Table Food for Baby

This little food grinder has been with me for all 4 of my kids. Before I had Lita, I looked into getting and electric Magic Bullet grinder or something similar. Then I realized I would have to find a place for it on the counter or in a cupboard. I would also have more little pieces to wash and find a place for all of them. It was also more money than I wanted to spend when I already had a blender. I quickly decided to use my little Happy Baby Food Grinder again. It's easy to use, easy to wash (in the dishwasher), easy to store and easy to bring with me when we go to eat out. The best part is that she can eat whatever we're eating and I know that she's getting good nutritious food. Yes, I do break open a jar of food every now and then when were having hamburgers or something like that. I'm pretty sure she already knows the difference. ;)

The little munchkin turns ONE in a few days and she's WALKING! More to come... someday...

Happy Weekend everyone,
Alison

Colter Toast

It's his favorite breakfast. One morning he made it all by himself and surprised me. Now we call it "Colter Toast". The recipe is well known but his is special for other reasons. Here's the recipe...
Here's the reasons this recipe is special. The heart cookie cutter shape is for Valentines day coming up. And this toast is extra yummy when made with homemade bread. And we use coconut oil! If you don't know about coconut oil... take 5 minutes and google it. It's worth the time and I think you'll understand why we are using it in all our cooking these days.

Oh, and I love our little chef's 'almost laugh' in this picture. He really didn't want to smile but I got it outta him in the form of making him laugh! :)

Hope you'll try this easy, quick, nutritiously loaded breakfast soon,
Alison

Chocolate Update and Loaded Fruit Smoothies

I'm still here and I do have some posts coming up but they will have to wait for another day. Since I spent all my "blogging time" this morning on the post below which I posted over at the exercise blog, I just thought I would post it on my blog too. Sorry it's a little wordy...

I don't know how to put my feelings into this post this morning. But, I will do my best. When Sarah posted her new years resolutions (about eating no chocolate for the year) I immediately thought, "ridiculous". But almost as fast as I thought that, I thought. "YOU NEED TO DO THIS!" I very quickly decided to do it and I haven't looked back. It has been one of the best health decisions I have made.

When I was in college, I used to drink a daily dose of diet coke and when I got married I continued my habit. One day, my husband and I just decided to quit pop and we did. That's been nearly 14 years ago and we haven't touched pop since. In fact, when I think of drinking it, it makes me ill, just to think of it. Later we cut out all juices, opting instead for the real thing... fruit! So, I haven't had juice in the house for years other than for special occasions or an occasional package of juice boxes to send with the kids for lunch. I do let my kids have pop and juice occasionally at restaurants or at friends houses because I do want them to be able to start making their own decisions. Hopefully they will see the value of make wise decisions for their health. But I won't be surprised if they turn out just like me when they hit college and independent life ;) Everyone has to live and learn.

I don't know if it's a character flaw or benefit, but when I make a decision to do something it's all or nothing for me. It seems like if I allow myself some allowances and say... "I will just have one piece of chocolate a day", I will fail miserably. But if I say... "I will have NO chocolate", that is something I can stick too. It's a no tolerance policy! And it's working again. Thanks Sarah for putting the idea in my head.

During the holidays, when I loading up on sweets, I just felt sick. This scares me because there is Diabetes in my family and some autoimmune diseases. I was not feeling so well when I woke up in the mornings. Brain fog, lack of motivation, back pain. I'm feeling great now and it's all because I just decided to cut out chocolate. When I crave a treat or some munchies or something to drink I go through a decision process. In the past I would always choose chocolate if it was in the house. If I was in town I was always talking myself into grabbing a candy bar at the check stand or stopping to get a mocha. Now since I can't have chocolate I can much more easily talk myself out of these moments of pointless indulgence. If I can't have chocolate, what's the point of eating something that will just make me regret it later! I think cutting out chocolate is more than half the battle for me on my journey to eating healthier. I have no doubt I will be able to keep this resolution!

I haven't been exercising much lately. I hope to get back at it soon. Even without exercise I have dropped over 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks. My weight has been steadily decreasing since the first of the year and I know this will continue with my changed eating habits alone. Adding my exercising back in can only benefit me more.

I wanted to share this with you...



3/4 to 1 cup of Almond Milk
Handful of spinach
1/4 to 1/2 lemon with yellow skin cut off
2 different fruits (one frozen or both)
-banana
-apple
-orange
-berries
-plums
-cherries
-pineapple
-etc...
15 to 20 drops of stevia
1 teas flax seed oil
1 teas olive oil
1 teas flax seed
1 teas chia seed
Add ice if you don't have frozen fruit.

Combine all in a high powered blender and liquify. Enjoy!

My mom passed this along to me. Actually when she makes it, she uses 1 tablespoon of both oils and of the chia seeds and 2 tablespoons of the flax seed. I usually make if for a mid morning "snack". If you don't know about flax seed and chia seeds, click here... FLAX SEEDS/OIL or here... CHIA SEEDS

Have a great weekend everyone! Keep up the good work.
Alison

Kids In The Kitchen

I know I've talked about it before, getting the kids in the kitchen.

It's just something that they really enjoy. And I really enjoy having them in the kitchen too. So our latest effort to have more kitchen time started when Maya brought home this Better Homes and Gardens (not so) New Junior Cook Book from school one day several weeks ago. She considered it a great library find. She was quite excited about trying out some recipes in it.

After flipping through it myself, I was not so excited. The recipes weren't exactly on the "healthy" side of the spectrum (for example: in the meat loaf recipe above you use instant mashed potatoes instead of the real thing) and I knew that likely the book would sit on the cupboard all week and then just go back into the her backpack and back the library where it had come from. ho-hum...

The more I thought about her excitement through the week, the guiltier I felt. I had to find a way to foster that enthusiasm and work some special time in the kitchen into our weekly schedule. So I came up with the idea to have one supper a week where one of the kids gets to pick the meal and prepare it (with help from me). Maya was first with her library cookbook and she picked the meatloaf frosted with potato recipes (above). Instead of the instant potatoes, I just made sure I had extra mashed potatoes from Sunday Lunch. Yum! She and I made the spinach strawberry salad and heated frozen veggies too. We had a blast!

The next week it was Colter's turn...
He wanted to try the little personal pizza's from the same cookbook. So when I made bread that week, we used the extra dough for the pizza's. Colter can't have any dairy so on his little pizza's we used this. He also made the salad to go along with the pizza pretty much by himself. I always say that food tastes so much better when someone else makes it. True again!

Then last week was Kyla's turn...
Kyla chose her Meat Sauce Recipe from her 4H cookbook. She's required to make a certain amount of recipes from her book each year so this was a great chance to try something new. I had a spaghetti squash in the oven and she made a double batch of this meat sauce so we could put some in the freezer for quick meal sometime later.

(Nice swim goggles for cutting onions Kyla. You remind me of your Father.)

So we're back to Maya's turn this week. She has decided she wants to make PW's Chicken Pot Pie from her cookbook. Should be good! I'm excited to try it too!

Happy Week to you,
Alison

Wrapping it Up...

I really love our back yard this time of year. It is definitely my favorite place to take pictures. That sun is dipping behind those mountains earlier and earlier these evenings.

So this post is a wrap up of everything else going on this summer that I haven't blogged about yet.

The absolute BEST suprise this summer was when my long lost cousin, Andrea, literally stumbled onto my front porch one sunday afternoon. Ha! Well, she really did intent to end up at my house but I think her heals caught on one of the steps and I looked up and saw her stumbling up the steps and my jaw dropped onto the porch floor. I just love these front porch moments! What an awesome surprise! Thanks Andrea, you totally made my whole summer. Here she is holding Lita...
And she brought along her two littlest sweeties. This was the very first time for us to meet little Anya! Look at those big beautiful eyes...
Then we had a girls night out. I think it's so great that our Mom's (who are all sisters) stayed so close over the years and got their families together often. Even though we all don't see each other all the time, we can just pick up right were we left off when we do get together.

So here I am with 2 of my cousins, Andrea and Jolene...

And then there is our special Auntie MaryAnn (another sister to all our mothers) who kept us all close over the years and who we looked up to. Here is Auntie MaryAnn and cousin Heather...
Our summer also included some time spent on the lake...And a couple days at The Event...





Our summer wouldn't be complete without company. It was so fun to have Carolyn and Leilani come for a few nights. Here is Carolyn helping the kids pick raspberries in the garden...
And Uncle Dick and Aunt Lois came for a couple nights too. I love the wealth of information our aunts and uncles have about the days gone by...
Uncle Ryan, Auntie Jeannie, Lane, Morgan and Logan stopped by for one night on their way to Harvest. Our time was short but so much fun...
In August, the kids and I went down to the lake shore and picked sweet cherries one day. Kyla and I spent most of one day freezing and drying them. Here is the cherry butcher herself...
The neighbors gave us so many apples. They are delicious and we have been making applesauce, applesauce, applesauce. Here is my faithful applesaucer...

Randy's been busy, busy, busy with painting and digging. I love my hardworking DIYer, hobby farmer husband. He works hard at the office all week and then comes home and tackles whatever needs done around here. If there is anyway he can do it, he does it...
The day before school started, a little birdie hit our window and died. Here the kids are laying him to rest after a sobering funeral and procession out to the pasture. I hope when I hit the window someday, I can rest in such a beautiful place as this (as if it even matters)...

Another view of the backyard and pasture...
Have I mentioned how much I love my back yard this time of year?

Well, I do!

Now, I'm just wondering who will stumble onto my front porch next!? Will you?

Alison

Melita: Oatmeal Indulgence

Someone pointed out a while ago that there is a German Coffee brand called Melitta which we had no a clue of when we named our baby 'Melita' back in February. Apparently they sell coffee and coffee products and one of their slogans goes like this... "Melitta: Coffee Indulgence" -hence the quirky name of this post. Another slogan is "When it's time for Me, it's time for Melitta". Whatever...

Really, babies and coffee obsessions don't have anything to do with each other, so I have no idea why I'm going on about this...

Or do they? What happens if you throw a half cup of Stone Ground Oatmeal into a little coffee grinder and turn it on for a few seconds?

It grinds the oatmeal to powder, just perfect for making baby cereal! That's what we've been doing here lately.

And she seems to be pretty happy about her "oatmeal indulgence"...
Yes, we have finally started Lita on "real food", as the kids call it.

In reality, she hasn't been enjoying it completely. Most of what goes in, comes out...still after two weeks, which is a great source of giggles all around our kitchen table. So, we scoop it back in again and slowly, she is taking to it more and more these days. The kids think it's great fun to help feed her...
Avocados, sweet potatoes, banana's, apple sauce, and cereal. That's what she's been introduced to so far. Yum Yum!!!

What?!?! Baby food isn't for you?

Well here's some things we've been enjoying lately that you might like ...

and

Made from rhubarb and raspberries fresh from our garden. You can find these recipes and many, many more at www.countrykitchenrecipes.blogspot.com.

We are also enjoying potatoes, onions, yellow squash, peas, cucumbers and beans from the garden. The apple tree has the biggest crop of apples yet on it and we may get more than one plum this year on our plum tree! Yay!

Yes, we are indulging in all these good things that don't necessarily have anything to do with coffee, Melitta coffee that is...

But I have to agree, "When it's time for Me, It's time for Melita" She's pretty fun to feed! ;)

Alison

Bread Sticks!

We interrupt our family trip posts to bring you these...


Here's another great bread idea for my favorite bread recipe. The bread recipe it here. The bread stick directions are here. And in case you forgot, Country Kitchen Recipes is here.

Enjoy these with your soup or spaghetti like we do,
Alison

Forgotten Yeast Fix!

my "forgotten yeast fix" cinnamon rolls without one large pan that already got eaten

Yes, the yeast is slightly important when you are making bread. Since I have been making very large batches of bread, I have forgotten to add the yeast to my dough twice! The first time I did it, I cried bitter tears because I thought of all that flour (almost 13 cups), and honey (3/4 cup), and all the rest that I would have to throw away!!! After I dried my tears, I did a quick search on google to see if I could fix my mess. I couldn't believe it! The dough COULD be saved!!! It just meant I would have to make cinnamon rolls with it instead of bread loaves.

So the second time I forgot yeast I did the same thing again and skipped the tears... who can argue with putting cinnamon rolls in the freezer!

Head on over here to Country Kitchen Recipes to see what I did!

I gotta stop doing this,
Alison

Happy sp-RING!

at Country Kitchen Recipes!

These cupcakes have a story...

The first full week we were home with our new little baby was a week of adjustments and setting new priorities for me. It also happened to be one of the busiest weeks of my year. One of the "events" of the week was Kyla's half birthday at school. You know, the celebrations they have when their birthday happens to be in the summer monthes. Anyway, it had been set up way back at the beginning of the year that she would celebrate that week and she had signed up to bring in cupcakes on Thursday, the 24th of February.

I didn't have any cake mixes in the house but I had it written on my grocery store list. As the week rushed on, I realized I was not going to make it to the store. Finally on Wednesday afternoon, the thought hit me that I could actually make cupcakes from scratch! Turns out I had all the ingredients in the house for both the frosting and cupcakes. When Kyla got home from school we made the cupcakes and frosting. After study that evening, we decorated them. And then I breathed a sigh of relief for the 100th time that week. Another huge accomplishment that would have been only a little detail in my "before baby" life.

The cupcakes were a hit. Luckily she brought home several uneaten ones so I got to try one. They were so much more moist and dense and delicious than the box made cakes. They were so easy to make too! I immediately decided I would not buy cake mixes anymore but just make my own.

So I posted the recipe here if you would like to try them.

*Enjoy!*

Due Date!

Babies Due Date came and went a couple Saturday's ago. I intended to blog about it but haven't gotten around to it until now...

So on Saturday, March 5th, I had had a rough night with Melita and Randy had to get up early and go to work. I finally got Melita to sleep in bed next to me not long after Randy left for work and I was really hoping that the kids would let me sleep in. It must have been a couple hours later that I woke to the sounds of activity in the kitchen. I though "Oh good, the kids are getting themselves some toast." So I laid there and enjoyed looking around at my sweet little one sleeping soundly next to me on the bed (picture above) and then I looked across the room on the wall and saw this...
The baby chain hangs above the changing table in our room and I was reminded that today was the real due date and thankful again for her early arrival. Still 20 links left on the chain! She had already been in our arms for 20 days! :)

When I finally got up to head out and see what was up in the kitchen, I saw this note on the door...
Ahhh, how sweet! It turns out my oldest daughter had the idea to make me breakfast in bed and with some help from her brother and sister she made these biscuits from The Pioneer Woman Cooks...

She ended up making them with half whole wheat flour and Almond Milk instead of Regular Milk (for Colter who is allergic to Dairy) They brought me a hot biscuit into my room with butter and honey on it.

Then I came out and fried some eggs which we enjoyed with more biscuits.

Now as I type this I realize more than a whole week has passed since then. I took out my camera this past Saturday and realized that I hadn't taken a picture ALL week. I guess life has a way of happening and it happens to happen rather quickly at times. It's hard to believe that Melita is already a month old as of yesterday. Time to go snap some pictures...

Memory Lane Monday: Grandma Jean's Bosch!

I couldn't let this day go by without posting a memory post about Grandma Jean's Bosch Mixer. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had been wanting to get a Bosch mixer so that I could make bigger batches of bread than just the 2 loaves I normally make from my bread machine. After I posted about this, Randy's Dad asked us if we would like to have the Bosch that they bought years ago for Randy's Mom to make bread with. We said sure, we'd love to have it. On a recent quick visit, Dad brought it with him.

So today, I got it out and made 6 pounds of bread dough. I couldn't believe the capacity of the bowl! (It can hold up to 8 pounds!) And it mixed it up so quickly! Then I transferred it to my bread bowl to raise it. After about an hour it was completely poofed up and spilling over the edge. I punched it down and divided it into the 4 bread pans (2 large and 2 medium) that I had and still had some left over to make buns for supper. Here is a picture of Colter checking out the finished products after he got home from school...


I am still in the experimenting stage. I'm looking for more medium size bread pans because I think I like that size best. I'm also not sure how long to mix the dough in the mixer. The bread was so moist and delicious but had a few bubbles in it. It's a work in progress that I don't mind working on one bit.

Although my Mom never had a Bosch, I do remember her making bread when we where younger. Randy remembers very well the excitement of his Mom when they bought this amazing mixing machine and I can totally understand why she felt this way! He remembers her weekly bread making and the smell and taste. He commented on it even today.

I posted about this on facebook today and received some fun comments about peoples memories of making bread for their families or remembering their Mothers making bread when they were growing up. Do you have special memories that the smell and taste of bread bring back to you?

What's around the next corner on Memory Lane?
See you next Monday!

IT'S A NEW YEAR!!! JOIN US FOR MEMORY LANE MONDAY AND SHARE YOUR PAST MEMORIES AND PICTURES WITH US. 1 YEAR AGO OR 100 YEARS AGO?! LETS WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE TOGETHER!!!

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Don't forget to leave me a comment so I can walk along with you!

Another Reason to Love Pregnancy

Honey Whole Wheat Bread at www.countrykitchenrecipes.blogspot.com

When I was experiencing "pregnancy induced, all-day nauseating sickness" through the summer months, I got to the point where just the smell from opening a bag of bread from the store would send me to the bathroom to throw up.

Now, you might not think the smell coming from a bag of bread is a bad smell and really it's not... and I can't explain why these things happen, but, it would happen and I couldn't do anything about it at the time. Maybe some of you have had similar annoying experiences?!

Anyway, in September when I started feeling better and had a little more motivation and energy, I dusted off my bread machine and went about making my own bread again, and I haven't bought any bread at the store since. We love this recipe! I've found that it's very simple to make. The only problem is the frequency of which I have to make it. We are looking into a Bosch Mixer and then I can do 8 or more loaves at a time. WoooHooo!!

So, some good can come out of "pregnancy induced etc. etc. sickness" too. That's what my husband said the other day as he was enjoyed a warm piece of bread right out of the oven. Silly guy! We all know that lots of good can come out of it! I do wonder though, how long will it be before I can open another bag of store bought bread and not feel like gagging...

Enjoying warm bread in this cold country,


P.S. Why do the books call it "morning sickness"!? It just isn't RIGHT!!!!!

P.S.S. Don't tell anyone, but one of my favorite things is to put butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon on top of a piping hot piece of bread, or two or three... Ummhmm... Just another reason to love pregnancy. ;)

Pie Time

It's that time of year when our thoughts turn to pie. Here is a pie I tried a few weeks ago and we really enjoyed it. I will be making two more of them now for Thanksgiving and thought I would share the recipe on County Kitchen Recipes. I like the idea that you don't have to make two separate pie crusts and I'm a big fan of the crumbly top. YUM! Click HERE to see the recipe!

Hope all are enjoying getting ready for Thanksgiving! It's a great time of year!

Hugsfromus!

Crab Croissant Melts

There is a little Cafe in town here that makes these delicious sandwiches. I thought I would try and imitate them one day and came up with this recipe. My family loved it so we enjoy it once and a while on Saturday afternoons when we have lunch together. It is rather rich so we don't indulge to often. You can find the recipe at our Country Kitchen Recipes blog site.

www.countrykitchenrecipes.blogspot.com

I have a couple other recipes to share soon! My favorite bread recipe and an Apple Pie with a crisp top are coming this month! My desire to post recipes kind of died right along with my appetite when I had morning sickness the last 4 months but now my appetite is alive and well so watch out!!! ;) lol!

Happy Halloween Weekend to all!
We are celebrating tonight instead of on Sunday.There is a carnival at the school tonight so we will be bringing a clown, a policeman and witch! What creatures will you be celebrating with?

Seizing My Cookbook!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you again to Jenn over at Seizing my Day for this wonderful signed Pioneer Woman Cookbook!


I have purchased two of these cookbooks so far for gifts but had not bought one for myself. A couple times when I was in Borders I had it in my hands and then I would go put it back on the shelf. My practical side would argue that I could always look the recipes up on the PW Cooking site. But it is always nicer to have the cookbook right in your hands! And it's even more special when it's been signed by the person who created it!

So, what a surprise when I posted a comment on Jenn's blog and won! A few days later it showed up in my mailbox! I was so excited to get it and try it out. Here are some things I tried so far...

Olive Cheese Bread was on the menu one night with Shrimp in Butter/Garlic and Spinach Salad with Avocados. I've made this bread before and we really enjoyed it and thought how good it would be with crab, so this time I substituted imitation crab meat for the cheese. YUM, YUM, YUMMY!
Then one day I made the Braised Beef Brisket! It is out of this world. You must try it if you haven't!!!
Along with the brisket I made this dish. It's not in the cookbook but it was SO good so I took a picture and I'll share the recipe soon with you at Country Kitchen Recipes. It's OH SO easy...

The kids had an early out at school last Friday so we made cookies together. These are the Oatmeal Crispies (MM's favorite cookies). I didn't have pecans on hand so I substituted walnuts instead. The kids all had fun mixing and stiring...



And we all had fun eating them. I also used half the sugar that it called for and they were very good and wholesome tasting!


Other great recipes I've tried or eaten...

Pico De Gallo (Yum)
Cinnamon Rolls (Yum, Yum)
Iny's Prune Cake with Buttermilk Icing (Yum, Yum, Yummy)
MM's Favorite Sandwich (Yum, Yum, Yummy, Yum)
Macaroni and Cheese (Yum)
PW's Mashed Potatoes (Yum, Yum)
Chocolate Sheet Cake (Yum, Yum, Yummy, Yum, Yum)

Other recipes I want to try...

Huevos Hyacinth
Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes
Potato-Leek Pizza
Simple, Perfect Enchiladas (TONIGHT)
Mocha Brownies
And all the rest!

You can find ALL these great recipes and SO much more right here!

Thanks again to Jenn for the cookbook and for the 4 leaf clover!

Feeling Very Lucky,