My Simple Diary: Week 9 of 2012

Outside My Window On This Monday……

Man oh man this past week had some gorgeous days! As I mentioned in my diary post last week, we really haven't had much of a winter and although I do wish it would get cold for a bit before Spring kicks in, I am enjoying these beautiful Spring-like days lately. We spent most of this past week with all of the windows open and had a wonderful breeze blowing through. The kids have spent a lot of time outside just playing around the yard and enjoying the sunshine. Houston mowed part of our property on Saturday. It was the first time we have had to mow since moving in.


Something That Made Me Smile This Past Week…..

I went to the mailbox on Thursday and there was a package from Best Buy. It was a surprise from Bryan to me. Wanna know what it was?........



It made me smile big! I had been wanting this Wii dance since I realized it was out this past Christmas. It's all of the songs from Mama Mia plus additional Abba songs. The girls and I have really enjoyed dancing to it these past few days and even when I am not dancing I am enjoying hearing Abba playing in the house from the girls time with it. :)


Something That Spoke To My Heart This Past Week……

Natalie has had an increased interest lately in sign language. She's been learning it fast and she announced this past week that she thinks she might want to work with deaf people in her future. That announcement really came out of the blue as we had not been discussing anything along those lines. As many of you know already, Bryan went to college for sign language and spent time interacting in the deaf community around Bakersfield, where he and I grew up. He hasn't used his sign language in many years though and so Natalie didn't realize this about her dad. She was so excited when I told her. I love seeing passions arise in my children like this. Natalie is still young and she may very well change her mind a million times between now and her adult years but it wouldn't surprise me if she stuck with it either. She has had and continues to have her own speech issues and I just see such a deep rooted love in her for those that cannot hear or speak well. And if she does stick with this passion and pursues it in the future....she couldn't be in a better state for it as Alabama has a school for the deaf. I think a trip to Helen Keller's birthplace in Tuscumbia, Alabama is in order soon. :)


Something I Am Thanking God For This Week…….

Charles (Bryan's dad) and Halyna were able to come over on Sunday after they got out of church to have dinner with us. It was the first time we had seen them since Christmas and it was wonderful to get some time with them. My hope is to have them out at least once a month to eat and spend the afternoon or evening with us but in January we were unable because we spent most of the month with one of us sick. Thankful that everyone was well enough to get together now. We had a wonderful visit with them. They got to meet "Cuddles", Annie's new rabbit and hear all about the latest from the kids.


Something I read this week……

I finished reading The Guardian Duke and Promised to Another and those reviews will be post soon (Guardian Duke tomorrow). I started reading A Case for Love by Kaye Dacus. She's one of my favorite authors and I am reading the book just for fun- not a review. I read the first two in the series last year.


Something we watched this week…..




In My Kitchen……

I made one of our favorite turkey casseroles this past week. I had not made this in a long time. So long that the kids had forgotten about it. It's a super easy and quick recipe. It can be done with leftover turkey or....


I typically buy this turkey breast to make the casserole with. We like the flavor of this one. I have no idea where I originally saw this recipe as it was years ago that I found it. I think though it may have been on the back of a stove top box(?).

Here's the recipe-

1-2/3cups hot water
1pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Turkey
4cups chopped cooked BUTTERBALL® Turkey
1 pkg. (14 oz.) frozen broccoli florets, thawed, drained
1can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
3/4cup milk
1-1/2cups KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese

HEAT oven to 350ºF. ADD hot water to stuffing mix; stir just until moistened. COMBINE turkey and broccoli in 13x9-inch baking dish. Mix soup, milk and cheese; pour over turkey mixture. Top with stuffing. BAKE 30 min. or until heated through.

I delete the broccoli because I'm the only one in our family that will eat it. I also just mix everything together rather topping the turkey mix with the stuffing. If you bake for 30 minutes your stuffing will be soft-like and moist. If you like or don't mind your stuffing like that- then that is what I recommend. If you would prefer your stuffing firmer and crisper though- bake longer or top the turkey with stuffing like the recipe says to do.



I also tried out a new bread recipe this past week that I found over on Pinterest. It was yummy. The recipe is called English Muffin Bread. I'm not sure why it's called that because it didn't taste like English Muffins to us. The bread just tasted like a good loaf of white bread and the recipe was quick and easy.



5 1/2 cups warm water
3 packages yeast
2 Tablespoons salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
11 cups flour

Mix altogether, let rise in bowl until double in bulk, then spoon into (4) well greased loaf pans. Let rise in pans until dough reaches the top of the pan, and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown. (My oven runs a little hot so I ended up cooking mine for a total of 35 minutes. Just keep an eye on it. You're looking for golden brown.) 10 minutes before done, brush with melted butter. Makes 4 loaves. Bread will be moist at first. Allow to COOL COMPLETELY before cutting. Makes terrific toast.

*Note- I broke the recipe down and only made the 2 loaves.

The original recipe came from, HERE.

I also made a pineapple sheet cake when we had Charles and Haylna over. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. It has a cream cheese icing that is yummy. I had made this cream cheese icing recipe before. It's what I top my pumpkin sheet cakes with but I had never thought to put it on top of a pineapple cake. Here's the recipe.



Pineapple Sheet Cake:

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
20 ounce can crushed pineapple
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup nuts- optional

Mix all together until smooth. Pour into greased 9x13 inch baking dish and bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Icing:
8 ounces cream cheese
4 T. butter
3 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup nuts- optional

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Add Vanilla. Slowly add sugar and blend after each addition. Fold in nuts if desired. Ice cake while still a bit warm. This cake is rich and sweet. I had to add a little milk to the icing to thin it out a bit. The original recipe came from, HERE.

I also made up some dirty rice for a meal this past week. This is a dish that I make often. It's one of the kids favorites but I realized that I had not yet shared the recipe here on the blog. It's a quick and easy one.



Dirty Rice

1 can chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 soup can full of uncooked rice
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
2 cups water

Mix all ingredients and place in a large baking dish. Bake for one hour at 350. Stir once half way through baking time.


My Favorite Thing About This Past Week……

Monday afternoon Bryan, Annie, and I were in a video shoot that his work made. The video will be shown at camps around the country this summer. We didn't have any speaking lines- just had to stand and look pretty. LOL! It was fun though. Annie especially enjoyed the experience. You might recall that her and Emmy have been in a couple of SL video shoots in the past few years. It was fun to watch the video being shot. They actually hire professional actors for the main parts in the shoots.




Annie at her video shoot.

A Favorite Photo(s) From This Past Week……

Charles and Halyna playing WipeOut on the Wii.

Skeet Shooting

I have so many posts backed up to post right now that posts are scheduled into March already. Their are just so many fun things to share from February alongside my reviews. I have a lot of reviews that have hit all at once too. I decided therefore to skip my usual Saturday reflecting post as I didn't really have time to write it out this past week anyway- and post some pictures from last weekend instead today. I plan to continue my reflecting posts next week where I will continue sharing about Camden's early birth.

Last weekend Bryan and the older three kids went skeet shooting for the first time. I have always wanted to go skeet shooting as had Bryan and his Valentine's gift this year was a new shot gun and skeet shooter. So Saturday morning he and the older kids got up early and headed down to a local range to have some fun. They met a friend of ours from Bryan's work at the range. The range is a free range and is basically just a lot of land where people can go to target or skeet shoot. Everyone had a lot of fun! Here are a few pictures that Annie took while at the range.


Bryan's new skeet shooter






Bryan with his new baby.


Houston's turn. He nailed his first disk that went up!










With our friend Trey.




Houston trying out Trey's gun.







Everyone really enjoyed the morning, especially Houston and Bryan. I love that they can share this hobby together. They both enjoy guns and target shooting. I am looking forward to heading to the range soon to try my own hand out at skeet shooting. It just seems so fun!

Creative Slow Cooker Meals~ Book Blog Tour & Review

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!
You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Cheryl Moeller

and the book:

Creative Slow-Cooker Meals:
Use Two Slow Cookers for
Tasty and Easy Dinners [Spiral-Bound]

Harvest House Publishers; Spi edition (February 1, 2012)

***Special thanks to Karri James, Marketing Assistant, Harvest House Publishers for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cheryl Moeller is a seasoned mother and a standup comic. She is also a syndicated columnist with her own blog (www.momlaughs.blogspot.com) and contributes monthly to several online parent websites. Cheryl has coauthored two books on marriage with her husband and has written for www.mops.org and Marriage Partnership. Cheryl does comedy for parenting classes, MOPS groups, wedding or baby showers, church retreats, women’s conferences, and those in line at the grocery store.

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

From the celebrated coauthor of The Marriage Miracle comes a new kind of cookbook and a new attitude toward planning meals. With an eye toward the whole menu, not just part of it, columnist Cheryl Moeller teaches cooks to use two crockpots to easily create healthy, homemade dinners.

Don’t worry about your dinner being reduced to a mushy stew. Each of the more than 200 recipes has been taste-tested at Cheryl’s table. Join the Moeller family as you dig into:

• Harvest-time Halibut Chowder


• Salmon and Gingered Carrots


• Mediterranean Rice Pilaf


• Indian Chicken Curry


• Apricot-Pistachio Bread


• Shrimp Creole


• Rhubarb Crisp

... and many more! Perfect for the frazzled mom who never has enough time in the day, Creative Slow-Cooker Meals gives readers more time around the table with delicious, healthy, frugal, and easy meals!

Product Details:

List Price: $14.99

Spiral-bound: 272 pages

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers; Spi edition (February 1, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0736944915

ISBN-13: 978-0736944915

AND NOW...THE FIFTH CHAPTER (click on pages to enlarge):

MY THOUGHTS:

I have enjoyed trying out some new recipes this past month from this cookbook. It is 265 pages in length and includes a pretty good variety of recipes, some of which are very unique.

So far I have made three recipes from the book. Chapter 1 covers breakfast type foods and I tried out Cheryl's South of the Border Breakfast Casserole. Out of the three recipes that I have tried this was our least favorite- it was a bit dry to us. I think I will try it again and add some salsa to spruce it up a bit. It wasn't horrible- just not quiet as moist and spicy as we would have liked. I noticed with a couple of the recipes that my food was cooked and ready before the amount of the time that was given in the cookbook. I believe this is because all crock pots will vary in how they cook things, just like ovens do. You will want to watch your foods for this reason. This happened with the breakfast casserole. It said to cook on low for 7 hours but my casserole seemed done at the end of 4 hours on low. I went ahead and let it sit for another hour on low before turning my crock pot to the warm setting and I am pretty sure that is why my eggs were dry. A few other examples from Chapter 1 are, overnight oats, macadamia breakfast bake with pineapple syrup, friendship tea, and sunrise barley. Overall Chapter 1 contains 22 breakfast recipes.

Chapter 2 is titled, Shopping local, Cooking Fresh. It contains 24 recipes which primarily contain soups, salads, and sides. A few examples are, French Countryside Soup, Salmon on Gingered Carrots, Wisconsin Cranberry Stuffing, and Twin Zucchini Casserole.

Chapter 3 is titled, Passport to the Nations.There are 24 recipes total in this chapter. A few examples from this chapter are, Molasses Baked Beans, Mediterranean Rice Pilaf, Frijoles Charros, Coconut Chicken Curry, and Cuban Turkey. I tried out Cheryl's recipe for Swedish Meatballs with gravy from this chapter and it was a hit with our family. We really enjoyed it.

Chapter 4 is titled, For The Kitchen with the Revolving Door. It contains a variety of side dishes but also has some main dishes and soups thrown into the mix. A few examples from this chapter are, Corn- Corn on the Ranch, Chicago Italian Chicken & Brats, Cinque Beans, Baked Mangoes, and Shrimp Creole. I bought the ingredients to try out the Cinque beans next week.

Chapter 5 is titled, Simple Meals: Making Life a Little Easier. It contains 22 recipes. A few examples are, Hot Mocha Frappes, Deep South Raisins, Chili and Buttermilk Cornbread, Herbed Corn on the Cob, and Sloppy Joes.

Chapter 6 is titled, Bulk Bargains, Brilliant Meals. It contains 24 recipes and a few examples from this chapter are, Lobster Pasta, French Dip Sandwiches, Peanut Butter Chocolate Pudding, and Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce. I have never done pudding in my crock pot so I look forward to trying out those recipes!

Chapter 7 is titled, Parties, Barbecues, and Gatherings. It contains 22 recipes and like the other chapters there are some really unique ones. A few examples include, Seafood Lasagna, Quick Whole Wheat Bread, Chicago Firehouse Chili, Rosehip Herbal Tea, Hummus, Chili-Cinnamon Nuts, and Southwestern Rice. I am really looking forward to trying out Cheryl's Rosehip Herbal Tea recipe. It sounds absolutely delicious! I have also never baked bread in my crock pot and plan to try out her Quick Whole Wheat Bread recipe soon.

Chapter 8 is titled, Vegetarian and Vegan. It contains 24 recipes all of which are indeed vegetarian or vegan. Some of the titles don't sound like it, but they are. A few examples are, Carolina Taco Soup, Pad Thai, Tangy Peanut Soup, Homemade Ketchup, Molletes, Spaghetti Squash Tacos, and Soy & Ginger Fondue.

Chapter 9 is titled, Without the Cow: Dairy Free. It contains 24 recipes. A few examples from this chapter include, Blackened Salmon, Lemon Tea Soup, Basil Couscous, Maple Meatballs, Creamy Tomato Basil Soup, and Spicy Walnuts. I tried out one recipe from this chapter which was Cheryl's Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I had never thought to make pineapple upside down cake in my crock pot. It was delicious! A big hit with our entire family! It was our favorite recipe that we have tried thus far.


My yummy pineapple upside down cake in my crockpot!

Chapter 10 which is the last chapter is titled, Gluten- Free Cuisine, and if you or anyone in your family has gone gluten free then the investment in this cookbook would be worth this chapter alone. It contains 24 recipes some of which include, Apple Upside-Down Cake, Lemon Chicken, Kansas Corn Pudding, Cheesy Burgers, Molten Lava Pudding, Cornbread-Stuffed Cornish Hens, and Simple Mexican Horchata.

The variety and uniqueness to these recipes make it a fun cookbook. There seems to be something for everyone. If your looking for some new recipes to do in your crock pot and you and your family are a bit adventurous, then I would suggest checking into Creative Slow Cooker Meals. I think you would have fun it. Cheryl has set up the cookbook with the suggestion of using 2 crock pots at a time to make a meal. On each page there are two recipes that are supposed to accompany one another. This cookbook would still work just fine for those that only own one crock pot though. You would just make one recipe at a time rather than the meal suggestions from the cookbook. My only wish was that each recipe showed how many people the recipe was for. Since I have cooked enough I have been able to guess fairly accurately as to how much each recipe would feed from the ingredients alone and so far the recipes I have tried out have been enough pro-portion wise for our family of 8. I just wish each recipe listed how many servings were in it. Cheryl has scattered bible verses throughout the cookbook which is a really nice added touch and encouragement as you are reading through it.

Many thanks to Cheryl and First Wild Cards for the opportunity to review this fun cookbook. This cookbook retails for $11.24 and you can purchase a copy from, HERE. Disclaimer: As a member of the First Wild Card Book Review team I was sent this cookbook for FREE in exchange for my honest review on this blog. No other compensation was received. All opinions on this blog are my own.

Celebrating Annie's 12th B-day

Annie had a wonderful 12th birthday. On the day of her actual birthday which was a Monday she went into work with Bryan and spent the day at his office. We always give the birthday child a day off of school and chores in our home. She loves visiting Bryan's work and actually wants to help around the office when she does. Bryan and Annie enjoyed a lunch out at Olive Garden that day. It's become a tradition for the b-day child to go to lunch with just dad at a place of their choice.

That evening we celebrated here at home with the family. She chose a movie to rent and I made her request for dinner which was her favorite meal, chicken in cream sauce with dirty rice. We had cake and ice cream with the movie and the younger kids gave her their presents which they had handmade and wrapped for her.







The week after her birthday Bryan and I surprised her with an afternoon and evening out with just us. We took her to our favorite local family run Italian restaurant, Joe's Italian in Alabaster.


Joe's Italian is a family run business and it couldn't be more authentically Italian if it tried. The older couple that began the restaurant have since passed it on to their son to run but mama and papa are still at the restaurant every day of the week mingling with the customers and you can often spot momma in the kitchen whipping something up. A lot of the recipes on the menu are her creations. The atmosphere of the restaurant is really fun too- family pictures all over the walls from ceiling to floor- and you can watch the ladies cooking in the kitchen from your table. I love watching them because they don't measure anything- they just know how much of each ingredient that needs to be thrown into the pot. Bryan and I discovered Joe's during our move to the new house. It's only 20 minutes from our home. Bryan had heard people raving about it at his work and took me by one evening on one of our trips out to the house prior to us moving in. We have since returned a handful of times just he and I. None of the kids had gone yet though so this was Annie's first visit to Joe's. She loved it !


Joe's is usually really crowded during the lunch and dinner hours. You often have to wait to get in but we hit the restaurant at around 3pm and it wasn't too bad.



Mama bakes the most wonderful cakes to sell at the restaurant. We love her strawberry cake and so we ordered a slice of it to share with Annie.


Check out the size of that slice! The first time Bryan and I ordered a "slice" of cake we were shocked at the size! We had leftovers even with the three of us sharing it.

After dinner we took Annie for one more B-day surprise. We headed to Ed's Pet World in Homewood. It's one of the last few old fashioned and true pet stores around our area. Most of the others have gone out of business due to the big chains like Pet Smart and the big chains do not typically have a good variety of pets. Just a few cats and dogs and hampsters seem to be typical. Annie had asked for one thing for her 12th b-day though- a rabbit. She had been dreaming of getting a rabbit for years now. When we pulled up and she saw the store sign she smiled big. She knew what her surprise was.

Ed's Pet World is a fun place to visit. I want to take the other kids to it soon. It's not far from the B-ham Zoo and there are animals walking free all over the store. It's a pretty laid back place and you do have to watch your step. You never know what might be behind you when you turn around.


We got a kick out of the turtles roaming around the store.







We held a few rabbits from tiny babies to 3 year olds and different kinds too.



Then the owner took us into one of their back rooms where they had some more and there she sat.


A brown and white floppy eared rabbit which is exactly what Annie was hoping for.


Of course, I fell in love with her instantly. She is sooo adorable!

She's the one we ended up bringing home and Annie has named her cuddles because she loves to cuddle with us.


The rest of the kids didn't know we were taking Annie to pick out a rabbit so they all had a good surprise when we got back home.


Look at those feet! She is so fluffy and adorable!












Cuddles' suite, err, I mean cage. LOL!

She is settling in well and I have a feeling she is going to be the most spoiled rabbit around. And to say that I am excited to have a rabbit in the house again....well, that's just an understatement. :)