Simple summer salad

What for dinner, Simple summer salad!

Make this as big or small as you like but it does not get better than this. Dice a peach around the pit and pick off the chunks into a bowl, add equal part of blueberries, and two shakes of sugar. Let this sit while you make the rest of dinner and the peaches will juice and become wonderful.

Baby food, baby porridge

Porridge is not just for Goldilocks or the three bears but it is for the whole family. My babies love porridge! I have posted about the breakfast porridge I make during the winter but here is the goods I make for my little ones until they can chew grains.

Here is Eva helping me grind grains with a hand crank grain mill.

Her and a friend helped me so we got a lot done. This mill is super easy!
In the last post I showed brown rice, which is a first food, and from there I move on to oats. Either steel cut or old fashion. I love using mason jars and at hardware stores like Ace you can find plastic lids like the one showed here. I put scotch tape on the lid to mark the instructions.

Porridge

1 c water

1/4 c ground grain

Mix together in big pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat, lid, and cook 10 minutes. Take off heat and whisk really good to break up the lumps. I use a plastic whisk so I don't scratch my enamel. I usually double so I have enough for several days.

Other grains you can use: quinoa, millet, amaranth, barley,

Once cooled I store in glass containers. 1/4 to 1/2 cup serving is a good amount for the first few months. I like having some in the red containers ready to grab for church nights or babysitters. The blue I will scoop from on nights we are home.

This is how I do porridge. I read Super Baby Food by Ruth Yarin when Eva was a baby. I love it! She is my inspiration for these post. I would say most of this is her information with my own spin on it. I give her all the props.

Baby Food, First Foods

This is the first of many post on baby food. I follow two things on this subject; exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months (WHO & AAP) and Super Baby Food by Ruth Yarin.

First foods is the first step. I start with avocados first. Many people don't believe you can freeze them, oh, but you can. Buy them up on sale mash them and freeze. I did this months ahead and was ready to go when Wren was ready.

Next is rice cereal. I bought organic 'quick' cereal for a long time this time around because of our hectic May and June. Once our lives calmed down then I was able to make my own brown rice porridge. More details to come on this.

Other first foods in my book include organic whole milk yogurt, sweet potatoes (sweets pots), applesauce, and banana.
Here are my baby dishes. Two sizes of glass bowls, cheese jar for a glass, and spoons.

Food is not just for energy but it is also an area of training. Having a food that they learn to pinch and feed themselves is vitally important. They will not be spoon feed their whole lives so start from the get go that they are to learn to be self sufficient. I use puff easy melt things for the first month or so then move on to Cheerios.

More is soon to come. If you doubt this I dont blame you. I have the pictures uploaded so hopefully in the next few days you will learn about fruits and veggies. Until then, good night.

Kansas City loven

What's for lunch? BBQ brisket!

Tomorrow we are hosting a lunch for our missionaries to India/Nepal Doug and Bethany Pearson. Rebecca Toti helped plan this meal, she knew what kind of food Doug would enjoy. I love KC BBQ and love that we can make it our selves instead of catering. I love showing love through the work of hands and the opening of our home. Elizabeth George prays over the rooms of her home that God could use them to His glory. I have been following this wise woman in preparing. I want to be Martha today and Mary tomorrow.

BBQ Brisket for 30

10 pound brisket (Costco $1.99/lb), actually needs 15 lbs for lunch and if a dinner 20 lbs

buns

Jackstack sauce

pickles

Jackstack beans

Potato salad

Mixed fruit and Rebecca Toti's dip

Smokestack Beans

4 slices bacon

1 (40 ounce) can pork & beans, drained

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon minced onion

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon mustard

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

1 cup barbecue sauce, obviously Jackstack :-)

1/4 cup sorghum

On low 4-8 hours in crock pot. Jackstack's secret to making it takes like the restaurant is adding brisket tidbits and some dripping.

Stuffed Shells

What's for dinner? Stuffed Shells

I love to plan ahead and have meals ready in the freezer. This is always a good thing but with having a baby around you never quite know how the day is gonna go. I currently have 3 meals ready to go: buttermilk herb chicken, lentil shepherd's pie, and these stuffed shells.

Stuffed Shells

1# burger

1 onion, diced

1 can or 1 handful mushrooms, chopped

1 t garlic pwdr

1 pkg chopped spinach

2 c cottage cheese

1 1/2 t dried parsley

1 c parm cheese

pepper

1 box jumbo shells

1 jar spaghetti sauce

2 c mozz cheese

Cook together first 4 ingred. and drain. Mix in the rest but the sauce and pasta.

Stuff into jumbo shells and place in a 9x13, or 2 8x8. Top with sauce then mozz cheese. Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly.

My quiet time

While the four children in my house are supposed to be sleeping I will take a moment of quiet time to tell all of you what is on my 'to make' list. I wish this included the quilt I am working on or the 1 1/2 years of scrapbooking to be done. Alas...

For the cookout tomorrow strawberry Chantilly.

http://senceanddollars.blogspot.com/2010/07/cold-desserts.html

Baby food for Wren: applesauce, carrots, acorn squash

Stuffed shells, which I will divid into 2 pie pans and put one in the freezer. I am going to try a new recipe from allrecipes. I already cooked the burger yesterday so I just have to cook the pasta and put it together. I will try to post how it is.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Stuffed-Shells-IV/Detail.aspx?prop31=4

Another thing for the freezer is a once a month cooking recipe for buttermilk herb chicken. I love these type of recipes because when chicken is on sale you freeze the meat in meal sizes with the marinade so while it thaws it takes on the flavor. Then cook it when you are ready.

http://onceamonthmom.com/buttermilk-herb-chicken-breasts/

I have lots of fruit and veggies to cut, cook, whip, and clean up from so I better get to it.

Butter in the house

I have not posted in a long time and while my ladies are resting I thought I would say, "hello world."

I have not been buying a lot of butter lately because of the cost. $2.40 to $2.90 per pound is pretty pricey. We enjoyed BLT's and corn on the cob yesterday for dinner so therefore butter was a must for the corn. It was a great dinner for a hot day. Since Guy got the butter at Costco we have 4#! Today I could not help my self, there is butter in the house.... let's bake! I threw together a rhubarb custard pie and a blueberry coffee cake for mom's group on Thursday. The pie is a recipe from Granny Eva, the wonderful baker our Eva was named after.

Rhubarb Custard Pie

2 recipes of pie crust

4 c. 1/2 pieces of rhubarb

1/3 c. flour

1 1/2 c. sugar

1/4 t nutmeg

2 eggs, beaten

1 T milk

Put rhubarb in unbaked pie shell.

Mix dry, mix wet, and mix together well. Pour over rhubarb. Then dot with 1 T butter.

Seal the top with second pie crust. Bake 400 for 50-60 min.

This gets soggy if done to far ahead of time so make it fresh. Enjoy!

Jean's Pie Crust

1 c. flour

1/2 t salt

1/2 c cold butter, cut up

1 egg

1 T vinegar

6 T cold water

Cut fat into flour and salt.

Blend wet, and add one tablespoon at a time until it just holds together. Form into disc and refridge until chilled.

For 2 pie crust- double fat and flour but there is enough liquid you don't have to double.