Still beautiful . . . .

I am really tired of snow and ice but it is still beautiful. . . .

But I am ready for some of this. . . .

10 Food Favorites

1.   Cooking again(am I really saying that?) & not having to put that responsibility on my family!

2.  19 year old bringing pizza home for us for supper

3.  Watching my youngest make his own pb & j’s—he’d eat this every day if I let him

4.  Crispy cinnamon sugar on the top of my spice muffins

5.  Stir fried broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, garlic, onions & chicken!  Healthy & yummy!  Mmmm

6.  Sharing food with friends that blesses them & us

7.  Lemon cake made by my daughter with frosting drizzled on top

8.  Shopping with my littles & having them steer the cart

9.  Fresh fruit prices going down!  Yeah spring is coming

10.  Cinnamon roll smells.  Having extras from a batch for hubby’s breakfast.  Oh and finally getting to eat one after making dozens & dozens

It struck me at the end of my long, tiring day when I was in the kitchen that there are a ton of things that I am thankful for in the midst of all my work!

Kids Fundraising & White Wheat Rolls

As our kids have gotten older, it seems like their activities start to drain us dry.  Especially since we now have several who are of age to be going and doing.  Right now there are two but next year it will be three!

Don’t get me wrong I like that they have social interaction, opportunities to serve, & ways to grow their faith.  But it can be a juggling act to finance it all.

My son used to earn his cash for Nationals by mowing the lawn.  We paid the fee & then he mowed all summer.  It worked well and everyone was happy. 

Now we have two girls coming along and there isn’t enough lawn or cash to go around so they’ve had to look outside the home for ways to earn money.   They haven’t gotten in to babysitting but that may be an option later on.

This year my oldest daughter sold homemade vanilla to neighbors & friends around Christmas time.  It is a great gift & super easy to make but you have to think ahead.  Like 6 months ahead because that is how long it takes to make it.  If you are interested in in how we did it head over to Heavenly Homemakers to learn how to do it(Love Love Love her site by the way).  She had 3/4 of her fees to go to Bible Quizzing Nationals by January!

We weren’t sure if #2 daughter would make the cut for Nationals so we didn’t start fundraising for her until just a few weeks ago.  She has been baking some yummy treats to sell.  It has gone well so far.  She is making Happy Honey Wheat Bread, Cinnamon Rolls & White Wheat Dinner Rolls. 

 

I will share one of the recipes below.  It is a lot of work but she’s doing a great job with helping.  We worked all afternoon Saturday.  When done there were 5 pie plates of cinnamon rolls, 4 9x13 pans of cinnamon rolls, 3 loaves of bread, & 60 dinner rolls.  Whew!  This pictures is after we delivered some of the good!

I am so proud of my kids for working & not expecting a hand out.  I think it will teach them the value of a dollar to earn it themselves.

White Wheat Dinner Rolls—makes 15-20 rolls

1 1/4 cups milk

1 large egg

6 T melted butter

3 T honey

2 cups white wheat flour(I use Kroger brand)

2 cups unbleached flour

1 1/2 T. vital wheat gluten

2 t salt

1 pkg yeast(a little less than a full tablespoon)

Add all ingredients to bread machine in order.  Select dough cycle & when finished divide and shape buns.  Let rise until double.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Other options:

You can also do this in a kitchen aid mixer & double the recipe.  Remove the dough from the mixer bowl when finished mixing & place in a larger bowl to rise for an hour and a half.

This recipe makes great hamburger buns also—just make larger buns & you will have around 12 hamburger buns.

       

  

Mountain Climber

Why do I let him do stuff like this? 

Because it’s February and he’s bored.  Hey at least he stripped his own bed right?

Why say no when it is basically harmless.  I make him pose for pictures though. HA—he loved it though!

Pasta Meatball Soup

**Anyone coming over from Frugal Follies I apologize for the wrong link.  Clicked too quick!  10 Spring Things is a different post.

I have noticed a trend.  Most of the meals I post here are EASY.  I wonder if that is because I am lazy or just don’t want to spend much time in the kitchen.  Ah well it doesn’t really matter as long as its a good recipe right? 

This is one a friend shared when we were doing a freezer cooking co-op.  It worked great.  There were 8 members & we each would bring 8 batches of a single meal(we decided these together) and then we traded.  So going home, I ended up with 8 different meals ready to pull out of the freezer!  Sometimes we would do 8 batches of 2 different meals & then it was 16 meals in the freezer! 

Now I just do my own freezer cooking with the family & that seems to suit us better and the kids get to learn how to work in the kitchen too!

We still make this recipe but it is so easy that we don’t freeze it.  However I do freeze the leftovers(if there are any) for my son for College Freezer Food.  Waayyy better than dorm food!

Pasta Meatball Soup

1 cup uncooked spiral or shell pasta

1 lb cooked meatballs—I used Aldi’s turkey meatballs

2-14 oz cans chicken broth

1-28 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup carrots, sliced in to circles

1-16 oz can Kidney beans, rinsed

1-14 oz jar mushrooms or 4-6 fresh mushrooms

1 cup frozen peas—optional—I always forget this

Directions:

Cook pasta.  Combine other ingredients in stock pot and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer 5-10 minutes.  Drain pasta & add to the soup.

If you are freezing:  slightly undercook the pasta.  Freeze in separate container from soup.  Combine remaining ingredients, cover, freeze.

To serve from frozen:  thaw soup.  Heat soup to boiling.  Cover and simmer 5-10 minutes.  Add thawed noodles and heat though. Serve.

Pair with a green salad for your own homemade soup & salad lunch or dinner!