whole dessert just the mango sorbet portion of it.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/ice-cream-bombe-recipe/index.html

I, of course, can be quite lazy with food preparation and am always looking for shortcuts. Who wants to cut and peel and seed a bunch of mangoes? Not me. This recipe sat for a while until I stumbled upon a whole container of presliced mangoes at my grocery store.  Now these containers of cut fruit can be pricey - but that day it was on sale! So I bought it and brought it home. I followed the directions and pureed them in my food processor. I only ended up with about 1 1/2 cups of mango puree instead of 5 cups.  No worries! Just adjust the recipe accordingly.  I used 1/3 of all the ingredients and plopped it into the ice cream maker (I have the Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker) as we sat down to dinner.  Dessert was waiting for us -- and it ended up being the perfect amount for our family of 4. *Tip -- always keep your ice cream freezer bowl in your freezer, that way it is always ready for spontaneous ice cream making adventures.

This is the mixture before putting it in the ice cream maker:

Here's one happy camper!

No, make that 2 happy campers!

And half a happy camper -- he doesn't get too excited about dessert -- but he is pretty cute! Notice he is eating the sorbet on top of the banana cake from the previous post.  Interesting.....

Donut Muffins

For those that know me - also know I love donuts! In fact, I think they rank in my top 5 favorite things (I haven't really thought what the other 4 may be or what order it would be in). Anyway this recipe mimics the taste of donuts without all the frying that goes with it.
I originally learned of this recipe through Klutzy Momma Blog

http://klutzymama.wordpress.com/?s=donut+muffins&submit=Search

And the recipe can be traced back to here

http://meandmypinkmixer.blogspot.com/2010/05/donut-muffins.html

I made a couple of minor changes to the recipe. Here is my version (which really isn't much different than the original)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup applesauce (*see tip below)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 egg
3/4 cup milk (any kind will do)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg with a wire whisk until combined.  In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, applesauce, oil, egg, milk and vanilla. Whisk to combine.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.  Okay the key to light muffins is NOT TO OVERMIX.  Just stir until barely combined. The first time I made this, I stirred too much and the muffins were very dense and small.  It will look like there are big lumps of batter, but that is okay.  Let the batter stand for a minute or two (it will finish combining on its own).  Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.  Lightly spray liners with nonstick cooking spray.  Spoon batter into muffin tin.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.  If these are not gone by the end of the day you have done something wrong.  There should be no leftovers!


*Here's my big baking tip: I always replace some of the oil listed in the recipe for applesauce.  These little applesauce containers are the perfect size. Each one has approximately 1/3 cup of applesauce.  So if the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of oil -- I use one applesauce container and 2 tablespoons of oil.  The original donut muffin recipe called for 1/3 cup oil.  I used one applesauce container and 1 tablespoon of oil.  It cuts back on the amount of fat in the recipe -- allowing you the luxury to consume a second (or third) helping!!

My Blog Manager

I just wanted to introduce the manager of my blog.  It helps to have an 11-year old to do these things.

Banana Cake with 2 Types of Frosting

Our family loves this banana cake. I've made it for a while now and never put frosting on it - it doesn't need it. However, we had some extra time on our hands and a recipe to test so this is the result!

Make sure that you use ripened bananas -- the ones with the black spots on them -- you know the ones the kids won't eat anymore.

Gather your ingredients

Add in 1 small assistant.

Beat your egg whites until stiffened.

Sour cream

This is the what the sour cream looks like after adding the baking soda. This is Chemistry folks! The acidic nature of sour cream reacts with the alkaline nature of baking soda (this is also known as sodium bicarbonate -- NaHCO3 -- for those that like abbreviations).  The product of this reaction is carbon dioxide (CO2) bubbles which help the baked goods rise and give them a light and airy texture (tasty), not a dense and heavy one (not tasty).

Mash your bananas.

Ready to go in the oven.

Banana Cake Recipe

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups cake flour, sifted
2 egg whites, beaten stiff

Directions
Beat egg whites until stiff and set aside. Dissolve baking soda into sour cream and set aside. Cream butter, sugar, and egg yolks. Add mashed bananas. Alternating sifted flour (dry) and sour cream mixture (wet), add to the creamed butter mixture (dry, wet, dry, wet, dry, wet). Fold in beaten egg whites.

Grease two 9-inch round cake pans. Divide mixture evenly between pans. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cake separates from the edge of the pan.



Frosting Recipes
Now I had to make 2 frostings because of the different palates in our house. Some like vanilla, while others (like the y chromosomes) like chocolate. The big tip I'm giving you here is how to make a nice fluffy frosting. I used this for both recipes below.  You put the ingredients in a mixing bowl - I always use my Kitchen-Aid mixer with a paddle attachment.  Turn the mixer on LOW and walk away!  That is the big secret!  Check on it periodically to see that it is the correct texture, adding more cream for consistency.  Come back in 10-15 minutes and you will have fluffy frosting every time!


Honey Frosting

http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2010/05/honey-frosting.html

Chocolate Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar
7 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons butter, softened
6-8 tablespoons whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put all in ingredients in a mixer. Turn on low for 10-15 minutes.  Check the consistency, adding more cream if necessary.

Finished Cakes. Yum Yum!

One resting assistant.