A Complete Kid Friendly Dinner

Today is the day before payday at the end of a very long pay period! So I had to be a bit creative with dinner tonight.
Last week my husband and I were watching TV and saw a commercial for a cheeseburger, followed by a commercial for pizza. My husband mentioned how cool cheeseburger pizza would be.
So I used that for insiration and did a little research on line and came up with mini deep dish cheeseburger pizzas. The kids loved them! My little professor ate three of them, while Roo did her best eating one and a half.

Recipe

3/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons mustard
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 pizza crust (I use Bobby Flays recipe on foodnetwork.com, I substitute wheat flour for white and use honey instead of sugar)
3/4 lb ground beef
3 strips of bacon, chopped
1/2 cup onion , chopped
1/2 cup green pepper , chopped
salt and pepper (to taste)
shredded cheddar cheese


Directions:

Before making crust, combine sauce ingredients; ketchup, sugar, mustard, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce in a small sauce pan; simmer on medium heat. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Prepare pizza crust according to directions.
Combine beef, bacon, onion, green pepper, salt and pepper to taste; cook until beef is done.
Roll out your dough, using a biscuit cutter or glass cut the dough into circles and place in muffin tins. Spread some of the sauce in each one. Add meat mixture, top with cheese, and bake for 25 minutes.
(next time we are going to top them with a dill pickle slice to provide some additional texture)

Revamp of an Old Favorite

I have a recipe for sweet potato muffins that I really love. Last night we had some left over mashed sweet potatoes from dinner, so I decided to use the recipe as inpsiration, make at a bit more healthy and turn it into a quick bread. I was very pleased with the results.
So here is the new improved Sweet Potato Bread Recipe
Ingredients
1/4 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup mashed sweet potatoes (1 large potatoe)
1/4 cup Almond milk
1 cup flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 375. Beat oil and apple sauce in a bowl. Then slowly add the sugar and the rest of the wet ingredients beating well.
in a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to the wet ingredients and stir until just moistened. Fold in the raisins. Pour into a prepared loaf pan. Bake for about 45 minutes.
*I also sprinkled a bit of sugar and cinnamon over the top. It gives it s nice crunch!

A Little Something Sweet

Yesterday while my little guy was watching Disney Jr. he saw a short clip about a little girl who made some tarts with her family out of puff pastry and some fruit. Puff pastry is something I always have in my freezer, so we decided to do our own take on the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed and cut into 9 squares
about 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, thawed
9 tsp cream cheese
cream cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 375.
Spray a muffin tin with a non-stick cooking spray. Place one square of puff pastry in 9 spaces of the muffin tin. Add one tsp cream cheese in the bottom of each tin. Add the strawberries. Bake for 25 minutes. When they are cool you can top each with cream cheese frosting if desired.

I really enjoyed them because they reminded me of strawberry cheesecake!
My little Roo had to get in on the action. She had a free form style to her tart!

She did enjoy it when it was done though!

A Girly Morning

This morning I woke up with an agenda in my head. I had the "mom list" going of what I needed to get done today, fun things like cleaning and laundry were the first on my list.
Then some things happened to change my plans, my little Roo wanted some "pretty's" on her toes.

So I brought out the nail polish and gave her a pedicure.
After that I got out some pipe cleaners and a collander to keep her busy while I cleaned. I saw the idea of Pinterest months ago, and decided to try it out today. Well, it was so much fun watching and playing with her, we ended up doing that for about a half an hour!

I loved watching her little hands work so put the pipe cleaners in the holes!
Then I decided a craft was in order. Out came the paint and sponge brushes!

After making a cute little hand heart I let her have some fun.

After making a mess with paint it was time to clean up. I filled the sink with some water and she had a blast!

Soon her clothes were soaked, so they came off and she set about cleaning up her "mess".

After I cleaned her up and sopped up the water that was spread around my kitchen we read some books. Then she decided to take some pictures after watching me snap away this moring.

It was a really wonderful morning. Both of us had fun, and you know what? The cleaning and laundry are still waiting for me, and that is just fine!

Pop -o-licious!

Last night my group of friend surprised another friend with a "You've Popped" baby shower. We got to surprise her in the hospital, and it was great to see her expression when we all came wandering in to her room!
We all brought gifts that went with the theme, "You've Popped". There were pop-tarts, push pops, Rice Krispies (because they snap crackle and pop), soda pop and a few other treats.
I decided to bring pop-overs. I had never made them, I had only eaten them. So I looked them up on Foodnetwork.com and when I found Ina Gartens recipe for them I new I had a winner.
They are surprisingly easy to make, just a few ingredients and lots of fun to watch bake. They are really yummy with some butter and honey! I made extra and they were great for breakfast this morning!

There are three secrets to great popovers: Make sure the pan is hot before you pour in the batter, fill each section not more than half full and no peeking while they're in the oven!

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus softened butter for greasing pans
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups milk, at room temperature

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Generously grease aluminum popover pans or Pyrex custard cups with softened butter. You'll need enough pans to make 12 popovers. Place the pans in the oven for exactly 2 minutes to preheat. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, salt, eggs, milk, and melted butter until smooth. The batter will be thin. Fill the popover pans less than half full and bake for exactly 30 minutes. Do not peek.

(I used muffin tins and it worked just fine. And I used the oven light to peek at them while they cooked!

My Sewing Adventures

I am just starting to feel comfortable with my sewing machine. I still have a lot of work to do to became the fantastic seamstress that I would love to be! No more Target for this girl....I will make my own clothes. (in all my free time that is!)
Anyway, I saw a really cute stuffed owl at Homestead Gardens this Christmas. I wasn't ready to plop down the 20 plus dollars they were asking for it, so I tried my hand at making one today. I made a few mistakes, and know some things I will do differently next time, but I have to say I am quite happy with my cute little friend!

Getting Back to Normal

After the excitement of Friday afternoon/evening we decided to cancel any weekend plans and just have some down time.
I will admit that Saturday I pretty much did nothing. I read and took care of my girl, but other than that I slacked on my other household chores. I think I needed that day to de-stress a bit!
Sunday I was feeling better and more energetic, so I sat down during naptime and made this cute wreath.

I loved the simplicity of it, and I am a big fan of the argyle like pattern that it has.
My little professor doesn't have school today or tomorrow, so we did another Valentine's Day craft this morning. I would love to take them out in the snow, but the weather is yucky, and I didn't want to take the change of my little Roo falling on the ice. It was very easy, just some clear contact paper, construction paper and some tissue paper. It kept both kids happy for a short amount of time.

My little girl is healing well. I have been so thankful that she has pretty much left the stitches alone, and doesn't seem to be in too much pain. She is still a bit fussy, but who can blame her? I would be fussy too!

My Rough and Tumble Girl

Yesterday we added yet another chapter the the Cole Family ER Chronicles. Late afternoon while dancing and really enjoying herself our little Roo fell into a wall corner and got a nice gash on her forehead.
She never lost conscienceness and did not have a siezure, but because of her history we did call 911. I am so thankful that we had increased her seizure medication the other day!
They carted her off to Howard County. Once we got there and her wound was examined it was decided that it would be better for the cut to be stitched up by a plastic surgeon because the cut had torn through the muscles. Because they didn't have a surgeon there we got shipped off to Hopkins in Baltimore.
Once we were there, they took excellent care of her. She had to be sedated while they were stitching her up, but everything went smoothly. She has about 8 stitches that we can see, more on the inside. All the stitches will absorb, so we won't have to get them taken out. I am so grateful for that.

I want to thank everyone for their prayers. She was such a little trooper! They had to put an IV in, and she started calling it her "light saber". Can you tell she has a brother who really likes Star Wars? In fact, "light saber" were the first words she said coming out of sedation! Even though she couldn't have any pain meds she was in a very cheerful little mood singing and talking and even laughing.
As I was driving our minivan to Hopkins, following the ambulance, every song that came on the radio was an encouragement. I knew that God had everything under control, my responsibility was to trust Him. His desire it that I become more like His son, yesterday was just another step on the journey.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Yesterday was my birthday. I haven't had a good track record with birthdays. Nothing ever seemed to turn out the way I wanted it to. So this year I decided to celebrate my birthday week. I got the idea from my sister, and really liked the idea.
So last weekend I cleaned the whole house and knocked out a bunch of things off my "to do" list, so that this week I could do fun things.
It has been awesome! I have crafted, spent time with friends and basically just relaxed.
Tuesday night I was surprised by my friends throwing me a party.

I was very surprised and touched.

I really do love these ladies! They are an amazing group of women who have become like family to me. I am truly blessed! Even though the military will spread us around a bit I know that we will always have a bond, and hopefully yearly vacations together!
Yesterday on my actual birthday, I got to spend some time visiting with friends. That afternoon my little professor took the time to decorate my birthday cupcakes.

My little guy also decorated a birthday plate for me.

Apparently he had his heart set on making me a plate. I love him so much!
I was given quite a few books to read, which makes me so happy! I love having a full reading list.
We were able to drop the kids off at a friends, and then we went to look at a potential house and out for a quiet sushi dinner.
All in all it has been a great "birthday week" and I still have another day to go!!!

Some craftiness

Last week I came across this really cute craft on Pinterest.

Today I did my take on it.

I wanted to incorporate parts of 1 Corinthians 13 into the design so that in the weeks leading up to Valentines Day we remember what love really it.

I picked from the verses that had phrases that would be easily explained to my kiddos.
Around the bottom of the pot are the words, "Love Is...". I used some scrapbooking alphabet stickers and them mod podged them onto the pot. The back of each label is a popscicle stick to provide some support and I used a piece of wood I found in the garage. The ribbon, scrapbook paper were all left overs from another project, so for very little money I made a cute decoration! I think it is a great addition to my Valentines Day decor!

Yet Another Bread Post

My husband has been really wanting some French bread lately. So today I needed to bake some bread for dinner, and decided to look up a recipe.
After posting a picture of my bread on Facebook I was asked what is the difference between what American's call French bread, and what American's call Italian bread.
I googled it! There were lots of different answers. Some stating there were no differences, some stating there were. As far as my recipes go, my Italian bread recipe has a wetter dough, and also adds sugar to help with the rising. The French bread recipe that I used only used yeast, flour, salt and water. I was surprised how quickly it rose!

While there is most likely no real answer, and the French and Italian's are shaking their heads over what we call their bread, I was very pleased with this "French" bread. It had a crisp crust and a nice dense inside. It accompanied our Salad Nicoise quite well!

French Bread

Ingredients

6 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water

Directions

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Stir in 2 cups warm water, and beat until well blended using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes total. Shape into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn once. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled.
Punch dough down, and divide in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each half into large rectangle. Roll up, starting from a long side. Moisten edge with water and seal. Taper ends.
Grease a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush on. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until nearly doubled, 35 to 40 minutes.
With a very sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across top of each loaf. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 20 minutes. Brush again with egg white mixture. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until bread tests done. If necessary, cover loosely with foil to prevent over browning. Remove from baking sheet, and cool on a wire rack.

Gotta Love Carbs!

Today I tried my hand at cinnamon raisin bread, without a recipe, just using my experience and basic science. I really like the way it came out, so I will share the recipe with you. I plan on using it for some yummy french toast tomorrow morning!

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 TBSP yeast
1 TBSP sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
2 TBSP cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins

Combine water, yeast, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Let it sit for a few minutes. Make sure it is starting to bubble. This makes sure you have good yeast.
Combine flours, cinnamon and raisins in another bowl. Whisk together. Slowly add wet ingredients and stir till a dough is formed. Knead in bowl for about 3 minutes.
Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for about an hour and a half, till it has doubled in size.
Preaheat oven to 425. Form dough into a rough loaf and set on the sheet/stone that you plan on baking it on. Place sheet/stone on top of the oven while it preheats. Let the dough rest for about 45 minutes.
Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 and bake for another 23 minutes.
Take off the baking sheet and let cool on a cooling rack.

Little Acts....

There is a month until Valentines Day, and for the next 30 days I want to focus on showing my family how much I love them.
I know the things I do day to day show love, but I really want to go above on beyond.
So I saw an idea and copied it a few days ago, but didn't put it out until tonight.

I took a picture frame I already had, placed a piece of paper under the glass, and I have a small "white board". I added a little flare with some fabric flowers from some left over fabric and buttons I had lying around.

My hope is that this little "white board" becomes a place where he and I can leave each other little notes that will brighten our days!

I am not above bribery....

I will be the first to tell you that I really don't like potty training. I like when they are potty trained, but don't like the interim. It is the least favorite "mommy type" activity.
My little Roo is ready to potty train. The signs have been there, and now that the holiday craziness is over we are going to start.
I started on Monday. I was ready, I was prepared, I had given myself the pep talk. I was prepared for battle.
We started out well, I was lulled into thinking that this might be a piece of cake....I should have known better!
I made the "mistake" of telling her "no". After that things went quickly down hill. She started "punishing" me by having accidents. When we reached five accidents in one hour I was out of clean underwear and running short on patience.
So I decided we would start again the following week. Well, this afternoon she asked to put on underwear, so I thought we would give it a go.
After one accident, I started giving her 2 M&Ms when she actually went in the potty.

She caught on quick. As I have written this blog we have gone the potty 4 times, three of which she has actually gone! So make no mistake about it. This girl is motivated by chocolate!

(sporting the melted chocolate....btw M&Ms melt, no matter what the commercial used to say!)

Morning Craftiness

A couple of months ago I picked up some really cute baking scrapbook paper at Hobby Lobby on clearance. It was just too cute to pass up! I didn't know what I was going to use it for, but it begged me to take it home!

Yesterday, while on Pinterest I saw the cutest idea for menu planning, and I knew that I had the perfect paper to get it done, and after picking up an inexpensive second hand bulletin board I had everything I needed to get started.
It isn't quite done, I still need to write down all of our dinners that we love along with the ingredients needed to make them on cards to put in the recipe pocket, but I really like how it looks!

The recipe pocket, just waiting to hold all of my meal ideas!

I simply hot glued clothespins with the days of the week on the side. They will hold the meal cards we will use that day.

I really love cute organizing tools!!! And hopefully this one will help when "menu block" happens!

Its All About Love

I have always been a bit of a "scrooge" about Valentines Day. I never really saw the reason for celebrating it. Last year was the first year I really put up decorations, and that was mainly for my daughters birthday (she was born on the 16th).
This year I decided that love is always a reason to celebrate. So for the month leading up to Valentines Day I am going to go through 1 Corinthians 13 with myself, and my children and talk about the real meaning of love.
I also started putting some little decorations up around my house. Last spring I found a cute Easter tree at Hobby Lobby. I took the eggs off and added some cute heart conversation ornaments to it.

By my back door I hung a little strand of hearts I made. I got the inspiration from pinterest and just used some scrapbooking paper I can laying aroudnd.

My front two windows are decorated with a heart garland I put together last year.

My son wrote a poem a few weeks ago that ties in what I am feeling about this season so well.
"Love is an important thing.
It makes us want to sing.
God loves us from above
So the most important thing is love."

Whooooo's Proud of Herself?

I am! I am!!

Today I tackled using my sewing machine all by my very own self, unsupervised!!!!
I have fallen in love with the owl shapes that have been popping up everywhere and decided to copy them, inspired by a friends "rice icepacks" I decided to try my hand at them. Sock monkey's are my other little love and so when I found sock monkeys on fabric I decided it was a match made in heaven!

It isn't perfect by any means, and I had to sew alot more of it by hand than I wanted, but overall I am pleased. I think it is adorable, and plan to make him some buddies in the near future!

Just One of Those Days

Have you ever had one of those days when despite your best intentions nothing went the way you wanted/expected? I had one yesterday.
My biggest New Years Resolution is to keep my mind on, "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
I have to admit that yesterday I did not practice that verse. I grumbled and complained in my head. I was acting like I was in my "terrible twos" along with my daughter. God's blessings seemed dim compared to the mundane little things that got on my nerves.
As I got in the car to run a few errands I got a nice reminder in the form of a Steven Curtis Chapman song:

You’re picking up toys on the living room floor
for the 15th time today
Matching up socks and sweeping up lost
Cheerios that got away
You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips
and head out the door
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
Well let me remind you it all matters just as long as you

Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

Right now, in this season of motherhood there is alot of repetition of mundane things. Just as I clean up the toys, there are more to put away, each spill brings another one shortly after, that must get wiped up, laundry is just an on going battle. There are boo-boos to kiss, fights to break up and a husband that would like some attention too. Meals must be made, prescriptions must be filled and so on and so forth. What I forgot yesterday, and need to keep in mind AT ALL TIMES is that I am God's love story to my family. Everything I do is for Him. Every action and word I say needs to relect Him.
I am so thankful that my Heavenly Father is so forgiving and was standing beside me to pick me up this morning. I woke up with a better attitude remembering to keep everything in an eternal perspective. I put on my armor (Eph 6) and am ready for the week!

Bread......Take 2!

Yesterday was my second attempt at baking a loaf of bread with science instead of a recipe.
Despite a small mishap of forgetting how much flour to put in and "winging" it, the results were better than last time. It had a much better texture, and was alot larger and had a better crust. Not quite where I want it to be, but my family isn't complaining...we are a carb loving family. And it made delicious french toast this morning!

Taking Time to Celebrate

Last year I was inspired by a friend to make ordinary days into celebrations! This morning I decided to take our first "regular" Saturday after the hoidays into a winter celebration at breakfast.
We have had some brisk weather this week, and even though yesterday was in the 60's I am still in a wintery mood.
I started the celebration with a cup of coffee with my gingerbread creamer!

What winter celebration is complete without hot chocolate with extra marshmallows? This drink warmed my little professor inside and out!

Then I started on the main course....Gingerbread Pancakes! They filled my kitchen with a wonderful warm aroma, and tasted even better. I even attempted to turn them into gingerbread man....not perfect but put a smile on both of my kids faces!

I found the recipe on Pinterest and doubled the recipe so that I could have extra in the frozen in case we need another winter party!!

Gingerbread Pancakes by Closet Cooking
(makes 2 servings, 4-6 pancakes)

Ingredients:
1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 cup milk (or buttermilk)
1 egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses

Directions:
1. Mix the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and cloves in a large bowl.
2. Mix the milk, egg, butter, sugar and molasses in another bowl.
3. Mix the wet and dry ingredients making sure to not over mix.
4. Heat a pan and melt a touch of butter in it.
5. Pour 1/4 cup of the mixture into the pan and heat until the surface starts to bubble and the bottom is golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
6. Flip the pancake and cook the other side until the bottom is golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.

It was a great way to start our day, there was no fighting, whining or complaining, just smiles, laughs and hugs all around!