I Present To You.....

I've a little set of pass-a-longs for you today! Besides, after this little tid-bit I'm chilling out for the afternoon until my walk this evening. Sundays are glorious.


First I want to say that Princess is doing so much better and God has answered some prayers for me to be loving to her the way she needs it. I'm thankful for some breakthrough.


Okay...

I have a few new blogs to send you to. The first is an old fellow mission trip friend of mine. Tanja and I were on the same Teen Mission's Around The World Russia trip when we were teens. She is a Canook, specifically from Saskatchewan and even got snow just the other day! Wow, I still can't imagine that! She has a lovely blog called "EdenRune".


The truly amazing thing has happend though. Tanja and I went off from that summer, grew up, got married and lived our lives never realizing that we gave our son's the same name! Now, if you're son is named John, that might not be to incredible. However the name Caedmon (yes, I know I'm putting his actual name here instead of his blog undercover one...you don't have to email me lovlely helpful ladies that you are:)....I'm breaking my own rule this time) is NOT one you hear much at all.


The cute thing too is that she was telling me he has the same problem my son does at school. Some of the kids think his name is "Caveman"! They literally call him that and his mommy has to say "do you know, his name is actually (IPA: /ˈkædmɒn/) 'kaed-mon?" Even adults will cay "Caveman" or "kaed-uh-mon" . The caveman one get's me though when it comes from adults...I just can't believe they really think I would name my child Caveman.


SO>>> anyway...it's fun cawinkeedink, and very cool that Tanja is a blogger so I have a new side bar addition!


The second new blog is that of a lovely young lady in my church. Very talented in the art of dressmaking. I looked at what she has on there so far and I want one just to wear around and feel lovely! Maddie makes gowns for our local Civil War balls that a lot of the homeschool families go to. The site is to promote her work and display it. Go to: Clothed In Linen and Purple and have a look-see.

Lastly is a blog I just came across a long time ago and just browse now and then but want to keep up on more so I'm adding it to the blog roll. It's called "4 Reluctant Entertainers" and is just delightful on many levels. It's not one of those Suzie -homemaker- on- espresso (like that, I just made that up) blogs either (NOT THAT THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH THOSE BLOGS AND I BETTER SAY THAT BECAUSE SURE ENOUGH I'LL GET A NOTE LIKE I DID LAST TIME I BROUGHT UP THIS SUBJECT:). The blog is refreshing and creative and in the here and now (as apposed to trying to recreate life as it use to be on Little House on The Prairie- NOT THAT THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT EITHER....I just enjoy up to date and domestic art in our times NOW...because it is possible you know:) The food ideas are so healthy, colorful and make me want to EAT! It's one of those beauty in simplicity type blogs.

Now on to other things...
My kids just can't stop reading this book!

We got it from the local little library (Hi Judy, we love you! Judy is our librarian and you will find her blog linked here as well as her cooking blog which will be linked also at Happy Homebody Soon as the links there will become more domestically fine tuned) and the kids just won't put it down long. They carry it around the last two days and read it over and over. This morning Rick and I were sitting in bed as we always do every morning, having our coffee together and we got quiet to listen to Superkid reading it in the other room. He was reading it so well too. It was very sweet. We heard him slow down when he got to the word "anything" because that was a big one for him (he's in kindergarten). They think the book is so funny and it is. Go check it out and support you local libraries by actually going in them:).

Finally...

Just have to rave about my bravery to venture into new waters and make my own granola bars. I have put this off way too long and now that I've made them, I'm mad at myself for being afraid. THESE ARE SO DARN EASY! THEY ARE ALSO SO DARN GOOD. I'm heading into the kitchen after a rest to make some more for the week because the batch I made is CLEANED OUT! (I'm enjoying the caps lock today:) This recipe came out firm and crunchy but if you added a little more honey it would be chewier.

Oh, and if you get a minute, go over to visit Zimms Zoo, Christy has had some very thoughtful posts this week. I was blessed and you know me, I love when people dig down and find something churning in their hearts to share. I love it.

And I just had to share this cute picture of Shasta. She loves to get cozy on my bed. She's like a little puffy rug.

Pumpkins, Recipes and a Blog Tag

We had a great pumpkin farm day this year. Unfortunately we don't have a lot of great pics though. Princess was feeling sick and had a bad headache. By the time the trip was nearly over she was in the car with a fever. She ended up having what Superkid did last week. These long incubation periods bug me because you think it's over but it's not. She did good just to be trying to smile in the photos. Lilo was fighting off tears moments before these were taken (the first two anyway) because we were not able to fit in the hay ride this year. So, they sat on the tractor for a pic and had to try to look their happiest. They did have a great time the rest of the day though. We were so glad Rick was able to go and we went with the G. family from church (not sure if you use last names Christina...so being careful:)

The yearly tradition of a honey stick is always appreciated too.:)
We came home and made Chocolate Pudding Cake to top off the day! Superkid was thinking it was heavy, thus the strain to smile for the picture. :)*

We came home and incorporated the tiny pumpkins into the dining room decor. Wow, lovin' the orange. The do get carried around and played with most of the time too. When I talked about baking the larger ones, Superkid acted like I was going to murder something. I told him, we would wait until the last minute possible before the pumpkin would be going bye bye anyway. I think he things they last forever.
After the pumpkin farm, we went to get apples with our friends and now have some great crispy sweet ones in the fridge. I'm hoping to post some apple recipes in the Cupboard soon. In the meantime there are a bunch of new ones:
Florentine Chicken Ring

Chili Skillet
Trial Mix Cookies (originally from Christina)Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

And...finally today...I'm getting FINALLY to a blog tag from my friend Nicole. Sorry it's taken me so long Nicole!

Rules:
1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Write six random things about yourself.
3. Tag six people at the end of your post.
4. If you are tagged, JUST DO IT, and pass the tag along.

Six Random thing about me:
1. I have to put lotion on my hands every time I fold laundry. Otherwise, I hate the way the static in the clothes feels on my hands.
2. I can't seem to get through a movie anymore. I can strain my eyes to watch one episode after another online for Lost, or CSI, or Heroes , but movies has lost my attention. If I do watch it, is is nearly always in two segments.
3. I am trying to grow my hair down past my back. I'm half way there.
4. I sometimes hate that my brain thinks too much. Sometimes it wears even me out, but there is no off button.
5. I'm achin' to make some apple cider in my crockpot soon. I found some cinnamon sticks in my spice cabinet and will be putting it on my next grocery list to get apple juice and lemons.
6. I have never completely fit in to one group anywhere in my life. I always manage to find a faithful handful of friends. Wow, that's pensive. I'm all deep now.

If your a blogging buddy...tag, you it.:)


Well, gotta run and make another batch of those trail mix cookies before the kids get home from school. They ate them all yesterday! Good thing they are healthy.

Perfect Bread Machine Whole Wheat

I am trying hard....hard to be frugal, and the wheat prices have finally trickled down to the supermarkets. The other day I bought some cheap bread and it was so sad, it was collapsed before I got home and it was not even near stuff to squish it! Sad. I love TJ's bread but I've noticed it dries out fast and even molds faster than my own stuff. It's had a few days traveling before it gets to me. I go through spurts when it comes to bread. I almost got rid of my bread machine because I was doing the multiple loaf in the oven thing through the fall last year. However, something told me to not be impulsive on this one and I'm glad I listened to that voice. See, when it's 107* you just don't feel like baking, so I've pulled out my little helper and she is turnin' out some great loaves.

The other problem I was having was with whole wheat not being fluffy enough for my little picky one who does not like chewing more than she has to evidently.

Here is my perfect formula right now for everyday sandwich bread:

3 cups whole wheat flour (I mill mine....store bought should work too)

1/4 cup gluten (you could leave this out if you just milled it because gluten levels are high...also, get in bulk if you can to make it cheaper)

1 1/8 cup warm water

3 Tbs. Canola Oil

3Tbs. Honey

1 tsp salt

2 tsp yeast

No, I don't use dry milk, and I don't use butter. Oil is cheaper and milk does not make enough difference to me and we would rather have it on our cereal thank you very much!:)

Order to put in machine is my own way:

water

honey

yeast (why? yeast loves sugar...makes it happy. it does NOT like salt so we want to keep it away from it's enemy)

flour

gluten

salt

I'm hoping to add this to the Cupboard soon. I've had so little time for my other blogs lately (like the past six months:). I'm also hoping to get some awesome home made ranch on there soon.
Oh, and I'm putting some local alerts on What's The Deal in an hour or so unless something else happens to me in life, which is a possibility.:)

(I borrowed the pic from Google, but it looks like that:)

"A Year Of Crockpotting" Lady on Rachel Ray!

Okay, so I called my neighbor/friend to beg help so I can see this. The lady who does "A Year Of Crockpotting" blog is going to be on Rachel Ray's show!
So, if you have cable watch! If you're like me and don't.....beg someone who puts up with you. :)

Favorite Summer Smoothie

We are loving this one. It gives us that great protein and vitamin boost in the morning. Our very own Jamba baby!

(I'm a casual cook, so these are not exact, play with yours to get it right on taste and texture)

16 oz either milk, soy milk, or juice (if you use juice, eliminate sweetener)

3 Tbs. Sucunate or Honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 scoops protein powder (we use TJ's soy protein plain)

3 packets raspberry (you could use another flavor too) Emergency C (Costco best price)

2-3 handfuls of frozen fruit (right now we are loving the mix from Costco that is mango, pineapple, and strawberries)

First mix liquids, powders, sweetener, vanilla extract

Then turn off blender and add frozen fruit.

Blend on smoothie mode and serve!

Yum!!!!!

When Life Gives You Heat...Eat Cookie Dough

I was joking around with the kids that since it was too hot to bake cookies (it's been 110, 111, 112..:*) maybe we should just make cookie dough and eat it. They thought it was a great idea. Since I didn't want a puking kid on top of a sweating one, we cut the eggs and came up with this:

1 stick butter

1 and 1/2 cup flour

1 Tbs. vanilla

2 Tbs Milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup sucunat (or brown sugar)

Mix up in mixer till dough is formed

add 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Scoop out with large cookie scoop into little dip cups and serve with a spoon.

They loved it. You don't need much of this, it's pretty rich (not to mention fattening!).

More Talk On Humus

First of all let me explain that the post about summer recipes was for y'all to SHARE some recipes. My friend Tricia and I were joking today that some seemed excited about getting some but no one has posted any yet. So, does anyone have any summer favorites? If not I'll have to start gathering them in, which I'm okay with doing. But if you have any highlights, let us know!

I tried something at lunch today since I'm trying to change some eating habits. I used humus on my sandwich instead of mayo. It was great! I liked it better! It also gave the creamy texture that cheese does so I may just be able to give up my thin layer of dairy for a few meals anyway (I have a thing for cheese).

My friend Tricia's son was not willing to try humus because he did not like it the last time. I encouraged him that sometimes you like something later on that you didn't like before in your life. He tried it and had some more. :) Remember that with your kids too. We have found it to be very true. We are still working on Emma with humus. We don't force it, but we don't offer alternatives.
For humus you need:

· 2 Cups Garbanzo beans (Canned)

. 2 Cloves peeled garlic (crush and let sit 2-3 min before adding)

· ¼ Cup Tahini Paste

· 1 Tsp. Ground Cumin Powder

· 1 Tsp. Paprika

· Salt & Pepper to taste.

· 2 Table spoon Lemon Juice

· 2 Table spoon Olive Oil

· Parsley for garnishing



Method of preparation :

· Drain the liquid from the can & reserve.

· Blend together all the ingredients to a smooth paste.

· Add the reserved water if too thick.

· Garnish with Parsley, little olive oil & serve as dip.

I did find sunflower butter at TJ's. You can use this in place of Tahini if you want to use that in the recipe. Tahini is essentially sunflower seed paste and is used in many Arab and oriental dishes. The purpose for it in humus seems to be to thicken it a bit in texture and increase creaminess. There is the added benefit of more protein as well.

So, there is the recipe. I'll be getting some groceries soon and trying it. I'll let you know. We have been dipping flat bread in it but we are moving more to just veggies. At least , I am. I don't need further reasons to eat bread. I have plenty all ready.

So.....be looking for some summer ideas to share. Just go back to that post to post one, post one here if you want on this post. Thanks!

Scraping In Some Summer Recipies

Wow, it's all ready hot here! I'm starting to realize it's time to beef up the summer food ideas. I'm going to gather some and post them in the cupboard this week. Before that, I'm hoping you guys will have some to share.

Rick, Princess and I have loved Humus for a long time. I'm happy to say that Superkid is now a major fan as well. So, I'll be looking for the perfect homemade humus recipe soon. It's so cheap to make at home and I use to years ago but when we went through the toddler phase, it was rejected for a while. We also love felafel's. They are great served with some tabouli, which you can also get from a co-op or bulk health food. It can be made from your own Bulgar wheat as well. I prefer the dry mix with all the herbs and stuff. Just add chopped cucumber and tomato (when it's okay to eat them again).

So, I'm hoping you can help me out here with some of your favorite summer foods. Just post comment and you will have your recipes put in the cupboard. I'm looking for crockpot, bread machine, grill, pastas, salad that makes a meal, no-bake deserts, sandwich ideas, smoothie yummies, and so on. Post away!

What The Rat Recommends

I love the movie Ratatouille. I also love to cook, but I'm no pro. I did wonder however about the dish the movie is centered on. So, I was tickled today to see yahoo had it on their menu highlights. With all the summer veggies at the Farmer's Market in the months to come, this should be a fun one to make.
Ratatouille Recipe
2 1/2 pounds tomatoes
8 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
20 leaves fresh basil, torn in half
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 pounds eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 large onions, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
3 assorted bell peppers (green, red, and/or yellow), cut into 1-inch pieces
4 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick pieces
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings
Fresh basil
Nutrition InfoPer Serving

Calories: 400 kcal
Carbohydrates: 24 g
Dietary Fiber: 7 g
Fat: 33 g
Protein: 5 g
Sugars: 13 g
About: Nutrition Info

Powered by: ESHA Nutrient Database
Cut an X in bottom of each tomato with a sharp paring knife and blanch together in a 4-quart pot of boiling water 1 minute. Transfer tomatoes with a slotted spoon to a cutting board and, when cool enough to handle, peel off skin, beginning from scored end, with paring knife.
Coarsely chop tomatoes and transfer to a 5-quart heavy pot with garlic, parsley, basil, and 1/3 cup oil. Simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes break down and sauce is slightly thickened, about 30 minutes.
While sauce is simmering, toss eggplant with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large colander and let stand in sink 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook onions in 3 tablespoons oil with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer onions with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, then add 3 tablespoons oil to skillet and cook bell peppers with 1/4 teaspoon salt over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer peppers with slotted spoon to bowl with onions. Add 3 tablespoons oil to skillet and cook zucchini with 1/4 teaspoon salt over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer zucchini with slotted spoon to bowl with other vegetables.
While zucchini are cooking, pat eggplant dry with paper towels. Add remaining oil (about 1/4 cup) to skillet and cook eggplant over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 10 to12 minutes.
Add vegetables, remaining teaspoon salt, and black pepper to tomato sauce and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender, about 1 hour. Cool, uncovered, and serve warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 8 servings

From one little Rat to another!

Let's Talk Food

It's Wednesday and I see no one has a recipe yet for breakfast........
okay, lets just try a favorite recipe. Does anyone have anything that's a favorite they would like to pass on. A great, works every time and brings much happiness to the pallet recipe? Do you guys like to cook? Hmmmm....

I beefed up The Cupboard again. A new look, a little change. Ah, nice.


I love Pyrex so I found a cute pic to top off the new look just right. I was going vintage kitchen...let me know what you think.





So, I want to kick off the site with a bunch of new recipes. I'm going to go by category and I will post your recipe on the Cupboard blog to share with all! If you have a pic paste the URL for it on your comment with your recipe and I will post that too!





So, Let's Start with breakfast. What is one of your favorite breakfast recipes? One of mine is this one. It can be coffee cake, egg bakes, muffins, special pancakes, quiche...whatever!!


Just post your favorite one on comments here or you can email me at happyhomebody@yahoo.com.


Thanks, I look forward to it!

What Do You Eat For Lunch?

Of course the one main at-home lunch money saver is the leftovers. On a day where there are none, here is what we have for lunches. All are usually served with fresh veggie slices or fruit slices.

Peanut Butter and Jelly (of course)
Peanut Butter and Banana
Grilled Cheese
Ham and Cheese
Egg Salad
Tuna fish
Tuna Melts*
Soup (homemade)
Pintos and Cheese
Meat and Cheese bites w/ crackers
Cheese or Cheese and bean Quesadillas

*can be a dinner too
What do you eat for lunch?

(BTW- there were not many responses yet on the breakfast one, so if you have any more ideas to add, please do!)

What Do You Eat For Breakfast?

I have found that breakfast can be one of the best ways to save in your budget by one tip alone.... don't buy boxed cereal! I dont' follow it myself all the time, especially if there is a sale leading to a dollar a box, or a Trader Joe's brand on a bad week, or it's a kid birthday which means their favorite junk food cereal. Otherwise, baking, and making save you so much.

Now, I'm very excited that yall' are talking and responding from the last post, so I'm hoping you will have more sharing for me on this one because we are all looking for new ideas. I said I would start posting "now, what do I make with all that" and I decided to take it one meal at a time. If you have a favorite receipe please post comment. I really appreciated Lisa leaving her sausage roll receipe on the post comment from the last entry. Here's me claping for you gals "alright, alright, alright, let's go, le'ts go, let's go!" as you think up some frugal goodness!

Breakfast (from all that listed below)
Whole Wheat Pancakes
Whole Wheat Muffins
Baked Oatmeal
Oatmeal
Eggs + Whole Wheat Toast
Egg Flower Muffins*
Granola
Fruit and Yogurt Parfait w/ Granola
Puffed Oven Pancake
Whole Wheat Waffles
Eggs + Potatoes
Egg Bakes
Fritatas
*requires the purchase of fridge biscuits

What do you eat for breakfast?