Happy to be called "Mommy".

11 years ago....

Bethany — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:40:08 GMT

I found a picture of James and me from about 11 years ago, when we were just engaged. We have changed so much since then.

Compare that to this recent picture of us, which my sister took yesterday (she also took our family portraits, which I will be sharing in another post soon!).....I am just amazed at how much we have changed over time!

(I'm glad to be rid of that perm!)

Here is a poem that I wrote my husband, when I was still the same age as the first picture:

Eternal love

Before I met you,
Only God knew
That I would fall
In love with you.

He knew it before
He created the world,
He knew it before
The heavens unfurled.

He made it part
Of His wonderful plan,
Even before
Human life began.

No one else could have picked
A better person for me,
And I will love you
Eternally.

Bonnie Wrote a Song

Bethany — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:00:23 GMT

I thought this was just precious! Found it on the dinner table today.

What Will Jesus Do?

What will Jesus do?

He is our Savior

Savior

He is God's Son

That is what Jesus is

What will Jesus do?

Orange Candy

Bethany — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:28:53 GMT

That jalapeno candy was so fun- but the kids didn't even get to enjoy it cause it was so hot- so, I thought I'd make some more (not spicy) candy.

I found a recipe for taffy on the internet....But instead of making this into "taffy", I ended up making hard candy. I accidentally cooked it to the "hard crack" stage instead of "soft crack". lol

Here is the recipe if you're interested in trying it for yourself. When cooked to the hard crack stage, it has the texture of a butterscotch candy. My version tastes like oranges, because I used orange extract for my flavoring. The kids love it!

Jalapeno Hard Candy

Bethany — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:31:55 GMT

Last night, I went to my mom's house, to get some of her water jugs (she has a water cooler) so that James and I could use them to store our wine once it was strained. (I'll post more on that later).

While I was there, she told me there were some jalapeno and tabasco plants which were overloaded with peppers, and that I was free to take as many as I liked.

I got a gallon sized ziplock bag full of them!

I wondered what I could do with the jalapenos, so I looked up preservation recipes for jalapenos, and came across one that I just had to try.... Jalapeno Hard Candy!   It's just sounded so weird, that I had to give it a try.

James said he didn't think he would like it, but I told him that it might surprise him. It might be good. So we made it, together.

We had to get the jalapeno candy to the hard crack stage, so after letting it cool on the platter a bit, while it was still hot but pliable (and not hot enough to burn us), we rolled the jalapenos into little balls, and then rolled them around in powdered sugar. They look like rocks, don't they?

After we had rolled so many, the mixture was beginning to cool down, and was not pliable anymore. So we let it sit on the platter till the morning, and then just hit the platter to make the hard chips come off. Here is what it looks like, without the powdered sugar- very pretty, I think:

We tasted it, and it is actually surprisingly good. It is VERY hot, and very spicy, and delicious! James decided he liked it after all. He sucked on a few of them before going to bed. lol

Here is the recipe, if you're ever interested in trying your own jalapeno candy.   You just need jalapenos, sugar, and some corn syrup.   Very simple recipe!

I am planning to make some hot sauces with the tabascos and the rest of the jalapenos. If you have any jalapeno preserving ideas you'd like to share, feel free to add them below....I might just use them!

Preserves and Pickles

Bethany — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:28:16 GMT

I have always wanted to learn how to can stuff, but never thought I'd learn how.   With all of the bounty of the fruits this year, I figured I HAD to learn how to do it, so that I can preserve all of this stuff. I would hate for it to all go to waste.   There's just so much!

This weekend, I tried it out!

I spent hours reading articles on the internet about canning, then bought myself a pressure canner, read the booklet that came with it, till I was confident enough to start, and got stuff ready to can.

First, I got out the plums (I picked about 12 pounds of the red, and not sure how many, but a lot of the yellow). Washed a little at a time....

Seeded them.....

Then diced them.   The recipe I used for the Plum Preserves called for 5 cups plums, 4 cups sugar, and 1 cup water.

Pouring the sugar in...

Then add the water and cook until the mixture starts to gel:

Then, following the directions for the canner, I canned them. I actually made 4 jars, but one of them is in our fridge.    This batch didn't gel too well. The recipe didn't call for pectin, and I wasn't sure how long to cook it before canning.   So, live and learn. It still tastes terrific, and we had some on toast yesterday.

I also made another batch of preserves, this time with a mixture of red and yellow plums:

And then some blueberry preserves:

I also made some pickles, out of the cucumbers that my mom gave me (from her garden):

And yesterday morning, James and I spent a couple of hours picking blueberries. We were able to gather 15 pounds of them, so that we could turn them into wine. Here is what the mixture looks like right now...mashed blueberries, sugar, yeast...it's ready to start fermenting. (We used the vita-mix to crush the blueberries).

Not only that, but he bought some bananas and raisins, so that he could make some banana wine...here's what it looks like now, fermenting- it's going to be good!

The mulberry wine, that I posted about the other day, is ready to be strained soon...so tonight I think that is what James and I will be doing.

Whew, so this weekend has been busy. You should have seen my wreck of a kitchen yesterday afternoon!

Caleb Got a Prize Today

Bethany — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:16:08 GMT

Today was a very big day for Caleb!

James and I have been so proud of him, because he has been doing so well in Math! Our 8 year old boy has almost finished with the 5th grade level and will be working on 6th soon! I can't believe it!!

James had a great idea to get Caleb something very special on the day he finished his Saxon 76 book. Caleb really deserves it for all the hard work he's put into his Math over the years!

Caleb had about a dozen lessons left when James told him that when his Math book was completely finished, he would get a big surprise! He had no idea what his surprise would be, but he wanted to find out!

Turned out, Daddy had gone to the store and gotten him a Nintendo Wii, with the "Big Brain" game!   This is the biggest gift we have ever bought for Caleb! And we just KNEW he would love it.

It took almost an entire week for Caleb to get even near his goal. He worked very hard to get there, and knowing there was a surprise really motivated him!   His lessons are difficult and do take a while, so there were only a couple of days where he was willing to do 2 lessons a day.

It was SO hard to be patient and keep his gift a secret. We kept hinting to him that he might want to go ahead and get 2 or 3 lessons done, on each particular day. Sometimes he would, and sometimes he wouldn't.

Then, yesterday, he only had 5 lessons left. When he realized how close he was to his goal, he did 2 1/2 lessons, and then today, he worked very hard to do his last 2 1/2.

Caleb had only 2 1/2 lessons to complete today, and he worked all day on them....I didn't have time before he was finished, to wrap the box with wrapping paper or anything. Oh well, he doesn't care! I put a big fabric bow on the top, then put it outside.

When Caleb had the last problem finished, he yelled "I'm DONE!!!!!!!! When do I get to see my prize???!"

We all ran out to the box, and here are the pictures of what happened next:

Here's the box...

He was so excited to open the box...

Rip it open!

What? There's another box?

You've GOT to be kidding me. There's another box in there.

ANOTHER box??

Oh wait! What's that inside the third box??

NO WAY!!

Caleb was quite speechless at this point...

5 minutes later, he started playing the game with Daddy...

I wonder if he liked his gift?

I mean, I can't tell. Does he look happy?

Ah, who am I kidding...he was THRILLED!!   It was so good to see him smile like that.

Oh and guess who got to play with the box? lol

My Sister's Graphic Design

Bethany — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:20:55 GMT

My sister designed a beautiful business card for me....I absolutely love it. She is a very talented graphic designer, and I just wanted to show you something she did:

She charges generally about $50.00 for a design like this. Of course, I got the "big sister discount".

On another note- Jennifer wanted to know what you think...do we look alike? I'm the one with the I love Lucy shirt, Jennifer is wearing green. (Jennifer designed the shirt I was wearing too! AND she took the pictures below, with the exception of one). (Pictures on second page. )

Sugar Attack!

Bethany — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:50:48 GMT

I saw a blueberry cobbler at Judy's blog, and got inspired to make one too.

I found a recipe here, and here is the result...

boy, just that picture gets my mouth watering:

I don't know though.....

There's something missing.

There, that's better!

Blueberry goodness with freshly whipped cream on top....

Now excuse me while I go enjoy this cobbler.....

The Results

Bethany — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:05:06 GMT

I'm sorry I left you all hanging about whether I was pregnant or not. The results were unfortunately negative....I even went to get a blood test done, and it was negative. And then I knew for sure Friday. So.... maybe next month....I'll keep hoping!

Mulberry and Plum Wine Making

Bethany — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:34:38 GMT

In 2005, James and I made some blueberry wine- it was our first time to try it, and it tasted delicious! It also lasted us a few years. This is the first year since then that we've had an abundant supply of blueberries to make the wine again.

This last week, we have been picking mulberries at the tree at my parents' house, and their wild yellow plums, and decided to make a combination of plum and mulberries for a new wine, which we hope will also be really good.

Making wine is really so much simpler than I used to think it would be. All you do, basically, is mash up the fruit, add some sugar, yeast and water, and store it, stir it once a day for a week, and then strain it and let it store for several months.

We bought a 10 gallon storage container with lid from Walmart for about 5.00. Washed it out, and then began mashing the mulberries and plums into it. By hand...just squishing it and squishing it. It was quite fun! lol

Here are some of the mulberries that we picked (plus a few red plums)- we picked, in total, 8 pounds of mulberries! That takes quite a while, and your hands sure do get stained!:

And here's what the yellow plums looked like... I had to get a picture off the internet because I forgot to take a picture of ours. We picked 12 pounds of these plums:

After the fruit was all mashed, the yeast was added, and the sugar and water, the 10 gallon container was nearly full. I know it looks kind of gross. lol But it's going to be good.

Every day for this week, we will stir it, to get rid of the foamy "cap" that will appear (from the yeast), and after 1 week, we will be straining it and then storing it.

Here is a link to where we get our wine-making recipes!

Car Flip

Bethany — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:03:01 GMT

Last night, James and I were getting ready to go to bed, when we realized there were police lights going off in our driveway! We walked outside, where we saw about 3 police cars, a tow truck, and about 20 people standing around right outside our driveway.

We walked out into it, and saw what had happened- someone had been driving and had flipped into our ditch when trying to make the turn for the curve.

Apparently, no one was injured, which was good.

I ran into the house to get my camera, and took a few pictures- they didn't turn out great because I don't have a flash working on my camera, but they turned out good enough to see what's going on:

From halfway down the driveway (we have a long driveway), this is what we saw:

From the road:

To the left:

Delicious, Fluffy Blueberry Muffins

Bethany — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:20:46 GMT

These blueberry muffins are to DIE for! Found the recipe here. The recipe made enough for us to make 24 large muffins.

ABC's Fun

Bethany — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:11:13 GMT

I saw this at Amy's blog (Blessed Motherhood) today. It looked like fun, and I wanted to participate!

A)Age- 27
B ) Burger of choice- Big Mac
C)What kind of car you drive- Ford Taurus
D)Dogs name- "Fluffy"
E)Essential item you use everyday- My Club Frying Pan
F)Favorite TV show- The Office
G)Favorite game to play- Don't know, lol
H)Hometown-_____________, Alabama
I)Instruments you play- Mandolin, guitar, fiddle, dulcimer, piano
J)Favorite Juice- strawberry limeade
K)Whose butt you would love to kick- Barack Obama's
L)Last restaurant you ate at- Red Lobster
M)Favorite Muppet- Kermit the frog
N)Number of piercings- 3- 2 in ears, one in navel
O)Overnight hospital stays- 3- when I had each of my children.
P)People you were with today- my husband and the kids
Q)What you do in your quiet time- use the computer
R)Biggest regret- Ever having used birth control
S)Status- Married to a sweetie
T)Time you woke up- 7:00
U)What you consider unique- Being truly organized - wish I was!
V)Vegetables you love- Pretty much any vegetable, except artichokes
W)Worst habit- Biting my nails and picking at my toenails
X)X-rays you have had- 1 (my teeth at the dentist)
Y)Yummy food you ate today- Lots of fresh blueberries and mulberries and plums
Z)Zodiac sign- I don't know

This Morning's Blessings

Bethany — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:26:02 GMT

Last night, James and I were walking outside near our blueberry bushes and realized that some of the berries were finally ripe!! So this morning, I went out and picked a whole basket full! Oh they are so, so very good. I'm going to be taking some of these to my grandpa today, and then with the rest I'll make some blueberry muffins. Yum!

June OAMC Grocery List, Recipes, and Pictures

Bethany — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:09:09 GMT

The cooking was finished Monday but I was so tired yesterday, I didn't get much of a chance to post anything!
The house was a wreck after I got done and I had to spend a lot of time cleaning, and I still have much to do!

Below you will find pictures of the stuff I made (sorry, some of them are poor quality images...I had to take a lot of pictures at night, without a flash (for some reason, the flash won't work on my camera anymore), so they just don't look too great... but you can get the general idea anyway!

Magnificent Casserole (I made two of these):

Philly Cheesesteak soup (made two):

Sausage and Mushroom Pockets:

Chicken Enchilada Casserole (this looked a lot better in real life than in the picture, I promise! LOL)

Tamale Corn Casserole (made two):

Lasagna:

I made a carrot cake half way through, because I had a craving- YUM:

Chicken and Dressing:

King Chicken Ranch Casserole

3 cheese Potato Soup

TGIFriday's Black Bean Soup (had enough to fill 3 bags)

James made this one...it was absolutely delicious...Southwest Shepherd's pie.

Cheesy Shrimp and Rice:

Here is one of the batches of my pierogies (I made three different batches):

Here are the recipes:

Magnificent Casserole x 2

2 pounds Lean Ground Beef
8 ounces Cream Cheese
1 tablespoon Green Pepper -- minced
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Swiss Cheese -- grated
8 ounces Egg Noodles -- (package)
1 pound Cottage Cheese
1/3 cup Green Onion -- chopped
2 cups Tomato Sauce

In a large pan, cook noodles in boiling, salted water until tender. Drain & set aside. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream. Add onion and peppers. Set aside. Brown ground beef & drain any fat. Add tomato sauce to ground beef. Grease 9 x 13 inch cake pan or casserole dish, and arrange the following layers: Noodles, cheese mixture, meat mixture - then repeat. Top with grated Swiss cheese. Bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Note: If you will be freezing this casserole for later use, you may want to reduce or omit the amount of green pepper and onion which are used, as they have a tendency to get stronger over a long period of time.

Serves 8

King Ranch Chicken Casserole x 2

1 cup Onions -- diced
1 cup Green Bell Peppers -- diced
1/2 pound Mushrooms
1/4 cup Butter or Margarine
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 pound Cheddar Cheese -- shredded
2 cups Chicken -- cooked and diced
1 can Tomatoes with Green Chilis
1 clove Garlic -- minced
2 tablespoon Chili Powder
1 tablespoon Chicken Broth
12 Corn Tortillas -- torn into quarters

In a large pan, sauté onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms in butter, Add soups, tomatoes & chilies, garlic, chili powder, and chicken broth. Line bottom of a 9x13 inch pan with pieces of tortillas. Spread half the chicken over the tortillas and top with half of the sauce, then half of the cheese. Cover with another layer of torn corn tortillas, and repeat the chicken, sauce and cheese layers. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Serves 6
(When freezing, put in freezer after assembling casserole, and bake when ready to eat.)

Chicken and Dressing x 1

4 c. diced, cooked chicken
12-16 T. butter
1 med onion, minced
1 c. diced celery
4 eggs, beaten
3 c. milk
18-20 slices whole wheat bread, cubed
2-3 c. chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
Melt butter in large pot. Sauté onion and celery. In large, separate bowl, pour eggs and milk over bread cubes and toss until completely moistened. Add this to celery and onion and fry until lightly browned. Add chicken. Freeze in ziploc bags. Freeze broth in glass jars, plastic containers, or ziploc bags. To serve, thaw. Pour mixture into large, heavy pot. Pour half of broth over top. Heat over medium heat until hot all the way through, adding more of the broth as mixture becomes dry.

Makes 15-20 servings

Classic Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
3/4 cup chopped onions
2 tablespoons salad oil or olive oil
1 (1 lb) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 cups water
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder (I use real clove garlic, minced)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves
4 ounces lasagna noodles
1 lb ricotta cheese
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (I like it cheesey, so I use more)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
In large heavy pan lightly brown beef and onion in oil.
Add tomatoes, paste, water, parsley, salt, sugar, garlic, pepper, and oregano; simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile cook lasagne as directed; drain.
In 13x9x2" baking pan, spread about 1 cup sauce.
Then alternate layers of lasagne, sauce, ricotta, mozzarella and parmesean cheese, ending with sauce, mozzarella and parmesean.
Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes until lightly browned and bubbling.
Allow to stand for 15 minutes; cut in squares to serve.
From RecipeZaar #5615

Makes 8 servings.

Tamale Corn Casserole

3 c. corn meal
8 c. water
6 cups whole kernel corn
2 c. chopped olives
1 c. chopped onion
2 c. tomato sauce
½ c. green chilies (opt.)
Boil water. Add corn meal. Cook until the consistency of mush. Cook corn, olives, onion and chilies in tomato sauce over medium high heat until onion is transparent. If mixture boils down too much, add water. In casserole dish, place half of mush. Pour vegetable mixture over this. Top with remaining corn mush mixture. Cover; freeze. Place directly into 350° oven from freezer. Bake 2 hours or until hot and cooked through. This is very good!

Serves 10

Chicken Enchilada Casserole x 1

4 c. cooked, chopped chicken
2 c. cooked rice
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can diced tomatoes
1½ c. chicken broth
1 t. chili powder
4 t. minced onion
¼ t. garlic powder
¼ t. black pepper
8 oz. cheese grated
4-6 c. crushed nacho chips
Prepare rice according to directions. Mix all ingredients except chicken, cheese and nacho chips. Layer ingredients in 3-quart casserole in following order: ½ of nacho chips, ½ of chicken, ½ of sauce, and ½ of cheese.

10-12 servings

Pierogies

For the dough, mix together:

3 eggs
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1 bag all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder

Knead 5 minutes, let rest, then make small pockets and stuff each with about 1 tsp fillings.

Sauerkraut filling:

2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups sauerkraut, drained and minced
salt and pepper to taste

Potato Filling:
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups cold mashed potatoes
salt and pepper to taste

wild mushroom filling

1 cup boiling water
2/3 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1 medium onion, quartered
2 garlic cloves, crushed
6 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Sausage and Mushroom Pizza Pockets

8 ounces Italian sausage, skin removed
3/4 cup mushroom, fresh and chopped
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, finely shredded plus more for garnish
2 (13 7/8 ounce) packages pizza dough, from refrigerator case
1 egg
1 tablespoon water

In a medium skillet, cook sausage and mushrooms until sausage is brown, drain off fat, cool slightly. In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese and the 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Stir sausage mixture into cheese mixture. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray two large baking sheets with cooking spray; set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, unroll each package of the pizza dough. If necessary gently stretch each dough piece into a 12 X 9 inch rectangle. Using a sharp knife, cut each rectangle into twelve 3-inch squares. Place about 1 tablespoon of the sausage/cheese mixture in the center of each square. Fold dough over filling, forming triangles. Press edges of triangles with tines of a fork to seal. Place triangles on prepared baking sheets. Prick tops with a fork. In a small bowl, beat together egg and the water; brush on triangles. Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese. Bake about 12 minutes or until pockets are golden. Serve warm with pizza sauce.

Make ahead tips: Prepare as directed through step 13. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; chill up to 4 hours. Proceed with step 14 and bake as directed. (OR if freezing, prepare as directed. Place baked pockets in freezer containers. Seal, label, and freeze for up to 1 month. To serve, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange frozen pockets on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until heated through.).

SERVES 24

Steak Packets

2 cups chopped cooked steak
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 chopped green onions (or 1 T chives)
2 tablespoons chopped roasted red pepper
2-3 tablespoons milk salt
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1/2 cup seasoned croutons, crushed to crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter or margarine

Mix steak, cheese, cream cheese, milk, green onions, roasted red peppers, and salt in a medium bowl to make filling. For OAMC: Freeze in a 1 qt freezer bag.
Crush croutons to coarse crumbs in blender or food processor. For OAMC: Freeze in another freezer bag. If OAMC, thaw the filling in the refrigerator overnight before using (or quick-thaw for an hour in a pan of warm water). To prepare for serving, preheat oven to 350°F. Unroll crescent rolls onto two cookie sheets. Each tube contains 8 triangles of dough. Press two triangles together (you can overlap a bit to press together well so they won't separate while baking) to make a rectangle. You'll get 4 rectangles out of each tube.
Place about 1/4 c of the steak filling onto one end of each rectangle. Fold dough over the filling and pinch edges to seal tightly. Brush all sides of the packet with the melted butter.
Coat each packet with the crushed croutons. Place packets on baking sheets.
Bake 20 min or until golden brown.

Serves 4, 8 packets

Philly Cheese Steak Soup x 2

3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 green pepper, diced
1 medium white onion, diced
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
6 cups milk
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can beef consomme
3/4 lb cooked beef or rib eye, diced
8 ounces provolone cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 tsp pepper

Melt butter in large, heavy-bottomed stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add green peppers, onion, and mushrooms and saute until tender (about 5 minutes).
Add flour and cook another 5 minutes stirring often. This is an important step to cook out the flour taste. Slowly whisk in milk and bring to a simmer stirring often until soup thickens. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in beef consomme, salt and pepper.
Slowly stir in provolone until all is melted and incorporated into soup. Remove from heat and stir in roast beef. Serve with a crusty loaf of french bread. To freeze: Prepare soup as directed and allow to cool. Place in rigid freezer container. Seal, label and freeze.
To serve: Thaw in fridge. Reheat in microwave or on stovetop,stirring to recombine the soup.

SERVES 8

Vegetable Enchiladas (Oamc) x 2
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 (14 1/2 ounce)can reduced-sodium vegetable broth
salt
pepper
cayenne
3 cups Monterey jack pepper cheese , grated
1 (15 ounce)can black beans
10 ounces frozen spinach , thawed and squeezed dry
10 ounces frozen corn kernels , thawed
1 chopped jalapeno (optional)
6 scallions, chopped green and white parts separated
16 low-fat corn tortillas

DIRECTIONS
To make sauce:In a med saucepan, heat oil over med heat.
Add 1 tsp cumin, flour and tomato paste; cook, whisking for 1 minute.
Whisk in broth and 3/4 cup water; bring to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes.
Season with salt, pepper and cayenne, set aside.
To make filling:In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of cheese, beans, spinach, corn, scallion (white part) and remaining 1 tsp cumin (I also added chopped jalapeno) season with salt in pepper if you prefer.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spray 2 8 inch square baking dishes with vegetable spray; set aside.
Stack tortillas on a damp dish towel; and microwave on high for 1 minute(you can also wrap in foil and heat in oven for 5 to 10 minutes).
Top each tortilla with 1/3 cup of filling and roll tightly.
Arrange, seam side down, in prepared baking dishes.
Dividing evenly, sprinkle enchiladas with remaining 1 cup cheese and top with sauce.
Bake, uncovered until hot and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes.
Cool 5 minutes and serve garnished with scallion (green parts).
To freeze one pan, after topping with cheese wrap pan with both plastic wrap and foil (keeping sauce in a separate container).
Can be frozen for up to 2 months.
To bake from frozen:Thaw sauce in refrigerator overnight.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove foil and plastic wrap from baking dish and pour sauce over enchiladas; cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes.
Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 8

Cheesy Shrimp and Rice x 2

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped red or green bell pepper
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled
1/3 cup salsa
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup evaporated fat free milk
1 bunch green onions (scallions), chopped
2 tablespoons canned diced green chilies, drained
1 1/2 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
3 cups cooked rice
Method:
In a large non-stick skillet coated with non-stick cooking spray, sauté the onion, garlic, pepper, and shrimp over medium heat for about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the salsa, Worcestershire sauce, milk, green onions, and green chilies. Stir in the cheese and rice and cook until the cheese is melted and well combined, about 5 minutes.
To Prepare and Eat Now: Eat when ready.
To Freeze: Cool to room temperature, then transfer to freezer container, label, and freeze. You can also freeze the shrimp and salsa mixture without the rice and cheese; adding when reheating.
To Prepare After Freezing: Remove from freezer to defrost. Reheat in a non-stick saucepan over a low heat or in the microwave. If you're freezing only the shrimp salsa mixture, reheat the mixture and then add the cooked rice and cheese cooking until the cheese is melted and well combined.

6 servings

Salmon Cakes with Chili Sauce x 1

Ingredients
1 pound salmon fillets, trimmed
1/2 cup finely ground cracker crumbs
1 egg
1 teaspoon dried dill weed leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions (scallions)
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash cayenne pepper

Cut the salmon into 2-inch cubes and place in a food processor or chop coarsely by hand. Chop the salmon the consistency you prefer, I like to taste the salmon chunky in the cakes as opposed to finely chopped.
In a bowl, combine the salmon, cracker crumbs, egg, dill, lemon juice, red pepper, and green onions, mixing gently only blended. Season with salt and pepper and cayenne. Form the mixture into 3-inch patties about 1-inch thick.

Serves 6-8

Layered Enchilada Bake x 2

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups chunky salsa
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained, rinsed
1/4 cup italian dressing
2 Tbsp. taco seasoning mix
6 flour tortillas (8 inch)
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg. shredded cheese
*Line 13x9-inch baking dish with foil. Brown meat with onions in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain. Add salsa, beans, dressing and chili powder; mix well.
*Arrange three of the tortillas in single layer on bottom of prepared baking dish; cover with layers of half each of the meat mixture, sour cream and cheese. Repeat all layers. Cover with foil.
*Preheat over to 400 degrees, bake, covered, 30 minutes. Remove foil. Bake an additional 10 minutes or until casserole is heated through and cheese is melted. Let stand five minutes before cutting to serve.
*If you want to cook later, freeze the assembled uncooked casserole for up to three months. Bake, covered for one hour.
*Try serving it topped with chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce and chopped cilantro.

*Makes 8 servings.

TGIFriday's Black bean Soup x 2

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup diced white onions
3/4 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup diced green bell peppers
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 (15 ounce) cans black beans
4 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon hickory liquid smoke
Garnish
shredded monterey jack and cheddar cheese blend, blend
chopped green onions, sour cream

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium/low heat.
Add onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, and garlic to the oil and simmer slowly (or"sweat" as it's called), for 15 minutes or until the onions are practically clear.
Keep the heat low enough that the veggies don't brown and be careful not to burn the garlic or it will be bitter.
While you cook the veggies, pour the canned beans into a strainer and rinse them under cold water.
Measure 3 cups of the drained and strained beans into a food processor with 1 cup of chicken stock.
Puree on high speed until smooth.
When the veggies are ready, pour the pureed beans, the whole beans, the rest of the chicken stock, and every other ingredient in the list (down to liquid smoke), to the pot.
Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 50 to 60 minutes or until soup has thickened and all the ingredients are tender.

SERVES 6

Beef and Cheese Tamale Pie Recipe x 1

1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 (14ounce) canned stewed tomatoes
2 cups fresh corn kernels or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 cups grated monterey jack pepper cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
Cornmeal Batter
3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups yellow cornmeal
2 cups cold water
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
Toppings
1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt
3 tablespoons heavy cream (can use light)
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
sour cream (optional)
1 (6 ounce) can pitted black olives (optional)

To prepare beef filling, combine onion, ground beef, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt and chili powder in a large skillet; sauté until beef is browned.
Add tomatoes and corn and heat through. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
Preheat the oven to 350°F Lightly grease a 13-by-9-inch casserole dish.
To prepare cornmeal batter, combine chicken broth and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Whisk together cornmeal and cold water until smooth. While broth is boiling, add cornmeal mixture all at once, whisking constantly. Stir over medium heat until thick and boiling. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or until the consistency of mashed potatoes. Stir in yogurt and cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often.
Spread about two-thirds of the cornmeal batter in casserole. Add beef filling. Top with 1 cup pepper Jack and 1 cup Cheddar cheese. Spoon on remaining cornmeal batter and smooth with a spatula.
To make the toppings, stir yogurt and cream together in a small bowl. Spoon lines of yogurt mixture and diced tomatoes across top. Sprinkle remaining cheeses over top.
Place casserole dish on top of a large baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes; cover with foil and bake 30 minutes longer. Let stand 20 minutes before serving. Serve with sour cream and black olives.
SERVES 10

3 Cheese Potato Soup
.
3 Tbsp. butter
1 c. onion, diced
1 tsp. garlic powder
6 - 8 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cans cream of chicken or mushroom soup
2 soup cans milk
1 8oz. package cream cheese (light is fine)
1 c. shredded mozzarella
1 c. grated Parmesan or cheddar
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add onions, cooking until soft. Add potatoes and enough water to barely cover. Cook, covered, until potatoes are tender (15 - 20 minutes). In a medium-size bowl, combine soup and milk until smooth. Pour soup mixture into potato mixture and stir over low heat. Add cheeses, and stir until smooth. Heat, but do not boil. Add garlic and salt and pepper to taste.
To Freeze: Allow soup to cool, and ladle into 1 gallon freezer bag. Lay flat to freeze.
To serve: Reheat in microwave or over low heat on the stovetop, stirring constantly to keep from burning. Add in any additional ingredients and heat through.

Serves 8-10

And here is the grocery list that I compiled:

Sugar
Pickled jalepeno peppers
2 fresh jalepeno peppers
Roasted Red Pepper
baking powder
Worcestershire sauce
lemon juice
Hot sauce
Vinegar
Liquid smoke
Cumin
Horseradish
Taco seasoning mix
Crackers (for cracker crumbs)
Cilantro
Chili Sauce
Vegetable oil
Paprika
Olive Oil
Italian dressing
Mayonnaise
Parsley
Thyme
Dill Weed Leaves
Cayenne Pepper
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Pepper
Salt
Oregano

****

2 bags of all purpose flour
1 small bag soy flour
8 cups tomato sauce
2 cans tomatoes with chilies
1 lb crushed tomatoes
4 6 oz cans tomato paste
22 oz diced tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 14 oz can stewed tomatoes
5 1/2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1 cup swiss cheese- grated
2 lb cottage cheese
2 lb cheddar cheese
1 lb ricotta cheese
3 c mozzarella cheese
3 1/4 cup parmesan
16 oz provolone cheese
8 1/2 cups monterey jack cheese, grated
10 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
7 can Cream of Mushroom soup
3 can Cream of Chicken soup
5 large Green Bell Peppers
2/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
3-4 pkgs Green Onions
25 large onion, chopped
1 Dozen Eggs
18 cloves Garlic -- minced
18-20 slices whole wheat bread, cubed
1 celery
carrots
4 cans pitted black olives (
1/2 cup seasoned croutons, crushed to crumbs
2 (13 7/8 ounce) packages pizza dough, from refrigerator case
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
4-6 c. crushed nacho chips
1 1/2 cups sauerkraut, drained and minced
12 (8 inch) flour tortillas
8 ounces Italian sausage, skin removed
2 cups chopped cooked steak
1 1/2 lb cooked beef or rib eye, diced
20 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
3 tablespoons heavy cream (can use light)
3 pounds medium shrimp, peeled
5 cups salsa
8 cups cooked rice
2 pound salmon fillets, trimmed
1 1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt

8 cups cooked pinto beans
8(15 ounce) cans black beans
2 cups diced green chilies, or more to taste (optional)
4 pounds button Mushrooms
2/3 oz dried porcini mushrooms
6 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered
16 ounces Egg Noodles -- (package)
4 ounces lasagna noodles
3 large bags of russet potatoes
2 lb Butter
2 gallons of milk
12 cups whole kernel corn
20 ounces frozen corn kernels, thawed
56 low-fat corn tortillas
2 cups fresh corn kernels or frozen corn kernels
8 cups corn meal
12 c. cooked, chopped chicken
10 cups chicken stock
4 cup (240 ml) fat-free low-sodium canned beef broth
2/3 cup (80 ml) dry red wine or additional beef broth
2 (14 1/2 ounce) can reduced-sodium vegetable broth
2/3 cup (80 ml) dry red wine or additional beef broth
2 (10 1/2 ounce) can beef consomme
5 cup Sour Cream

Almost half way done

Bethany — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:27:45 GMT

Last night, James put the heating element in our oven, and we got started cooking. We got a few recipes done last night, then I began again this morning and I'm almost half way done. It is so much fun to sample all the recipes along the way. The only thing I wish I had was someone to come along behind me and clean up all the dishes! That takes up the majority of the time, along with the cutting of the veggies!

Will update more soon!

Printable Bible Pages for Homeschooling

Bethany — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:58:37 GMT

Sarah, a friend of mine who comments here frequently, sent me a link to a wonderful homeschooling resource! In the link below, you will find 325 FREE Bible coloring sheet/memory verse/worksheets for your children. You can print them off and use as many as you need...and the Bible verses are in the King James Version translation too.

Very, very cool! Here is the link:

http://children.calvarychapel.com/site/curriculum.htm

Here are a couple of example pages...there are so many, from the Old and New Testament. I think this is a fantastic resource.

Bonnie's New Dress

Bethany — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:48:45 GMT

My mother in law, Bonnie, has been making my Bonnie some of the cutest dresses.

Here is one of them that she sent her this week. I think it is so cute.

Grocery Shopping for OAMC

Bethany — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:43:41 GMT

Yesterday afternoon, James asked me if I could try to get the list compiled so we could go ahead and do our shopping then. Well, it ended up taking me several hours, and I finally had the list ready by about 10:00 at night. James' brother offered to stay there with the kids while we went shopping, so we headed out and got our shopping done. We usually go to bed at 10:00, so I know we're going to pay for it later. lol

Here is what our refrigerator looked like after I cleaned it yesterday (Old Mother Hubbard Style):

And here's what it looked like after I finished putting the groceries away:

A great deal of the groceries were not cold items, and went in the pantry:

The only problem I have now is that our heating element in the oven is broken! I have to buy a new one, but can't do that until tomorrow, because today is Sunday- not to mention Father's day- and nothing is open.

I'll be trying to get the lists ready to post on the blog soon!

This Morning's Breakfast

Bethany — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:31:37 GMT

This is what I had this morning for breakfast....Yummy!!

I love jalapeno, mushroom, onion, and cheese omelets!