Mexican Casserole (freezer meal)

I was looking for a good freezer meal that would use things I had on hand (though I did have to restock a few things before I made this).  I found this recipe, and of course tweaked it quite a bit.  Here's what I ended up doing.

1.25 lb. ground turkey, browned
with 1 diced onion and a couple good spoonfuls of minced garlic

Added:
3 cans of diced tomatoes (I started with 2 but added a 3rd because it was too spicy)
2 cans of corn, rinsed and drained
3 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained (really it was 1 can plus two can-sized bags I had in the freezer from a pot I had made from dried beans)
about 16 oz. of picante sauce
5 tablespoons of taco seasoning (I mix my own, and I think I made it extra spicy this time)
a little salt to taste (I went light on the salt in my taco seasoning)
Simmer a bit to let the flavors combine. 

This made a huge pot of filling, which was what I was going for.  I wanted the meat to go a long way, and it really did distribute well so I didn't think it was lacking in the final product at all. 

I layered the filling with flour tortillas in 3 baking pans (8x8, and two 9x13 foil pans) according to the instructions in the recipe: start with a little filling, add halves of tortilla with straight sides along the outside of the pan, add more filling, etc.

I almost forgot the cheese, so only the top couple of layers had it.  I think if I did this again I would use more cheese, but I only had 2 cups to go between all the pans and I think it worked fine.

I baked the 8x8 pan for supper for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  The other two I covered in foil, let cool down a bit, and put in the deep freeze.  I wrote the directions from the recipe on them (40 minutes at 350, pre-thawed).  We enjoyed the one we ate that night with a little plain Greek yogurt (a.k.a. sour cream).  I'm hopeful the other two will turn out well when we need them too. 

I calculated the approximate cost of making the entire recipe (my canned goods are from Aldi so much cheaper than the average), and I think it comes to about $12.  Not too shabby for 3 good meals!

Blog posts- why there haven't been and won't be many

I haven't been posting very much, as you may or may not have noticed, depending on who is paying attention to what is posted.  I'm guessing that's not very many people. 

As you might have noticed I try not to share personal details online "in public," therefore it's sometimes hard to write about life in general.  Because of that, I will probably be only posting once in a great while about something I want to "spout off" about, or about food and cooking.  Sometimes I run across articles online that don't fit under the Common Cents categories and so I'll probably be using this blog as I place for those. 

If I write something that bothers you, please take it in the spirit in which it was written: I have strong opinions and sometimes the anonymity of the internet is the best place for those.  I may or may not be correct about them, and I realize that.  Please respond if you want, and I will look forward to reading your thoughts.  (Oh, and it goes without saying that any comments should avoid personal details.)

If you're still reading, thank you!  

Kids in Church

I ran across this piece and thought it excellent.  It's from a Catholic perspective, so there are some obvious points about which I would differ from the author.  However, in the big picture I think she makes some excellent points about bringing children to church. 

It does bother me that it has become so automatic to so many to drop their children off in the nursery every Sunday.  I won't go so far as to say there shouldn't be a nursery.  I know there are cases where it might be best. I'm sure some days the parents just need a break, or the baby needs a nap.  But in general, I think it would be ideal if using the nursery were the exception and the occasional circumstance rather than the rule. 

Certainly children aren't good at sitting still for so long.  But if they aren't made to try sometimes, how else are they going to learn?  Young children won't understand everything.  I wouldn't say they have to sit and listen the entire time as if they did.  I think coloring books and Bible story books are perfectly acceptable ways to keep children quiet during a sermon.  As they grow and mature, more will gradually be expected of them.  But I do think that if it is at all possible they should be there.  Worshiping as a family is an amazing blessing that is available to us.  Many people don't have that, and I think that can be easy to forget. 

A Thankful Post

Many people have been posting daily on Facebook about things they are thankful for.  I think it's a nice tradition, but I haven't.  In the past I've even done a Thankful series here on the blog, and I haven't done that either.  But I do have much to be thankful for.  So while I'm up at a ridiculous hour (and no, it has nothing to do with cooking a turkey) I thought I would jot down a few thoughts.

1. God's "works of providence... [H]is most holy, wise and powerful preserving and governing all [H]is creatures, and all their actions (Westminster Shorter Catechism question 11).  Recent current events have been rather discouraging, but we must never forget that God is working everything for good for His people.  And no, I don't believe He needs our country for this, but He does have a plan and we can rest in that even while we pray.

2. God's amazing blessings on a personal level as well.  Family.  Hope.  Provision for the future.  Today my husband's parents are coming to visit and we're all joining my family for Thanksgiving dinner.  In many families this would be a very tricky situation, and possibly one to be avoided at all cost, but I really am not worried. That's a blessing in itself.

3. Simple things, such as a warm bed, a clean (for now!) house, a break from teaching this week, a cat who hangs around when I'm up in the night even when the dog goes back to bed, good books to read, and the list goes on.

4. Thanksgiving cooking and baking: this year for me it includes Spinach Gratin, Cranberry Pear Pie, and wheat dinner rolls.

And of course, this list doesn't begin to scratch the surface.  It's so easy to moan and groan about being tired, or too busy, or stressed. We can easily just spend a day of overeating on Thanksgiving, forgetting what it was truly intended to be. Or we can count our blessings, one by one.

Thoughts on Hospitality

I have mixed feelings about hospitality.  I enjoy having people over, or at least I enjoy the concept of it.  I will plan it, and look forward to it.  But then when I get there I have some hang-ups about the entire experience. The following is just a hodge-podge of thoughts I have on hospitality.  They aren't terribly well organized.  But this post has been in the works for about a month and I figure I'll go ahead and put it up. 

1. Cleaning-  I am not one of those people who keeps a spotless house.  I do clean when it's just us at home, but not as much as I should.  This means that when we plan on having people over, I need to do some major cleaning.  I'm usually fairly content to do what I can.  I don't usually sweat about the minor details (maybe because by that time I've finished literally sweating about the major ones).  I vacuum, clean bathrooms, clean the kitchen, straighten up.  I may or may not (probably not) get to dusting.

2. Time- We're all busy, of course.  It's so easy to think that we're too busy to add something extra, to cook and clean for new people, to cut into any relaxation time.  Sometimes I think this is valid and it's ok to allow yourself a season in which you really just can't add any pressure.  But more often it's probably an excuse.

3. Energy- My particular problem with hospitality lies here.  I have been rushing around the house cleaning, cooking, doing all the last minute things.  Everything is ready.  I can finally sit down.  But wait, the guests will be here soon.  And I have to try to participate in conversations and make them feel comfortable.  My personality is such that this doesn't come terribly easy to me. I can do it, but it takes effort and it helps when I am rested and relaxed.  That usually isn't the case after the scramble to get the house ready for company. 

4. Selfishness-
     a. It's my time.  I need to relax.  We've been so busy.  This can be valid, but I imagine that most of the time it isn't.  
     b. We've had so many people over but we hardly ever receive invitations ourselves.  Yes, people probably should reciprocate.  But is this why we do it?  No.  At least it shouldn't be.  And in the interest of full disclosure, I can think of one invitation we haven't reciprocated on ourselves.  We had our reasons, but whether they're valid or not is another story.  So maybe all those people have their own reasons, either valid or not, for not having us over in return.

5. Space- There are challenges we have to consider, and they vary depending on who we're having over.  We have pets to keep an eye on.  That can be a concern for people with allergies, and with little kids we have to keep an eye on the dog since he isn't necessarily used to interacting with them (he's good, but bears watching).  Depending on how many people we're having over, parking can be a concern.     

6.  Food- Cooking isn't an issue for me.  I usually don't plan something too crazy or experimental when we're having company.  I usually go for easy, sometimes using the crock-pot.  That's nice in particular because I can have the kitchen cleaned up before company arrives.  If I am scrambling to wash three pots before people arrive I'm even less likely to enjoy myself.  It's not going to be gourmet, but it will probably be pretty good and that's good enough for me. 

7. The List- For a while we kept a list of all the people we wanted to have over at some point.  I am pretty good about scheduling this sort of thing.  Whether I actually feel like it when the time comes is another story, but it usually ends up being a truly enjoyable time.  At least for us, hopefully it is for our guests as well! 

I know so many people who truly have the gift of hospitality.  They do it all well.  They make people feel comfortable.  I'm still not sure how I feel about it.  I like having company, but it still doesn't come easy to me. But I guess it doesn't really matter how I feel about it.  It's a challenge that I need to work on. 

Thoughts?

Freezer Space!

Thanks to my family, I now have a hand-me-down small upright freezer in the basement.  Two happy results of this development are:

I no longer almost break a toe every time I open the freezer,

and I can actually buy meat when it's on sale.

Since it's upright and not a chest freezer, the cold air spills out whenever you open it.  That means limiting how often I need to go down there.  It also means to keep it running efficiently I need to keep it fairly full.  I'm considering trying to buy a portion of a whole cow (in neat white packages, of course).  I was wanting beef so badly lately.  I hadn't seen any good enough sales for a while.  But I did find some last weekend. 

I am getting back into the groove of cooking again, I think.  Tonight I made crock pot Mongolian Beef with stir-fry vegetables added towards the end.  This is definitely one of our recent favorites.  It is so easy and has great flavor, though it is spicy.  We eat it with brown rice. 

I did some cooking yesterday for breakfasts.  I made about 2 dozen Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal muffins out of 4 of the approximately 6-8 frozen brown bananas I had accumulated in the freezer. 

I also made my crust-less version of this spinach quiche recipe, using a 2 pound bag of frozen spinach, about 18 eggs, about 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese, a little milk, about 1/4 cup Parmesan, garlic, onion, Italian seasonings, seasoned salt and pepper.  Using such a large bag of spinach was actually kind of an accident (I had in my head that it was 1 pound), but I compensated by throwing in more eggs.  But I was pleased to end up with 2 dozen muffin sized quiches and 6 larger ones (made in a giant muffin tin, about half full).  I love this recipe, especially with the additional veggies.  It's so easy, has a ton of flavor, and it really isn't bad for you at all.  I have been very bad about eating breakfast lately, and these really help me start the day with some good protein and vegetables. 

I froze most of the oatmeal muffins and quiche for future breakfasts.  They're staying in the upstairs freezer where they're easily accessible. 

Psalm 130

From the depths of woe I raise to Thee
The voice of lamentation;
Lord, turn a gracious ear to me
And hear my supplication;
If Thou iniquities dost mark,
Our secret sins and misdeeds dark,

O who shall stand before Thee?

To wash away the crimson stain,
Grace, grace alone availeth;
Our works, alas! Are all in vain;
In much the best life faileth;
No man can glory in Thy sight,
All must alike confess Thy might,

And live alone by mercy.

Therefore my trust is in the Lord,
And not in mine own merit;
On Him my soul shall rest, His word
Upholds my fainting spirit;
His promised mercy is my fort,
My comfort and my sweet support;

I wait for it with patience.

What though I wait the live-long night,
And ’til the dawn appeareth,
My heart still trusteth in His might;
It doubteth not nor feareth;
Do thus, O ye of Israel’s seed,
Ye of the Spirit born indeed;

And wait ’til God appeareth.

Though great our sins and sore our woes
His grace much more aboundeth;
His helping love no limit knows,
Our upmost need it soundeth.
Our Shepherd good and true is He,
Who will at last His Israel free

From all their sin and sorrow.

~tune updated by Indelible Grace

Experiment: Crock-pot Banana Bread

I usually buy the huge bunches of bananas at Wal-mart because they're so much cheaper than the grocery store.  We often can't eat through all 3 pounds before they go bad, so any that are getting too brown go into the freezer completely intact for future baking.  I had accumulated a few and wanted to clear them out, plus I needed some baking for the weekend, so I decided to make banana bread.  However it's still summer and I am still refusing to run the oven.  I thought of using the bread machine, but when I realized the instruction booklet didn't include a recipe I decided to leave that to figure out another day.  That left the crock-pot and I actually did have a recipe for that.

The following is my adaptation of the Banana Nut Bread recipe from Best-Loved Slow Cooker Recipes. I had 4 bananas, so I basically multiplied the recipe by 1 1/2.  I think plain banana bread is boring, so I always add extra spices.  The original recipe had no flavoring besides the bananas and dark corn syrup (I subbed molasses).  I also used part whole wheat flour and canola oil instead of butter.  The original recipe, including original amounts, is in parentheses.

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour)
1 1/8 c. whole wheat
3 tsp baking powder (2 tsp baking powder)
3/4 tsp salt  (1/2 tsp salt)
3/8 tsp baking soda (1/4 tsp baking soda)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
1/4 tsp ground cloves 
*Whisk together the dry ingredients.

1/2 c. canola oil  (1/3 c. butter or margarine)
1 c. sugar  (2/3 c. sugar)
3 eggs  (2 eggs)
3 T molasses  (2 T dark corn syrup)
about 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 bananas, mashed  (3 bananas)
*Combine the above.  Add dry ingredients.  Then add:
1/2 c. or so chopped walnuts (1/2 c. chopped walnuts)

*Grease and flour the crock-pot.  I used my little 4 quart upright one (which seems to run a little hot?).  Pour in batter and cook on HIGH.  The recipe says 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours, however mine needed 2 hours as there was more batter and it was thicker.  When a knife comes out clean turn it off and let it cool before turning out onto a plate.  I ran a knife around the edge and it slid right out.

*All my amounts are approximate.

*Nifty Trick: Before pouring the molasses into your tablespoon spray it with cooking spray.  It'll slide right off into the bowl. How cool is that?

I did let my bread sit a while in the base of the crock-pot before taking the crock out, and I think that made it dry out just a little.  Plus it was slightly burnt on some edges.  Again, I think if I hadn't made such a big loaf that probably wouldn't have been an issue.  Still, it turned out very well and it didn't heat the house up much.  I'd say that means success.

Glass

                              
A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
                                  ~ Isaiah 40:6-8

A new book find

Certain current food fads (all organic- though I realize there can be legitimate health reasons in some few cases- and locavorism) are among my biggest pet peeves. In fact, I have to be careful whom I talk to about them.  I get frustrated because people who should know better seem to think these are the best ideas ever thought of, and they don't think of the bigger picture problems that could result.  

Ever since I watched Food, Inc. I have been hoping someone would write more to refute it.  Even internet searches for articles with sound economics arguing against these dangerous ideas didn't yield much.  If I could have I would have written more myself, but all I could manage were a couple blog posts.

But recently I came across The Locavore's Dilemma.  I haven't read it yet (I placed a library hold immediately), but based on this review I'm hopeful it includes some good, sound economics on why current fads in food thought are unsound and even dangerous, and the real path to success in truly free markets.

Recipes to make soon

We had an unsatisfactory new meal for supper last night, plus brown rice.  When I eat rice I'm hungry again within an hour.  So I threw together these No-Bake Energy Bites.  They're very good, but they don't taste like no-bake cookies as descriptions on Pinterest said.  They would need cocoa powder for that.  I wish I had looked back at a list I'd made before the trip of recipes I wanted to try soon, because if I had I would have found Chocolate Protein Truffles.  This might have been even better.  Oh well, next time.  Everybody calls this type of recipe healthy.  I'm not really sure it's that.  There's still a lot of fat (even if it is peanut butter) and some sugar (I'm unconvinced that honey is any healthier than regular sugar).  But still, they're good and they could be a lot worse for you.

I found a bag of barley on the Safeway clearance shelf for cheap and wanted to make a salad.  A quick search found Corn-Avocado Salad with Black Beans and Barley, which was exactly what I wanted.  With a few substitutions I can make it right now (canned corn, canned black beans, no avocado, no tomatoes, lime and lemon juice instead of orange).  I love this kind of salad and it's perfect to keep in the fridge for quick lunches all week.      

*EDIT: This is delicious. I really like salad made with a vinaigrette.  All my pasta salads are made like this (who wants mayo in a pasta salad?  ...plus the egg-allergy niece can eat it), as is the black bean and corn salad I like to make.  I like how the barley holds up in the salad too.  I've made quinoa salad and it all kind of mushes together. It might need a little more seasoning, depending on taste. I will caution you, however.  When you go for the cayenne to add just a sprinkle to jazz it up a little, make sure the sprinkle top is ON the cayenne.  Otherwise you'll end up digging as much extra out as you can, then eating very spicy salad all week. Ahem.* 

I also ran across this recipe for Blueberry Oat Pancakes with Maple Yogurt.  I want to make this one right now too.  Maybe tomorrow I'll make a double batch for breakfasts this week. 

*EDIT: Sickness intervened and I haven't made any breakfasts for the week.  Yogurt and the Energy Bites will have to do for now.  So this one is still on my list of recipes to make.*

I had also been thinking of making Protein Filled Pancakes (maybe in the waffle iron?) before our trip.  Sometime soon I'll try that one too.

Hot Summer Suppers

It's hot (no kidding, right?).  That means there's no way I'm running the oven.  I also only want to cook on the stove-top when it's absolutely necessary.

I keep looking for crock-pot recipes that are more summer appropriate.  Most summer recipes start with a big cut of meat and put it on sandwiches or something like that.  That's OK sometimes, but I like more one-dish meals and if I don't have that big cut of meat in my freezer it doesn't help me much.

This is what I came up with for this week.  How about you?  Please comment, as I can always use more suggestions. 


Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Buffalo Chicken= boneless skinless chicken breasts+ some of Buffalo sauce that's been hanging around the fridge for a while+ 3 or so hours on high in the crock-pot = very happy husband
- Romaine, tomatoes, red onion, carrots, red pepper, avocado (or whatever else is on hand)
- More Buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing
(I even forgot the shredded cheddar cheese and it was delicious!)

Hot dogs with sauerkraut, veggies on the side

Bean burritos
- Canned refried beans (nonfat)
- Tortillas
- Shredded cheddar 
- Toppings: Salsa, tomatoes, avocado, onion, etc. 
Put desired amount of beans on tortilla and sprinkle with cheese.  Fold together.  Cook on low to medium in a non-stick skillet until beans are hot, cheese is melted and tortilla is lightly browned.  This just takes a couple minutes.  This feels like cheating, but it's so good and so fast (faster than spaghetti).  It only uses one skillet.  This is something we made as kids, and it was even the requested meal at a couple of birthday parties that I can remember.  It's fairly healthy (yes, I know there's sodium in the beans...homemade refried beans are on my to-do list... maybe once I get some more freezer space) and it tastes good.  You're only leaning over the stove for a few minutes too!

Greek salad
- Romaine, tomatoes, carrots, red onion, red pepper, kalamata olives, feta cheese
- homemade Greek dressing: the recipe from the cookbook is about 1/4 red wine vinegar or lemon juice to 3/4 olive oil (I think next time I'll reduce the olive oil for a little more acidity), dried oregano and minced garlic

I don't think I'm making one this week, but another favorite cold meal is Pasta Salad:
- Cooked pasta (rotini, tri-colored, whatever is in the pantry)
- Mini or chopped pepperoni
- Diced and shredded vegetables: green/red peppers, shredded carrots, finely diced (or dried) onion, green olives, grape tomatoes (halved?), and whatever else sounds good
- Shredded cheese
- Oil and (red wine) vinegar dressing with Italian seasoning, pepper, salt, garlic powder
Let it sit in the fridge for at least a few hours to let the flavors meld, then eat for lunches and dinners.

The above, plus the leftover Buffalo chicken and beans for a couple lunches and maybe another meal, should about do the trick for the week.   

Useless and not so useless information

I am continually being fooled by frozen broccoli.  I buy chopped- too small and more stems.  I buy spears- way too big.  What's correct?  Is it florets?

I refuse to pass bicyclists on or just before hills.  I don't care if you honk at me.  And I will say out loud (not yelling, mind you, just a normal voice) what an idiot you are when you honk (though I do not use poor language to do this).  Sorry folks, the opinion of random motorists is not worth a head-on collision.  Take a chill pill and enjoy the scenery for a minute.     

I think it's hilarious and a little awful when one of my friends answers a Facebook poll about "Yes, I want to remain on your friends list."  Um, did you look at who wrote that poll question?  Are you friends with them?  What about the 13, 456 other people who also answered the poll question?  Do you think they all know the original author?  Why are these polls still floating around?

I recently finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.  I picked it up before we went on vacation based on a recommendation on Ungrind.  It is set shortly after World War II in Europe.  It is a light novel, but it touches on heavier subjects.  The story is told in the form of letters, which could bother some readers.  It didn't take me long to get into the story so that this didn't matter, and I was reading as I would read any other novel.  I enjoyed the characters and the way the authors formed them through what could be a difficult medium (letters).  The book is certainly a product of the 21st century in a few cultural aspects, but I do feel I can recommend it.  A discerning reader can enjoy it for what it is: an enjoyable, historical fiction (but not too heavy) novel.

Western Trip, part I: All Creatures Great and Small

We just returned from a trip out West a couple weeks ago.  We were away for 15 days.  We visited 5 national parks.  We took 4200 pictures.  I have been working on a post about the trip practically since we got back.  It is proving harder to write and longer than I expected.  I also wanted to include pictures, which means that we need to sort them out and match them up with the appropriate parts of the trip.   We're still working on that.  Since the post was getting so long I decided to break it up.  Here is part I.

My husband likes lists.  Thus we had several of them going during the trip.  One of them included our running tally of the animals we had seen while hiking, driving, walking throughout the trip. 

These included:

Damselflies

Lizards

Dragonflies

Ravens

Angus cattle (ok, that's not so different from home)

Marmots

A moose cow

Chipmunk or ground squirrel...not sure which

Bison (in the front yard of the Yellowstone Lake Inn, no less)

Bighorn sheep ewes and lambs

Elk

Black bear (this isn't the best picture, but we were driving by literally about 2 feet away and I had to be quick)

Pronghorn antelope

More elk (this was a herd of mamas and babies just hanging out in the field near the Roosevelt Arch as we drove out of Yellowstone...next to the pronghorns)

Mountain goats (in the road as we drove the Going to the Sun Road through Glacier National Park)

Bighorn sheep

More goats (at Logan Pass in Glacier N.P.)

There were others as well: magpies, various water birds, ground squirrels, chipmunks, wood ducks (mama and babies) and I'm probably missing a few.  The variety of Creation is astounding, as we were reminded every time we turned around.  More pictures to follow.

Italics

"Like the exclamation mark, however, italics should be used sparingly for the purpose of emphasis - partly because they are a confession of stylistic failure, and partly because readers glancing at a page of type might unconsciously clock the italicised [British spelling] bit before starting their proper work of beginning in the top left-hand corner."
~Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss


I have been greatly enjoying this book.  Hopefully it will help me become a better writer.  Aside from that, it's just plain hilarious.  However, if I ensured I followed every single punctuation rule 100% in all my informal (blog, Facebook, informal e-mails) it would probably paralyze me.  I think I'll focus on getting it right in my more formal e-mails and writing.

One of those days

Have you ever had one of those days or weeks?  I'm sure you have.  You know...

You didn't time the errands quite right, so you didn't get them all done. You lost your list along the way, which means you forgot things.  You forgot to bring the item to be returned and the dimensions for the air filter that really should have been replaced when you turned on the air conditioning for the first time this year.  Thus an extra trip (or two, in this case) is required.

A drinking glass goes off the counter-top at the ends of your fingertips.  These things really do happen in slow motion sometimes, oddly enough.  Glass everywhere, even down the stairs on the carpet, requires sweeping and vacuuming while yelling at the pets to get out of the way and leave the room.  They think there's something wrong/interesting going on and want to come see.

There are vegetable side leftovers in the fridge that you forgot to make sure were finished and now they might be past finishing.  It was good too.  

You realize you forgot a bag at Wal-mart the week before.  But for once you threw away the receipt instead of keeping it for a few days.  Hopefully it was just a bag of sugar and not the more expensive item that you thought about buying and think you didn't, but you aren't quite positive. 

Then there's that container of cottage cheese that you forgot about in the fridge, but it really hasn't been that long.  You open it, peel back the plastic, and there's some nice blue mold on top.  Yes, the "best by" date was yesterday, but should it go that quickly?  Also it couldn't have been that long since it was purchased, at least not long enough for mold under the seal.  The trouble is that you threw away the receipt.  So much for an easy breakfast this morning.  

Lots of little annoyances.  Easy to gripe and grumble about at the time (especially when there's a heat wave and you don't have air conditioning in the car while running errands).  But at the same time it takes effort to remember them.  Because there are lots of good things to drown out the grumbling

Big things like food, shelter, air conditioning in the house, money and gas to run necessary errands.  Time with friends, time and books to read.
Little things like...
Calculating the cost per serving on a (healthy) meal just for fun, and not because it's absolutely positively necessary that it came in below a dollar (though it did).
A more relaxing weekend before things gear up again.
A small-ish town to walk through in the morning before it gets too hot.
Lunch out with my husband on that last (hopefully!) errand and the "Uptown" salad.  
Blueberries for a great price and a bowl of fruit for breakfast, a camera to take silly pictures of bowls of fruit (and of good times with friends), a cup of coffee in the morning, supper on the deck.

And there are so many more.  As today's sermon served to remind: "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).  I don't think He was talking about forgetting things at the store.  Here's to remembering the blessings and not the little gripes that are just an inevitable part of life in this world, after all, and don't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

I love summer

New tabs

I have added two tabs across the top of the blog.  I was thinking about needing to keep a better record of what I cook regularly, because it often seems that one of the other of us says something like "Remember how we used to have such and such for supper?  We haven't had that in a while."

It was interesting for me to write and to think about how I plan and what I could be doing differently.  I would love to hear any comments about that and about how you do things at your house.  Both posts will probably change frequently as I remember different things and come across new favorites.

The whirlwind

The last few weeks and months have been so busy with schedules, family things, traveling, teaching, working... It is finally sinking in that I can stop and catch my breath, even if it is just for a few days. There's more on the near horizon (a.k.a. this coming weekend), and the calendar is far from empty, but for right now I can sit a bit.

Teaching is over for the year. For the last day of class I "made" brownies (from a box mix) with cream cheese frosting (from a can). I was trying to make them slightly relevant, hence the red, white and blue pretzel m&ms. We had a "guest speaker" and I think the kids enjoyed it. It's been a good year. I do need to jump into planning lessons for next year before the time gets away from me, but I think first I should take a break. It's probably best for me and for future lessons if I step away for a little bit (especially since the thought of beginning again is pretty intimidating at the moment).







Grading- In the words of Uncle Ben (I think?) from Spider Man 1: "With great power comes great responsibility" (and of course there's James 3:1). I have certainly been conscious of this as I have been grading research papers and final exams. It's finally done. Final grades mailed last week. Whew.






Muffins- Sometimes you just need to do a little baking. My take-off on Leah's white chocolate almond muffins are pretty much my favorite muffin. I use regular whole wheat flour, 1/3 cup each brown and white sugar, and regular (not Greek) plain nonfat yogurt. I add chopped almonds, semisweet chocolate chips instead of white, and dried cranberries. Nuts, dark chocolate and dried cranberries might be my favorite combination. (Now that I think about it, I could use chopped fresh cranberries too...the tartness might be a good contrast. Plus, it could mean less sugar?)

I was very pleased with my canned stewed apples, and I think if I do any canning the year is will be more of that. The canned peaches didn't turn out as well as I wanted. They just don't have as much flavor as the ones I froze. This summer I'll only buy an amount I can fit in my freezer. I do like the peaches pureed into a smoothie/thick juice drink with watermelon. I have a feeling I'll be doing this a lot this summer. Another of my canned goods we haven't really gotten into much is the apple butter. It isn't something we use very often in general. We don't eat much toast/bread, and when we do I'm the only one who puts that kind of thing on it, and then only rarely. I didn't make much, but I think I'll use what I have to substitute for applesauce in baking. I need to make some baked oatmeal for the week. Maybe tonight when things have cooled off a little (wishful thinking, perhaps). Or I'll bake it in the crockpot.

I spied a visitor last week when I was sitting grading papers on the back deck:


And that's just a bit of recent life.

Mother's Day gift

I'm really ridiculously proud of myself about this. I haven't done anything "crafty" for a while.  I used to do projects all the time, but life is so busy.  Who has time for things like that?  Then of course there's that tendency to start a project and not finish it.  And sometimes perfectionism rears its ugly head and gets in the way. 

I found this tea wreath on Pinterest a while ago.  I pinned it right away to my "Projects" board (a.k.a. "really cool ideas that I would love to do but don't really have the time for").  I love tea and thought it was a great idea.  I knew it was going to be one of the first ones to try.  I even bought the clothes pins a few weeks back.

I decided the the wreath would make a great Mother's Day gift.  I found a huge pad of scrapbooking paper at T.J. Maxx for $3 and bought some new tea (you can never have too much tea).  I had been saving a cardboard box to make the wreath back.  The cat has been using it to hide and play in all week.  He was upset when I cut the seams on the box to start the wreath.  He was still trying to jump "in" the flattened box. 

The entire project took a little longer than I thought it would, with trying to make my hot glue gun behave and the paper cutting.  It still only took about one and a half hours, I think.  It wasn't too difficult (the hardest part was cutting the center of the circle and positioning the clothes pins at the right angles...and no, neither is perfect).  I was really pleased with how it turned out, and I love how it looks.  My mom likes it too.