day seven

How was your Monday? Are you looking for things to be thankful for?
So many things today....

I am thankful to have woken up to a little bit of light in the sky. 

I am thankful we were out the door this morning with time to spare (still unsure how it happened).....a Monday miracle!

I am thankful for warm coats and mittens that keep us warm on our morning drive to school.

I am thankful for blankets and slippers and boots and layers and layers (I like to be warm)

I am thankful for an afternoon movie on the couch with my Littles. 

Rediscovering old favorites, and seeing them watch movies like 

The Princess Bride for the first time is so much fun. 
so.
much.
fun.
"No more rhyming now, I mean it!"
"Anybody want a peanut?" 
they were rolling!

I am thankful for cookies.

How they chase all your worries away, with just a bite (er....lots and lots of bites) 

I love everything from dreaming them up, to making them, to eating them. 
And I have declared my love for brown butter before.....but I will say it again. 
I am thankful for brown butter, and how it makes everything it touches exactly one bazillion times better.

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe (posted here) with the regular butter swapped out for brown butter.
Original cookie recipe adapted from Ashley's blog

2 sticks of butter (1c), at room temp
1/2 c white sugar
1 3/4 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 lb chocolate chips/chunks
1 cup chopped pecans


To brown butter:
Heat pan on medium heat.
Cut butter in to pieces and melt in pan.
Stir continuously. Butter will foam up.
After foam subsides, small brown flecks will start to appear in bottom of pan.
Continue stirring, until butter has reached a nice brown color, and nutty aroma.
Turn the heat all the way down.
Pour into a bowl and and refrigerate until solid again.


Cream the (solid) brown butter and the sugars until mixed well. Scrape down the side of the bowl. Continue mixing while adding the eggs one at time. Make sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla. Mix well for a few minutes until batter it light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Combine the flour, soda and salt in another bowl. With a whisk, stir to combine. With the machine on low, slowly add the flour. Mix until just combined, taking care not to over mix. With a spatula fold in the chocolate and pecans.


Eat this dough. Lots and lots of it.


When you are done consuming, drop by spoonful onto parchment lined cookie sheet.


Bake at 350° for 11-13 minutes. They should be lightly golden on the outside but still look gooey on the inside.

enjoy!


What are YOU thankful for on this Monday?

days five and six

day five.

I am thankful for fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables that have been put on the earth for us to enjoy.  

I think fall is my favorite time of year for produce--there are still some of the yummy summer vegetables that are winding down (tomatoes), but fall itself offers up such a colorful variety.

This weekend alone we enjoyed:

-apples

-pears

-carrots

-collard greens

-garden tomatoes

-acorn squash

-pumpkin

-arugula

I am so thankful that my kids love them just as much as I do, and are always excited to try new things. 

I am thankful for the farmers market and the local pumpkin patch that provided us with yummy pumpkins and squash. 

I'm thankful for stores that carry such a variety of things to eat, and make it easy for us to enjoy them.

day six.

I am thankful for soup. 

Nothing beats a hot bowl of soup on a cold dark evening.
I'm thankful for the weekend snow (although it was a bit weak....) that made eating soup that much more fun. 
I'm thankful for soupy leftovers the next day.
I'm thankful for warm toasted bread that dips so nicely into my bowl. 

Chicken and White Bean Soup

Saute until tender in a bit of olive oil:

1 small onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 celery stalks, diced small

3 carrots, sliced

1-2 cups roughly chopped collard greens

add S&P to taste

Add about 6 cups chicken broth

2 chicken breasts* ( I even add mine frozen sometimes--the chicken will fall apart after it cooks:)

1 can butter beans (any white bean will do, my kids just looooove butter beans)

1TBS Italian seasoning blend

juice of 1 lemon

Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer on medium low for a few hours.

*I buy hormone and antibiotic free chicken and meat, and because it is a bit pricier, I like to stretch it out as far as possible. Most times when I make soup, I will add 1 chicken breast and double the beans. This time I was wanting a meat-y-er soup, so I did two.

Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!


What were YOU thankful for this weekend?

day four

I am thankful it's Friday!

 No school today meant sleeping in (weeeeee!!)

I am thankful thankful thankful for any chance I get to sleep in.

Waking to sunshine instead of stars.

I am thankful that the laziest days can also be the most productive.

I write this IN my pajamas, and have no shame in telling you that. 

We have turned up the music, cleaned rooms, vacuumed, mopped, and scrubbed.

I am thankful for my little helpers, and their footed pajamas. 

Tonight is pizza and and a movie and the anticipation of snow for the weekend.

good, good day.

I am LOVING hearing what you are thankful for--

thank you all for sharing!

What are YOU thankful for today?

Happy Weekend!

day three

I am thankful for the colors of fall. 

The reds and yellows. 

The inbetweens.
The green tomatoes saved from winter's grasp.

The golden leaves,

falling sloooowwly to the ground. 
Where they crunch crunch crunch.

I am thankful for the textures. 

The patterns. 
The mix and match.

Everything buttoned up.

Thank you, fall.

What are YOU thankful for today?

 play along here or post on your own blog, and you can link us to you in the comments;)

day two

today. 3:30

I am thankful for snack time.

after school.

every day.

they sit. 

they eat.

today, apples and peanut butter.

milk in Christmas mugs.

they talk. 

we talk. 

about the day. 

about what they want for Christmas

(legos, new paint).

about what we would name a cat if we had one 

(cookie, spaghetti, obi wan).

and just as I think it couldn't be more perfect,

the magic wears off, and they start to fight like only brother and sister can do.

but at least we had that moment.

What are YOU thankful for today?

feel free to play along in the comments, or on your own blog....you can link up;)

day one

Last November I used my posts to express thanks for day to day things that I sometimes take for granted. I loved doing it--opening my eyes each day and realizing how much we have. 

The big things, the little, and the in-between.

so, ah-ah-AHEM. Here we go.

Day one.

I am thankful for dreary afternoons that beg me to bake something.

"Make us some bread!" they shout.

I am thankful that I can make bread because I want to, and it's fun, not because I have to, to survive.

I am thankful I can go to the store (and have a car to take me there!)and purchase flour and butter--whatever I need-- all at my finger tips. 

I am so very thankful I found this recipe.

I am regeretting that I didn't double triple this batch--these are gooooooood and went way too fast.

I am an English Muffin lover (side note: I know I have readers in England.....do you call them English Muffins too?)

Anyway......I really like them, whatever they may be called around the world. I figured they couldn't be that hard to make, and I found this recipe by Alton Brown that I knew I had to try. 

The recipe and text are his--I just substituted butter for shortening (didn't have any), and changed out the white flour for whole wheat and added vital wheat gluten. They were very simple to make, and like I said above I really wish I would have made a bigger batch when I had all the stuff out to do so.
So that is my advice....make 200 of them.

Whole Wheat English Muffins

recipe adapted from Alton Brown
makes 8-10 muffins

Ingredients

1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup hot water

1 envelope dry yeast

1/8 teaspoon sugar

1/3 cup warm water

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, sifted

1 TBS vital wheat gluten

Non-stick vegetable spray

Special equipment: electric griddle, 3-inch metal rings,

Directions

In a bowl combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, shortening, and hot water, stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon of sugar in 1/3 cup of warm water and rest until yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Preheat the griddle to 300 degrees F.

Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Scoop a little less than 1/3 of a cup into each ring and cover with a pot lid or cookie sheet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and flip rings using tongs. Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. 

Place on a cooling rack, remove rings and cool. 

enjoy!

What are YOU thankful for today?

how we halloween

it looks a little like this:

Our Halloween dinner tradition is......NACHOS!! 

And this is how we do them:

Spicy Homemade Chili

here is my "recipe"......you can decipher it however you like. 

happy, grass fed ground beef browned with lots of onion and garlic

kidney and pinto beans

tomato sauce

diced tomatoes

ground chipotle flakes

chili powder

cumin

a hefty dash of unsweetened baking cocoa

s&p
all simmered together on the stove for the afternoon

For the Nachos 

(we like them extra spicy):

tortilla chips

pepper jack cheese

homemade guacamole and salsa

sour cream

green onions

jalapenos

fresh tomatoes

Marie Sharp's  Habanero Sauce (the BEST!)

top, pile, and load them up!

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!!! 

now let's deck the halls.

a pig and her pumpkins

I decided to post a super special weekend post juuuuussssttt in case you woke up this morning in a cold sweaty panic because "tomorrow is Halloween and I don't have a costume for __________"

This costume is about as simple as they come, and could work for any man/woman/child. 

In fact, I dare a grown man to wear this costume--that would  be pretty awesome.

What you need:

-long sleeve pink shirt (this turtleneck was at Walmart for $3.88!)

-old t-shirt or tank top 

-pink pants/socks/shoes (we had all of these)

-pink felt

-batting
-hair clips
-hot glue

-heavy gage floral wire

-pink blush/lip gloss

-needle and thread

-masking tape

-Take the old tank top/t-shirt and sew it to the inside of the long sleeve pink top
(turn both shirts inside out to do so). It's like you are making a pillow

Just connect the two bottom hems, and then right at the top of the sleeves so it stays in place.
 This is so you can stuff the shirt and make your little piggy fat, and the stuffing won't actually touch their skin.
The stuffing goes between the two layers.
This is a picture taken AFTER it's all done, but it should give you the idea.

I used a sewing machine to do the job--and it was super quick (and I really, really do not sew) but you could also do it by hand.

-Stuff the batting between the two layers (don't connect the top all the way--you need holes to stuff through)

-Cut ears out of felt and attach to hair clips with hot glue.
-wrap floral wire with felt, twist, and glue to secure. Stitch by hand onto back of shirt.

-Cut a pig shaped snout out of felt and stick it to your little piggy's nose with masking tape.
yep. masking tape. It removes and re-sticks easily and she didn't mind it at all.

Dress head to toe in pink, finish with some rosy pink cheeks and lips and you are officially a pig.

OINK.

and now....a little peek at our halloweeny weekend.

happy haunting!

Luke......I am your.....mother.

I present to you:

Luke Skywalker

via Hanes Her Way

in 5 minutes. 

REALLY! 

Easiest costume ever, and quite possibly the happiest moment of my little Jedi's life was the moment he slipped it on and transformed into character.

And BONUS: No sewing needed. 

I mean....I guess you could hem it if you really wanted to. 

But I am lazy time efficient in a rush, and the boy didn't care.

Cut a small v-neck into the shirt. 

Continue one of the cuts across the shirt (about 2/3 of the way) to start the tunic shape.

Cut the sleeves. I kept them longish-I liked how they looked rolled.

Cut straight down and out the bottom.

Wrap your "tunic" around your jedi and belt it. 

I put a safety pin in it, because I know he will be light-sabering everything in sight. 

The boy already had white baseball pants, which made it extra easy-but I'm sure you can find white sweats just about anywhere.

I got the belt at a thrift store for $1 and trimmed it up/made a new hole so it would fit.

Made a small envelope style pouch with felt, hot glue, and a metal button.

Borrowed sister's boots.

And if your little guy is asking to be Luke Skywalker for Halloween.....chances are he already has his very own light saber. 

VWALLA!!!! 

Luke Skywalker.

The girl is dressing up as a pig (still working on it), but it is also suuuuuuper easy. 

Pink clothing + a stuffed shirt + felt.

See last year's Frankenstein and Skunk here.

Happy Halloweening!

little letters

Dear Little Tiny Moments like this one,

You are the best.

Dear 32°,

I am on the lookout for you. Watching for you--the one who will turn my tomatoes to mush--around every corner. So far, you haven't shown your ugly face. But just so you know, when you do decide to come, I will have picked every single green tomato right off the vine so you can claim no victims.

Dear Self,

Why. O Why. Do you always wait until THE very last minute to throw (and cut! and sloppily "sew!") your kids' Halloween Costumes together? Every year.

Dear Halloween,

Let's get a move on already. I feel like you start all the way back in September thanks to the over-commercialism-of-everything, and I am ready for real fall.

Dear Real Fall,

You are pretty.

Dear Thanksgiving,

Am I jumping the gun? It's not even your month yet. 

But.....

....I love you.

Dear Winter,

I heard you paid a visit to my sister. Please stay away until December. Thank you.

Dear Halloween Candy,

You seriously make me want to vomit. Yep, I said it......start the booing and throwing-of rotten vegetables. 

What is so good about dusty fake chocolate and hard-as-rock carmel? I would much prefer the sugar to enter my body via cookies, cakes, or ice cream.

speaking of ice cream.....

Dear Haagen Dazs,

Your chocolate and peanut butter ice cream is the best ice cream ever in the history of the universe. 

I ate this twice after my race last weekend and savored every moment 

(as much savoring as quickly shoveling it into my mouth would allow)

Dear Race Last Weekend,

You were hard. Darn that stupid Lyme bug. 

But you were so much fun and I have so many giggly memories from you.

Dear 5 people I rode/ate/slept/stunk up a van with, in last weekend's race,

Let's do it again.

Dear Lauren,

you were greatly missed.

Dear People Who Fill up the Las Vegas Casinos,

I could sit and watch you FOREVER.

and,

where do you all come from?

Dear Zions National Park,

what a treat it was to take a tiny detour right through you last weekend. I hope we can meet again--soon, and more thoroughly.

Dear Yoga,

my long lost love.

What has happened to us? Once a week is just not enough my friend.....this week lets make sure its twice.

Next week, thrice,

deal?

Dear Other Mothers,

Time to fess up:

Is your bedroom clean?

Ever?

Mine is not.

E.V.E.R.

I like to blame it on the fact that our room in our old tiny house is basically bed sized and we have no where to put everything.

But I think that really, it's just because I don't like to clean it.

And that is the truth.

Dear World,

(Because the whole world reads this blog you know)

Did you know that Whitney Ingram and I are in the final stretch of our cookbook making? It's true.

Just a handful of recipes left to shoot, and then a few final words and pleasantires from Whitney herself, and then off to the project magager it all goes. Watch for it in early Winter 2012!

sincerely yours/all my love/until next time,

sheena

over the weekend.....

this is what it looks like when three moms try to act like gangsters......we just look incredibly, painfully, awkward.

over the weekend I: 

-grabbed a few friends

-quoted 1,027 Arrested Development lines

-wore my favorite cut-offs (yes, to run in)

-ran a few hundred miles across the Nevada desert

-lived to tell about it. 

I will post more details shortly.......there just may be a video in the works 

(prep your self by watching last year's here)

all about the pumpkin

pumpkins! everywhere!
I don't know why, but I seem to have a slight infatuation with pumpkins.
Every year I think I get just as more excited than the kids, to go pick ours out for the season.
We run down the rows and tromp right into the vines to find the good ones.
I am determined, that someday, somewhere, we will have our own little pumpkin patch.

orange and round.
red and skinny.
warty greenish
white and mini.
bumpy
short
I love them all,
pumpkins, pumpkins,
in the fall.

And just as much as I love to look at them.....I love to eat them too!
I am surprised at how many people decorate their homes with pretty pumpkin and squash and then just toss them at the season's end.
Roast those beauties up, remove the skin, and puree them! The puree will keep in your freezer all winter and you can add it to anything--soups, sauces, breads, and here is one of our favorites:
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes.
This is a big batch--it made 20 large, very filling pancakes.  It can easily be halved, but we had them for our Saturday breakfast and then I froze the rest to pull out for a quick hot breakfast before school.


Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes
combine:
2 cups pumpkin puree
4 TBS melted butter
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
4 eggs
3 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoon pure vanilla

in separate bowl combine:
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup corn meal
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1 cup whole oats
1 TBS + 2 tsp baking powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

slowly stir dry ingredients into wet until just combined--careful not to over mix.

Pour onto preheated (350°ish) and buttered griddle.
Turn over pancake when bubbles start to appear on top.

Top with warm maple syrup.
yum.

how do you like your pumpkins?