Monday, March 31, 2008

And the flavor of the day is:

The newest flavor: Tropical love! Its strawberry, pineapple and apricot. Its sweet and yummy like one of those tropical drinks, hence the name.
I am recovering from my class on Sat. I lost my voice on Sunday, I guess due to the fact I was talking so much.
I am getting excited about another teaching gig. The pickle class, and I think I am going to make pickled asparagus since its the season for it. YAY!

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Jam class a bit hit!

My jam class was a blast. It helped that someone brought wine and some homemade mead..yum! Please disregard my bad hair day... and my drunken photographer.
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I had a pretty good turn out, and everyone was really interested. We made strawberry preserves(which I do not think set well.) But everyone was happy to find out that its not that hard. I sold some jam too.
My good friend R helped by hanging out and also answering questions and we are going to co-teach the next couple of classes, which have been requested.
Also some really great news is that some people in this local sustainability group heard about me and we talking about my class, I have no idea how they found out about it, but I guess people in the community are interested, and it souds like I may be opening up a class to the community. How cool is that?

Friday, March 28, 2008

Jam class here I come

Well tomorrow night is my jam class and I am soo nervous and excited. I can't say that I have not taught before because I kinda have, I have been a daycare teacher in the past. And if you listen to my mom tell it, I used to teach school to all the neighborhood kids when we lived in Mississippi. I taught 3 kids younger than I to read. So I guess it must come naturally..lol
I just wanted to give a big shout out to all my friends who are so very supportive. I will post some pics of my class later this weekend.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Love and the jam thing

Well the whole house thing is really sinking in. Wow, its hard to believe in a few months we will be living in our own house. This is a first for us and our 8 years. We have been living under Gene's dads thumb for so long. We lived in his houses in FL, and MA. Its nice to be free. Moving back to Kansas was probably one of the best things we could have done ever!
In other news, the date of my jam class is this Sat. I am getting nervous and excited. Everyone seems pretty excited too. I am trying to finish my handouts, and working on my lecture. Its coming pretty natural, and I am thinking that I should have been a teacher right? I am bossy enough anyways..lol Later..

Monday, March 24, 2008

BUSY BUSY

Wow have I been busy, so busy I have not been getting enough posts in lately.
Well just for a quick update. We bought a house over the weekend! Its in North Lawrence, so we can have chickens and maybe even a goat too. :) We close sometime in May, and there is not a darn tree on the whole lot. But the backyard is football field sized... huge I know right. I have so many plans in mind. I am thinking chickens, apple trees, a few grape vines, and lots of corn and maters'! I am going on the hunt now, so I can find buckets and pots to put plants in so we can have something to transplant there. Anyways thats all for now, later dudes!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Banana Preserves

MMMM Yummy... The latest in my flavors. I made a new preserve from bananas. It smells heavenly, and I think it will be perfect on a peanut butter sandwich. Zach can't wait to try it on his toast.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Zach update.

Well after a few days of being sick with the flu, Zahc has make a decent recovery. He began feeling more human on Wed. Thanks god! He is going to school today, Friday. Yay for me! Thanks for all your care and concern. :) Evie

I am going to make some money!

Well as ,many of you all know I am always looking for ways to make lots of money. Well I think I have finally found the way for me to do it. It's called Pay Per Post. Here's the link:get paid to blog
They pay you to post information and great stuff on your blog! I have signed up to be a new postie for them. The great thing is: I heard about it from my friend Laura Capello! thanks Laura. Its so exciting for me, I can bring you guys some great information about stuff and continue to blog about my family too. And I can buy more fabric from sarah's with all the money I earn. It's a perfect marriage for me. And hopefully I can fuel some of the cash into my jam business, which I plan on starting this spring. If you have any questions or are interestd please feel free to contact me and I can fill you in about Pay Per Post and the great opportunity it can have for you too.
Now there are going to be some changes, but they are for the best. Not only will I be updating you on our little family, but I will be bringing you some new great information on products and services. Thanks for reading friends hope you continue to do so. Evie


Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Idle time, not idle hands

Okay, I am stuck in the house. Have I cleaned it? Nope,but I did manage to make my menu for next week! yeah baby
Menu for a week:
Day 1: Also shopping day

Shopping list:
1 whole fryer (chicken)
rice
frozen peas
1 corned beef
1 small head cabbage
1 bunch of carrots
1 pack tortillas
1 can refried beans
1 ½ -2 lbs ground turkey
potatoes
salad mix
1 bag fresh spinach or bunch
tomato x 2
cuke
1 bag frozen southern style hashbrowns (the square kind)
1 dozen eggs
1 can sliced mushrooms
pasta sauce
assorted fruit:
bananas
apples
grapes
hot dogs
shredded cheddar cheese or mexi blend

Menu:
Day 1 Baked chicken rice and peas
Day 2 (St. Pats)Corned Beef cabbage and carrots
Day 3 Quesadillas:chicken ,spinach,and cheese refried beans
Day 4 Turkey Burgers and potato wedges salad
Day 5 Homemade hash, scrambled eggs and Fruit salad
Day 6 tortilla pizzas Made with sauce: cheese, spinach mushroom, whatever else
Day 7 Chili Dogs and tomato and cuke salad
Day 8 Breakfast until shopping: toast and eggs and fruit




Recipes:

Baked chicken
olive oil
butter- ½ stick plus 2 pats
parsley
black pepper
salt
garlic
rosemary (fresh if you can afford or have it)
lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350. Make a paste with butter and herbs. Rub all over chicken, loosen skin over breasts and place the pats ans some rosemary under the skin on the breasts. Sprinkle with lemon
juice. Bake in oven until done. 1-2 hours depending on size. Serve with rice.

Corned beef and cabbage
1 corned beef
1 head cabbage, cut into 8-10 wedges
3 cut carrots
Place cabbage in crockpot and seasoning packet(comes with the corned beef). Fill with water to cover to more than halfway. Cook on low 5-6 hours. Add cabbage and carrots cook another 1-2 hours. Serve with a hearty bread to soak up juices.

Quesadillas
veggie oil
8 flour tortillas
shredded cheese
fresh spinach
minced garlic
leftover chicken
Shred leftover chicken. Saute spinach and minced garlic until softened. Add chicken until heated thru. Heat pan and spray lightly with veggie oil. Place tortilla in pan. Sprinkle cheese onto tortilla. followed by spinach chicken mixture. Then more cheese, top with another tortilla. Flip until cooked thru. Serve cut into wedges, with salsa, sour cream and refried beans.

Turkey burgers
1 ½ ground turkey
½ pack dry onion soup mix
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
1 egg beaten
5 shakes of worchestire sauce
½ cup bread crumbs
Mix all ingredients except turkey. Then gently fold in turkey not over working the meat. Cook in frying pan over medium low heat until done.
Potato wedges2 pounds potatoes, cut into small wedges
1 teaspoon onion powder
3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Bake at 450 for 30-35 min.

Homemade Hash
leftover corned beef
bag frozen hashbrowns
broth or water
Cube up leftover hash, ½ cup water or beef broth, and cook with hash browns on stove in large skillet. Serve with scrambled eggs and fruit salad

Tortilla pizzas
Spread pizza sauce and your favorite toppings on tortillas. Place on baking sheets, bake at 425 until pizzas are done!

Chili dogs:
Heat chili place cooked hot dogs in buns, in casserole pan, sprinkle with cheese and broil on low until cheese is melted.
Tomato and cuke summer salad
1 cup mayo
2-3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
salt
2 toms cut into rings
½ cuke sliced thin.
Cut tomatos and cukes. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Mix mayo vinegar and sugar, only use as much vinegar to taste as you and the family can handle. If kids don’t mind, I also slice an onion thinly and add to this too. Mix all together in a bowl and let “rest” for at least ½ hour before serving.

Sick Baby Sick

Well my baby is sick. I thought maybe the flu that had tore thru the preschool had passed us by, but it did not! We took Zach to the hospital on Sunday because he was dehydrated. He was unable to eat or drink anything including water, without vomiting right back up for around 12 hours. He was unable to pee.. poor guy was sick sick sick. He recieved 2 giant bags of IV fluid at the hopital, and was sent home. We were there until 2:30 in the morning, and now my much improved child is better, but still has a fever that has not been broken. He must be feeling a little better as he asked for candy this AM!! HAHA thats my boy. But I have to keep him home from school today, and he is so sad about it. He asked me just to give him meds so he could go, but I don't want to infect anymore kids! If you need me I will be doing laundry..lotsa puke sheets and blankets to wash.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Blue Muffins

Thought I would share this super yummy recipe for our
Blue Muffins

1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 eggs
2 medium mashed ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons ground flax seed
1 1/2 cups smashed blueberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour mini muffin pans. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas, and bluberries. Mix in all dry ingredients and blend well. Bake for 15-20 min. Makes about 6 dozen mini muffins.
These are so good you will hide them from your kids!
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Bubble day!

Okay, so we had a blast at my Bubble day at Zach's preschool.
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Kids chasing bubbles in the school yard

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Our manmade bubble for crawling in. (this was a huge hit with the kids)

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A friend who caught bubble in his hand

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Friends at a bubble blowing station

And here are some pics of Zach's show and tell. He brought a wooden toy snake.
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We had so much fun, I have a hang over today. I think from blowing bubbles for 4 hours..lol We also had different art stations, one where you make a fish blowing bubbles, a bubble print station,one where you blow into the soapy colored water and place paper over it to make a print, and a station for different items for making bubble blowers. Okay can I say bubble one more time?? The kids never got tired of me blowing bubbles. We had a super cool snack of round things, grapes, cheerios, yogurt covered raisins, and made our own bubble soda by mixing fruit nectars with carbonated waters. YUM

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Chicken yum-o

And since I have not posted some cooking stuff in awhile here is a great dish I came up with the other nite:
Chicken with roasted red peppers and feta cheese
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts(mine were still frozen)
1/2 jar roasted red peppers diced
4 oz feta cheese either crumbled or cubed small
1 clove finely minced garlic
sea salt
pepper
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Salt and pepper chicken. Spray baking pan with non-stick spray. Place chicken on pan not touching, sprinkle with salt, pepper and fresh garlic. Put peppers on chicken and then feta. Bake for 35-45 min. or until chicken is cooked thru. Serve with a fresh green salad and bread. eat it up yum!
Zach and Gene ate the holy hell outta this.

So what if I never finish a project!?

Wait..okay I finished this project.
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So what if its a little bit too much "Hot Topic." I made it and its for me so its all mine tacky or not. And OMG, its really soft and fun to touch which is great for Zach's sensory stuff right. I also have sewed a little pocket in it for goodies I do not want my bag to eat, like money and keys. Cool huh?

Today is Bubble day at school, I can't wait to bring all the cool activites I have planned for the kiddos. I will hopefully get some pics that I can post here so everyone can see.
Also 8 people are signed up for my Jam class at the preschool, wooo freakin hooooo!
I am so excited, and maybe a few more will have signed up in the past few days. I would love to have a full 12 people sign up. toodles

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

New fabric

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What's this you ask?? Well its my new fabric that goes with my quilt yay! I went to sarah's fabric yesterday and bought some! This is three types that I don't have on my quilt, its the veggie leaf prints that I have never seen anywhere before. I scooped them up like a bird on its prey. I also signed up for a quilting class, which I really need to get me going.
In other news, I am preparing for the Bubble Day I am hosting at Zach's preschool. Its going to be blast and I will post some pics on Friday hopefully.