Sunday, December 25, 2011
Christmas 2011
I'm sitting here reflecting on this year's Christmas season. For my family, for the most part it was absent of the usual busyness that comes with this time of year. The parties were few, the shopping was minimal and the feelings of needing to cram every possible Christmas activity in before the "big day" was non-existant and to tell you the truth I am so thankful. Thankful that this season was spent in much more reflection of its true meaning. Even though this Christmas season brought me closer to experiencing Christmas in a way that I believe honors God's greatest gift to us, I am still left with the feeling that there are many more aspects of our celebration of Christmas that need to be evaluated and changed. It is my desire that for the 2012 Christmas season that my family will experience Christmas in a new way. That we will spend our Christmas season focusing our hearts on Jesus and the mercy and grace He showed us and that we will in turn be a reflection of that mercy and grace to others. It is my desire that we spend Christmas 2012 with an attitude of giving. I believe that this attitude of giving however must start with the other 364 days leading up to December 25th, 2012. It is my heart's desire this new year to instill in my children an attitude of giving, and I believe that it must first start with me. I am desiring that God will give me an attitude of giving and guide me throughout this year to experience the joy that comes from giving back that which God has given to me.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Individual apple crisps
The other night I wanted to fix something sweet but wanted to do something super simple so I cooked Individual apple crisps. They were very simple and tasted good too.
I cut the very tops of of four apples (this recipe can be adjusted for however many you need) then took out the core. I didn't take out all of the center, I left enough at the bottom so the stuffing wouldn't come out of the apple. I place them in a baking dish and sprinkled them with cinnamon.
In a bowl I combined equal amounts of brown sugar and quick cooking oatmeal. I stuffed the mixture in each apple and them topped them with a pat of butter.
I put about a 1/4 inch of water in baking dish and covered it with aluminum foil. I baked them on 425 degrees for about 20-30 mins covered and then another 5-10 mins uncovered of until the apples were soft and then served them hot.
I cut the very tops of of four apples (this recipe can be adjusted for however many you need) then took out the core. I didn't take out all of the center, I left enough at the bottom so the stuffing wouldn't come out of the apple. I place them in a baking dish and sprinkled them with cinnamon.
In a bowl I combined equal amounts of brown sugar and quick cooking oatmeal. I stuffed the mixture in each apple and them topped them with a pat of butter.
I put about a 1/4 inch of water in baking dish and covered it with aluminum foil. I baked them on 425 degrees for about 20-30 mins covered and then another 5-10 mins uncovered of until the apples were soft and then served them hot.
Shrimp and Grits
I tried my hand at shrimp and grits for the first time tonight and it turned out very well for my first time. I wanted to get the recipe down so I wouldn't forget it. It is super easy and fast. As I mentioned before some of the amounts are estimates.
two cups of chicken stock (one can)
1 cup of milk (I used 1% because that is what we drink)
I cup of water
I combined all of these in a pot and brought them to a boil then slowly added 1 cup of grits while whisking and turned the burner down to simmer and covered with a lid. They took about 5 mins to thicken.
At the same time I sauteed in olive oil in a cast iron skillet
1/2 onion diced small
1/2 cup bell pepper diced small
4 cloves of garlic diced
Seasoned with salt and pepper, red pepper and Italian seasoning
I seasoned one pound of deveined and shelled shrimp and seasoned them with salt, pepper, taco seasoning and Italian seasoning.
I added the shrimp to the hot skillet and let the shrimp cook.
When the shrimp was finished I removed the shrimp and veggies from the pan and then added about 2 TBS of butter and about 1-1 1/2 cups of shrimp stock I had defrosted from the freezer.
I let the sauce cook down a few minutes and used a spoon to scrape the bits off of the bottom of the pan. Then I added the juice from half a lemon and added the shrimp and veggies back to the pan.
While the sauce was cooking and after the grits were done I added about 2TBs of butter and about 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese and salt and pepper to the grits. That is it supper fast and easy. We put our grits in a bowl then topped them with the shrimp and sauce. I am already thinking about how I could improve the recipe or change it up some but it was quite tasty the way it was.
Shrimp Stock
Shrimp shells
Water
Italian seasoning
combine in a pot and simmer with lid on until dark colored. Add salt to taste if necessary.
two cups of chicken stock (one can)
1 cup of milk (I used 1% because that is what we drink)
I cup of water
I combined all of these in a pot and brought them to a boil then slowly added 1 cup of grits while whisking and turned the burner down to simmer and covered with a lid. They took about 5 mins to thicken.
At the same time I sauteed in olive oil in a cast iron skillet
1/2 onion diced small
1/2 cup bell pepper diced small
4 cloves of garlic diced
Seasoned with salt and pepper, red pepper and Italian seasoning
I seasoned one pound of deveined and shelled shrimp and seasoned them with salt, pepper, taco seasoning and Italian seasoning.
I added the shrimp to the hot skillet and let the shrimp cook.
When the shrimp was finished I removed the shrimp and veggies from the pan and then added about 2 TBS of butter and about 1-1 1/2 cups of shrimp stock I had defrosted from the freezer.
I let the sauce cook down a few minutes and used a spoon to scrape the bits off of the bottom of the pan. Then I added the juice from half a lemon and added the shrimp and veggies back to the pan.
While the sauce was cooking and after the grits were done I added about 2TBs of butter and about 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese and salt and pepper to the grits. That is it supper fast and easy. We put our grits in a bowl then topped them with the shrimp and sauce. I am already thinking about how I could improve the recipe or change it up some but it was quite tasty the way it was.
Shrimp Stock
Shrimp shells
Water
Italian seasoning
combine in a pot and simmer with lid on until dark colored. Add salt to taste if necessary.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Christmas Pictures of the Kids!!!
This shows his personality perfectly!!!
She was not in the best mood, but still a cute pic.
My beautiful girl. Such a sweet smile.
I was very thankful to get a good picture of all three of them.I love my precious babies!!!
Little Miss Attitude
It is hard to believe that our little unexpected blessing from God is almost 15 months. She is growing so fast and is now a full fledged toddler. She started walking right around her first birthday. In fact it was the day of her birthday party that she decided to display her new found talent. The whole family was at the house and she started putting on a show for them. By now she is quite thrilled about her new freedom and loves to explore the house. She gets quite upset if you put her in her pack-n-play. She believes she deserves the same freedom as her big brother and sister. She has a fairly large vocabulary and is starting to put two-word phrases together. She loves her brother and sister and is starting to interact with them in terms of playing. Her favorite game is to throw her toys out of the pack-n-play and wait for Cayden or Hannah to throw them back in. She thinks it is so funny. She is starting to want to wrestle with Craigan in the mornings. It is the tradition of Cayden and Hannah that when they wake up and get in our bed they wrestle with their Daddy. Now Zoe has caught on and does her form of wrestling with him. Over the past few weeks she has developed a little bit of an attitude. When something is not how she wants she will fuss and sometimes throw her body back like she is pitching a fit. It is quite cute but I am doing my best to discourage the attitude. If I say "Zoe Sarah that is not necessary" she puts her head down in shame. It is so cute and I am very impressed that at almost 15 months she knows that when I say her middle name that I am serious. Despite her little attitude she is a little sweet heart. I am so thankful that God in his sovereignty gave us a third child despite our fears. She is an absolute blessing (as are all our children) and I am humbled that God has chosen Craigan and myself to raise them to be godly men and women. It is an awesome and scary responsibility but we are trusting God for guidance.
I thought of a few other cute things to say about Zoe. She loves music. She loves to dance and it is so cute when she shakes her little rear end and twist her shoulder (which is her signature move). She likes to sing. Her favorite song is the ABC song. She can't say all of the letters but she gets the rhythm and you know what she is singing. She knows what sound a dog, duck and horse makes and she is learning her body parts and how to say them. It is amazing how much they can learn at this age.
I thought of a few other cute things to say about Zoe. She loves music. She loves to dance and it is so cute when she shakes her little rear end and twist her shoulder (which is her signature move). She likes to sing. Her favorite song is the ABC song. She can't say all of the letters but she gets the rhythm and you know what she is singing. She knows what sound a dog, duck and horse makes and she is learning her body parts and how to say them. It is amazing how much they can learn at this age.
Sausage and Lentil Soup
Today I came up with a new recipe. I needed something to cook in the crockpot because Craigan and I were going hunting and I wanted supper to be ready when we got home to avoid the usual take out meal that is our go to when I have not planned anything and we get home late. I have been trying to be diligent in planning meals so that we aren't tempted to fall back on the take out meal. I'm not one to be able to do any long term meal planning but I have found this week that if I take a few minutes in the morning to plan the days meals it makes a huge difference. I am in the process of becoming more organized in all aspects of my life and planning meals has been the easiest to accomplish. Once I realized that just by deciding what I will fix that morning I have been able to save money and time. So that lead me to a new recipe today. Like I said, I was looking for a crockpot meal and last week I had planned a "rough" weekly menu which included using ground sausage to make a stew or soup. I wasn't really sure what it would be but I had an idea. That is usually how I cook. I have an idea of what I want and then make it up as I go. Most of the time I do not use a recipe with exact measurements (unless I am baking, which is not a norm for me) so the following recipe contains estimates. I am typing it out to give me a guide the next time I fix it, but feel free to give it a try if you want.
One pound of ground sausage ( I used deer sausage because that is what I had, I think it would work with any kind of ground meat, but would probably need a little more spices if using plain ground meat.)
Diced tomatoes (I used some I had put up in the freezer from our garden. I would guess it would equal to about 2 cans of diced tomatoes.)
Dried Lentils (I used probably about 1 to 1 1/2 cups)
Beef Broth (3-4 cups depending on how "soupy" you want it. I used beef bullion granules with water.)
One chopped onion
1/2 - 1 cup chopped bell pepper
3-4 cloves of garlic
Spices (I have no clue how much of each but I will estimate)
salt and pepper to taste
chilli powder 1/2 teaspoon (I probably could have added more because it wasn't spicy, but I wasn't sure how spicy the sausage was so I was hesitant to add too much.)
ginger 1/4 teaspoon
dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon
paprika 1/4 teaspoon
I cooked the sausage about half way, then added all ingredients into the crockpot and it cooked on low about 5-6 hours.
It was a hit with my family. I fed my family of five and my in-laws and there was none left. The only one who didn't like it was my son Cayden but he has not discovered the joys of trying new things. I'm not sure if he actually tried it or not. Hopefully this phaze will end soon.
One pound of ground sausage ( I used deer sausage because that is what I had, I think it would work with any kind of ground meat, but would probably need a little more spices if using plain ground meat.)
Diced tomatoes (I used some I had put up in the freezer from our garden. I would guess it would equal to about 2 cans of diced tomatoes.)
Dried Lentils (I used probably about 1 to 1 1/2 cups)
Beef Broth (3-4 cups depending on how "soupy" you want it. I used beef bullion granules with water.)
One chopped onion
1/2 - 1 cup chopped bell pepper
3-4 cloves of garlic
Spices (I have no clue how much of each but I will estimate)
salt and pepper to taste
chilli powder 1/2 teaspoon (I probably could have added more because it wasn't spicy, but I wasn't sure how spicy the sausage was so I was hesitant to add too much.)
ginger 1/4 teaspoon
dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon
paprika 1/4 teaspoon
I cooked the sausage about half way, then added all ingredients into the crockpot and it cooked on low about 5-6 hours.
It was a hit with my family. I fed my family of five and my in-laws and there was none left. The only one who didn't like it was my son Cayden but he has not discovered the joys of trying new things. I'm not sure if he actually tried it or not. Hopefully this phaze will end soon.
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