I've Been Busy!

Well...I've been pretty busy lately. One thing was that basketball season started last fall and the playing season started about November. I'm not quite sure how it happened but I ended up volunteering to be both "Team Mom" and book-keeper. Yeah! I know what you are thinking....glutton for punishment? You're probably right! LOL!

Here is the other "thing" that's been keeping me busy

Yep....we've added #6 to our family and it was quite a shock that after having five sons, God blessed us with a girl! Yes, you read that right.....a GIRL! Now I'm thinking of all those things I have to learn....like french braiding. I've never been much of a "girly girl" so it's going to take some work but perhaps that's what God has been preparing me for over the last few years. I've noticed it and so have our boys...it's really quite interesting so I hope I enjoy this new adventure! :)

Have a great day!

Mavis D.

Tipster Tuesday - Top 10

A friend of mine sent an email with a few household tips....I thought they were pretty interesting and decided to pass them along. If you know who originally thought of these, let me know in the comments.

1. When you buy bananas, take them apart from each other. They will ripen more slowly. 
2.  Bell Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for fresh eating while peppers with 4 bumps are better for cooking because they are firmer.
3. Make scrambled eggs rich and fluffy by adding a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese or heavy cream before beating them.
4. For light garlic flavor, add at the beginning of your recipe. For stronger flavor, add near the end . 
5. Reheat pizza in a cast iron skillet on top of the stove....it keeps the crust crisp!
6. Easy "Angel" Eggs - put the cooked egg yolks in a ziplock bag, mash them up, add remaining ingredients and mix well. Then snip off the corner with scissors and squeeze the mixture out...much cleaner!
7. Use newspaper for "mulch" in your garden, you can usually get it free and it works better than some of the "gardening plastic" not to mention it's bio-degradable so makes your garden greener!
8. Pick up tiny broken glass shards with a wet cotton-ball. It gets caught in the fibers. 
9. Clean the lint filter on your dryer every month using a brush and warm soap and water. Not only will it make your dryer run more efficiently but you'll cut down on fire hazards and extend the life of your dryer. 
10. When measuring "liquid" items for baking....measure oily items first, it helps the other things like honey come out easier.

Today I climbed Mt. Everest!

You'll never believe what I did today! I climbed Mt Everest. My dear sweet husband helped me...I guess you could say he was my guide by helping to get me started.

Ok...ok...so it wasn't exactly Mt Everest...it was more like Mt. Never-rest. I tackled our mountain of laundry. It's amazing the amount of laundry a family of 7 can provide...the hours of enjoyment I get with moving it from washer to dryer. Then the real fun starts...sorting and trying to get them to fold their basketful and put it away. You know...before someone dumps it out to find something and before the dog decides it makes a great bed.

I've heard...and I'm sure it's just someone's idea of a sick joke, that there are actually people out there who enjoy doing the laundry. I'm wondering what planet they are from or maybe how I can move to that attitude. When I'm faced with a mountain like that, I try to remind myself of two things: first, "All things are possible with Christ" and second, that God has truly blessed our family with plenty of clothing! Both trains of thought help me climb the mountain. Hey, maybe it's the Faith that moves mountains! :)

Anyway...I'm always trying to find ways to help with the mountain and if you've got any tips, send them to me and I'll post them for others.

Have a great day!

Waffle Experiment update and Homemade syrup!

Back in October I posted a great waffle mix recipe and told of our experiment to freeze waffles. I'm sometimes a little skeptical of how some things will work out...especially when I've read them online. You know, you can't always believe what you read.

However, in this case, I'd like to report that it turned out great! My first freezer batch of waffles were fabulous. I made a quaduple batch of mix and spent some time making them. Of course, this would have been much faster had I purchased a larger waffle iron but I wanted to experiment so I bought one of the smaller ones for less than $10 but only makes two at a time. You can see how this was a little time consuming since each batch makes about 16 waffles!

Anyway....they turned out great and I prefer the waffles that are a little crispy so when we take them out to heat, we use a toaster.

Now...on to the syrup recipe.

You'll find that most pancake recipes contain high fructose corn syrup....and ingredient avoided in our house. So, I've made up our own pancake syrup recipe which is really easy.

2 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon maple flavor

Put everything in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Allow it to boil for 5 minutes and then turn it off and let it cool. When cool, pour into syrup bottle or container.

Have a great day and enjoy the waffles!

Mavis D.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well....it's been extremely busy around here. Basketball season has started so we have practice twice a week with our homeschool team.

I've also been busy sewing because it's difficult and/or expensive to find maternity clothing my size. First I transformed two pair of jeans into maternity jeans and I hope to have a tutorial coming soon. I've also made 3 tops.

I hope to be making a few Christmas gifts for our boys. We have two sons who just really like StarWars so I want to make them a Jedi robe complete with hood. I'll also be making them some stuff from Indiana Jones since they imagine being him also. I love the imagination of little boys!

That's what's been going on here. Hopefully I'll have some posts about getting ready for the holidays coming soon. I love the holiday time!

Have a great day!
Mavis D.

Waffle Mix

I recently purchased a new waffle iron as an experiment. I want to make waffles up ahead and put them in the freezer for our little guys. I was skeptical at first. I had read about it being done but still wasn't convinced until I tried it myself. Let me tell you, it's great! Finding just the right recipe....not so easy. Here is the one we've settled on. You can mix all the dry ingredients up before hand and then just add the liquids before mixing and making them or you can make them ahead and freeze them. To warm them, pop them into the toaster. Oh...and this recipe is easy peasy to double, triple or more!

Plain Waffles

2 c. flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk (you can make this half water and half milk if you'd like)
1/4 c oil (we use olive oil but you can use what you prefer)

Combine all and mix well. Cook/bake on your waffle iron. To freeze for later use, put them on a cookie sheet and freeze individually. When frozen, transfer to a large freezer bag or container.

Flour can be a combination of half whole wheat, all whole wheat or half cornmeal. It's a pretty easy recipe. :)

Crock-pot Scalloped Potatoes with (Turkey) Ham

This has become one of our favorite meals. I'll make it and add a side dish of veggies to go with it and since we don't eat pork, I always use Turkey ham purchased from Aldi's.

Crock-pot Scalloped Potatoes with (Turkey) Ham

2 cups diced turkey ham
1 medium onion chopped
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2-1 can of milk (use the soup can to measure)
10-14 slices of American cheese, grated
4-5 pounds of potatoes, sliced thin (I slice them as I go so I don't accidentally slice more than I need)

Mix the soup and milk in a container....you'll use just enough milk to make it pour easily. Spray your crockpot with cooking spray to make clean up easier. Add in layers ....potatoes, onion, turkey ham, cheese, then pour on half the soup mixture. Continue until you have two full layers. Set crock pot on HIGH and allow to cook for 4 hours.

You can also do this in a 9x13 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through. We stick a fork in the middle to check them.