Movie Night and Hello Dollys

Last night was movie night.  It's one of my very favorite nights I spend with my family.  We turn off all the lights, ignore the phone, hunker down on the couch downstairs and enjoy a movie.  We always have popcorn and a treat and it's just a great time.  We watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night.  Husband just finished reading the book to the kids and we always watch the movie after they are done.  The treat that we decided on is one of my all time childhood favorites.  They are called Hello Dollys and they are divine!  Graham cracker, butter, chocolate, what's not to love?  Here's the recipe.  You can cut it in half for a 9x13 pan, however they are always devoured and they store great so why not go for the big half sheet!  Enjoy.

Hello Dollys

30 graham crackers, crushed finely
2 sticks butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can sweetend and condensed milk

Combine graham crackers, butter and sugar until well combined.  Press into half sheet pan and bake for 10 mins at 375.  Take out of the oven and sprinkle on the chips and pour the condensed milk all over.  Put back in the oven for another 6-8 minutes or until the milk starts to bubble and brown.  Allow to cool before cutting into squares. 

*you can also mix it up!  Add walnuts, use butterscotch or peanut butter chips, or a combo of your choice!

Looking Out My Back Door

 

Our days usually begin with devotional and then school. We try to get the "formal" stuff out of the way early so that we can spend the rest of the day playing and studying anything we like. We are pretty good about sticking to a schedule so that we get our basic skills done. Well, it's been a long cold winter and the last couple of days have brought hope of spring. It's been mild, sunny, and gorgeous! So instead of doing our formal "schooling" I felt it was important to let my kids out to soak in the sun and get rid of their cabin fever energy. I don't think there is anything more important for kids than to have outside creative play time. Boys especially need time to run, build muscle, create something, and burn off some of that male energy that they always have. I have 4 sons and 1 daughter and I have learned very quickly that they are different! I have found over the years that when my sons are yelling, making messes (there have been some doozys!), and are constantly fighting and hitting that they just have pent up energy that they need to release. They are always better behaved when they can run around and play. Not organized play like sports, or games, but play that they can create on their own. As I write this they are all outside being miners in the backyard, mining for gold and other minerals. They are climbing our giant apple tree and chasing Maggie with her bone. When all of my boys were little I was worried about them playing unsupervised. They could get hurt! But I have learned that these little men need some "danger". They need to be boys. It helps them to develop that wonderful quality that a good man has of being a problem solver. So here are a few pictures I snapped looking out my backdoor. Everything is still brown, but the sun and the blue skies bring hope of a beautiful green spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast For Dinner

I was so excited to finally feel well enough to cook for my family so I tried to think of one of their most favorite things to eat.  I came up with....breakfast.  Breakfast foods are probably the most popular thing at my house.   We love pancakes, waffles, biscuits and gravy, pretty much anything that has to do with morning time foods.  One of their most favorite breakfasts that I make is hash.  I just throw hash browns, any breakfast meat, any veg that I have in the fridge, into a pan and cook it together.  Top with an egg and maybe some salsa and it becomes one of our most beloved weekend breakfasts.  I decided that was what I was going to make.  I wanted to "dinner it up" so I decided to take out the hash browns and turn it into a hash stuffed twice baked potato.  Let me tell you, it was amazing!  My family loved it so it's definatly going into our regular repertiore.  I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did.

Hash Stuffed Twice Bakers

4 medium to large russet potaoes, baked and cooled
1 lb bulk breakfast sausage (could also use ham or bacon)
1 each red, yellow, green bell pepper, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 lb  cremeni mushrooms, sliced (could also use button)
1 jalepeno, minced
8 eggs, cooked how you like (optional)
cilantro (optional)

Cut potatoes in half legthwise and scoop out middles, leaving about 1/4 of flesh in to hold the skins together.  Put halves on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, then bake for 15 mins at 400 until crisp.  In the meantime, brown your sausage in a pan (cast iron is perfect for this).Once browned remove leaving drippings in pan.  Add your vegetables and saute until crisp tender and the mushrooms have browned.  Add back your sausage and warm through.  Spoon filling into potato skins (you could top with a little cheese if you would like) and then top with an egg of your choice.  Sprinkle with cilantro.  *note:  you could also add in your potato middles and brown them after your meat.  I chose to save those for another day.

Surgery and Lazy Chicken

I've been out of commission for a week or so, not because of a vacation or anything fun, but because I had some minor surgery last week.  I have been sick for quite some time and I needed to have my gallbladder out.  I had that done and I'm recovering well.  Because of that I haven't been doing any cooking (or much of anything for that matter).  I have wonderful neighbors and family that have brought my crew dinner so that I could just rest.  Husband has been taking over my homeschool duties and it has been a nice week of recovery.  Now it's time to get back to life.  Honestly, I haven't been the best patient.  I don't really enjoy laying around.  I'm excited to get back to school, housework (well maybe not that) and cooking real food.  While I've been down we utilized easy food that was quick for my husband to prepare.  One of his favorite things is what we call Lazy Chicken.  It's a slow cooker meal, and I'm pretty sure everyone has a version of it.  It calls for cream of mushroom soup, something I normally avoid like the plague.  But, my family enjoy's it and it really is a lazy recipe.  Enjoy!

Lazy Chicken

6 to 8 frozen boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1 family size can cream of mushroom soup
1 8 oz block cream cheese
3 TBSP butter
1 envelope dry italian dressing packet.

Put everything in the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours.  When fully cooked use a fork and shred the chicken.  Stir to combine (the cream cheese sometimes stays lumpy until you stir it a bit).  Serve over rice.

90 Day Book of Mormon Challenge

I am part of an amazing group of women called The Eliza R. Snow Association.  We get together each month to sing, pray, read amazing books, and discuss ways to better ourselves and our families.  In our last meeting someone mentioned this challenge and I've been so excited to start!  It's the 90 Day Book Of Mormon Challenge.  It's not what you might be thinking.  You don't read the whole Book of Mormon in 90 days, you read it 3 TIMES in 90 days!  Each time through you are focusing on different things.

1st 30 days:  Highlight anything that talks about how God deals with his children
2nd 30 days:  In a different color highlight anything that talks about Gods atonement
3rd 30 days:  In a different color highlight anything that likens the scriptures to you

You read about 18 pages a day.  Here's a printable schedule that you can use for a book mark.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkXdPMkcfwTWdElLLVpZa0xKSUlueC0wSjRFNHoyZnc&hl=en#gid=0

I hope that you can join me in this challenge!  Let me know how it's going. 
More spiritual enlightenment here: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/safety-for-the-soul?lang=eng&format=general-conference&view=sessions&media

Morning Routine and Crazy Cake

I wake up most mornings to a beautiful sight.  My children are all snuggled up with blankets, curled up on the couches, with their dad reading them a book.  My husband gets to stay home in the mornings a few times a week, and because he is a superhero of a husband and dad he uses those mornings to read to our children.  He wants to be involved with their education and spend as much time with them as possible.  So, instead of sleeping in he wakes up at 6:00 and quietly goes through the house waking our children for reading time.  I use these mornings to go to the gym (well, I did once upon a time), have my scripture study, or (most of the time) sleep!  My beautiful, sleepy-eyed children LOVE this time.  They have had many many adventures with Aslan, Ralph Moody, Harry Potter, and many others.  It's the best time of the day.

Then sadly, the time comes where the book is closed and my darling husband has to go to work.  And like a flip of a switch everything changes.  My once quiet, loving, attentive children, turn to me and the chaos begins!  "What's for breakfast?", "I hate oatmeal."  "Can't we have cereal ever?" "He breathed on me wrong.", "I can't find my shoes, but I left them right here under the dogs bed yesterday."  "Mom, she wont let me turn her dollhouse into my spaceship!"  And so it goes.  Me, trying to fix breakfast and get the kids moving for the day.  The kids running, yelling, fighting, throwing clothes around because the shirt that they HAVE to wear is not in their drawer (because they've worn it for three weeks straight so it was taken to the wash while they were sleeping).

 

What happened to those children who were, just minutes ago, snuggling up to their dad? My theory is that while I'm at the gym (or let just be honest, sleeping) husband is training them on how to push every stress button that mom has. I think he finds great joy in seeing me run around like a maniac. I have learned on these mornings that sometimes the only thing that will make it better is....chocolate! And you know stressed spelled backwards is desserts, so in honor of my crazy mornings I am going to share with you my all time favorite recipe for chocolate cake. It is aptly named Crazy Cake. And I will admit that I have had this delicious, moist cake for breakfast. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law, and though she will never admit it, I think it's called crazy cake because she raised 7 children and ate this cake for breakfast sometimes too!

Crazy Cake

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup oil
2 cups water
2 tsp vanilla
2 TBSP vinegar

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, mix together wet ingredients except for vinegar in seperate bowl. Pour wet into dry and mix until combined. Add in vinegar and stir. Pour into prepared 9x13 baking dish. Bake in 350 oven for 25-30 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or frost with your favorite frosting.

Sick Day with Soup and Bread

Today my kids weren't feeling so hot.  My little man was having some stomach issues.  I won't share details,  but lots of Lysol and toilet cleaning was involved.  My little woman was feeling super tired and took a nap, a very rare occurance.  So we decided to stay in our jammies and make warm comfort food.   Cooking is by far my favorite thing to do.  I find so much joy in creating beautiful and delicious things for my family.  We decided to make black bean soup and homemade bread.  I didn't want to go to the store so we needed to use what we had on hand.  This soup is so easy.  It does take time to cook the beans but if you were to do that a day or two ahead this would for sure be a 30 minute soup.  I wouldn't recommend using canned beans, just because there are so few ingredients that cooking the dry beans with the flavorings really adds to the soup.  Here's the recipe!

note:  all my recipes will be for between 8 and  12 people.  I have a large family with lots of growing boys so those recipes for 4 just won't do!

Black Bean Soup (Serves 8)

1 lb dry black beans (about 2 cups)
5 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp salt (about, I never measure)
1/2 tsp baking soda (keeps the beans black instead of turning grey or purple)
1 ham steak
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 bell pepper, diced (any color)
2-3 cloves garlic (or if you're anything like me 5)
4 cups chicken broth (1 box store bought)
2 chipotles in adobo, diced (optional, you could use fresh jalepeno or omit)
2 TBSP cumin
sour cream
avacado
cilantro
limes

In a pot pour your beans, water, bay, salt, baking soda and ham steak.  Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Remove bay and hamsteak.  Dice up steak to add later (it will be black, but taste delicious!) DO NOT DRAIN
In separate pot saute onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, garlic, chipotle, and cumin in a little olive oil until tender and slightly brown, about 10 mins.  Add in beans with their cooking liquid and chicken broth, simmer about 20 mins.  Add back the ham and adjust seasoning.  Serve with sour cream, cilantro, and definatly a squeeze of lime!

And now on to the bread!

White Bread (3 Loaves)

4 cups warm water (I just use hot tap water)
2 TBSP active dry yeast
1TBSP salt (I use kosher)
1/3 canola oil (or olive oil)
1/3 cup honey or 2/3 cup sugar
10-12 cups all-purpose flour

In mixer combine water, yeast, salt, sugar, oil, and 5 cups flour.  Mix to combine.  Gradually mix in the additional 5 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough is smooth and pulls away from sides of mixer.  Knead by hand on floured surface, or knead in mixer on low for about 10 minutes.  Cover with towel and leth the dough rise until doubled in bulk, about 30-45 minutes. 

Punch down the dough, turn it out on lightly floured surface (or oiled if you don't want to add more flour) and divide in thirds.  Form loaves and put in well greased loaf pans.   (I like glass pans, they tend to brown better).  Let the loaves rise 30 to 45 minutes or until you can press down with your finger and the indendation remains.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350.  Bake the loaves for 30 minutes.  Immediately remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.