Week Two...

This school year ROCKS! (I just had to get that out. I feel better now.lol)

Allison is ON FIRE. O.k., not really on fire but she's found her happy place and is working fervently to get to her desired goals. She has decided to tackle Chemistry AND Advanced Biology this year, along with Geometry AND Algebra 2. I think it's great that she knows what she'd like to be doing and is working towards it without me needing to do anything except get the books into her hands. Her AB book will be here next week and Apologia has the first module online so she's already begun. She also helped pay for the book, since it wasn't a planned purchase for this year. Luckily, her brother is taking the other three subjects this year and we already have them. Fun, fun, fun!

Jon is AMAZING! He's been getting up at 6:00am without complaint this year, even though he is not a morning person, just so he can get his work done early. He's been mowing lawns all summer and since this is Florida, his job hasn't finished for the year yet. He has three customers and likes to get the jobs done in the mornings, so he needs to get his work done extra early. His school work is going great this year too. We're working on essay writing, literature, Japanese, culinary arts, geometry, algebra 2, chemistry, and world history this year.

The older kids went to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Disney World, MGM, and Epcot on Sunday and Monday of this week with their Grandma G. They had such a great time! What a once in a lifetime adventure for them. While at Epcot, Jon bought a little Japanese cat and spoke to the cashier in Japanese. My MIL and Allison were very impressed! He's really coming along in learning his favorite language.

Right before they left on their trip, Jon attempted to make Baklava from scratch. It was good but his philo dough was a little too thick. We ate it anyway.LOL


Genevieve seems to be growing each and every day. It's scary to see her getting so old. I can remember when I could only hope I'd make it this far.LOL She's really turned into a GREAT big sister. She goes to the YMCA for homeschool P.E. every Tuesday and Thursday and this past Thursday, the teacher took me aside to tell me that Evie was a super great kid! There was a new girl in her class that day, and Evie took it upon herself to take care of her and help her fit in with the group. Now, keep in mind that Evie is one of the youngest in the class!LOL Now that's my girl. I'm so proud of her!

She's also lost another tooth!


What a sweet smile Evie has...


Now, Isaac has really grown this year also. Last year, he was our "wild card" in our school day. This year, he's been willing to sit in on some school work a couple of days each week. What a big difference! He's also been very creative lately...


We find these kind of towers all over the house.LOL

Yesterday, he got in trouble. He cut up a piece of Jon's boyscout uniform. I don't think he realized that it was something he couldn't cut up but even so he had to work off the cost of that piece. Luckily it only cost a $1.00 so I charged him with washing the table before dinner last night...


He did a super job! I think that I've been underestimating him again.


Well, that's been our week. Our schedule is working great for us and I'm even getting a little time each week to sew. I made Isaac a pair of boxer shorts today and they turned out nice. I'll post a photo if I get a chance later today. He's wearing them right now and I hate uploading photos. ::snort::

Blessings,

The Art of Uncheese...

At first I denied it. Then I ignored it. Finally I accepted it. Now I'm embracing it.LOL

Hi, my name is Lisa and I'm allergic to dairy.lol I finally started trying to replace the dairy in my diet with acceptable pretend cheeses. The only problem is, the prepackaged stuff still has things I'm not supposed to eat and it doesn't taste very good. Well, I researched and found a few books that people on Amazon.com said were good and I bought this one...



My very first attempt was fake parmesian cheese. After grinding it up, it smelled so bad that I stuck it in the back of the fridge vowing never to eat it. After about a week, I got desperate and pulled it out to eat with my garlic butter pasta.LOL (Yes, I know I'm weak.) It turned out to be so good that EVERYONE liked it! Whatever made the smell dissipated and it no longer smelled bad.lol All in all, a success.

Fortified with a good recipe under my belt, I tried to make Unmozzarella. It's the ONE cheese that I miss the most. I let it set for a day or two and then made everyone pizzas, mine with the faux cheese. It didn't look very good and it tasted worse. It was REALLY bad.LOL Took me a while before I could muster up the courage to try another recipe.

Today, I dusted off the book once again and made an unCheese Wiz type recipe. Here's what it looks like...



I made Jon try it first.lol I'm such a chicken! He said it was good but his face said something else.lol I decided to try it anyway and it's good! This has a sharp taste, but not the texture of cheese. It reminds me of that cheese that comes in a spray can. Tangy, a little garlicy, and a bit like hummus but good. Remember all, I'm desperate.LOL We all tried it on crackers and enjoyed it. I think it's a keeper and whenever I get more than ONE recipe from a cookbook, I call it good.lol I'll be trying more recipes in the weeks to come, but just having a cheap, good parmesian makes me happy.

Blessings,

My Day in Photos...

Here is a montage of photos depicting my day.lol

Chocolate covered oreos...


Isaac at the party with his boppy...


Sophia joined in all the reindeer games, not shy one bit...


Allison with her red striped hair...very festive...


Sophia back in the stroller...


Looking bored already!


Jon, looking tall...



The party was fun for all the kids. Evie lost another tooth while there! Now the tooth that has already come in has a hole to move into.LOL We ended up with some extra kids after the party. That kept everyone happy and they are now off skating with grandpa. Fun, fun, fun! The littles are in bed except a teething Sophia. She's trying to help the pain by banging her head against things. It's not working.LOL I think Tylenol is in order and I'll be praying for some much needed sleep tonight. Oh, and I made it to the grocery store tonight! Yippee! We now have Christmas dinner in our possession. lol

Blessings,

Recipe...

O.k. folks, this is starting to seem very funny to me, but I've found the secret to really good Oriental Beef with Broccoli......

Italian dressing!LOL

Here's my new recipe....

Oriental Beef w/Broccoli

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Italian dressing (I use Good Seasons all made up)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh ginger

1 1/2 pounds round steak, sliced thin(or whatever beef you have on hand)

2 heads of broccoli, chopped thin

a good number of carrots sliced thin

1/2 an onion, sliced thin

Make the sauce and set aside. Cook the beef on med-high til browned. Add veggies and saute until the broccoli gets dark green. Add the sauce and stir. If it's not enough sauce, add some more soy sauce. Turn to low, cover and let simmer until the veggies are done to your liking. Serve over rice. Enjoy!

Blessings,

Lisa

Why would I take time to make my own tortillas...

In one word...YUM! They are soooo much better than store bought.
All you need is a rolling pin. Make sure that the dough is a little sticky, if not then add a little more water to the mix. It should look like this...

Spongy and slightly sticky...

Take a ball about this big...

Then let it rest that 10 minutes. You'll have an easy pliable dough. Roll it out with ample flour under and over it and make it thin.

Roll it thin...
Now, have your pan already hot and just lightly grease it, I use Pam. Throw your tortilla in and wait until it gets some light brown spots on it and flip. Wait until that side is speckled and it's done! Each tortilla will only take about 1-2 minutes to make. I usually make my next tortilla while one is cooking.

It'll get bubbly and rise slightly, then flip it...

Now it'll rise some more, when it gets speckles, it's done...

The finished product. I got about 22 from my dough...

Here are some ideas that we are going to try this week or things we've done last week...

Lentils and Rice (yum)
Eggs and Bacon (yum)
Potatoes and Pintos (Dorothy)
Beef and Refried beans
Chicken Salad
on the side with soup (Split Pea is good!)
BBQ Pork or Beef
Taco Stuff
PBJ

Really, anything goes!

Tortillas

3 cups flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup hot water

Combine first 3 ingredients. Add Shortening and combine until it looks like little peas. Add hot water and knead together to form a ball. Let rest for 10 minutes. Roll out in 10-12 tortillas and cook on a med hot skillet.

Here are some updates on my tortilla making...

I LOVE making tortillas! I make them once a week right now. The recipe is on my blog and since then I've perfected the cooking.I make the dough and then roll them all out at once and drape them over my plastic bowl rim. Then I get my pan nice and hot. I've found that you need to cook them pretty fast. I set my burner on med high and put the tortilla in the pan. Watch it puff up quickly and turn it. It should be spotted brown but not blackened. If it is, turn your heat down a little. Each tortilla should only take about 30 seconds on each side. Then I flip, wait a few seconds and flip it onto my waiting plate. Now this is another secret...cover the tortillas with foil. Just lift the foil and add the newly cooked tortilla on top of the previous one and replace the foil. It steams them and makes them very soft

Enjoy! We are. :)

Blessings,

Lisa

Recipe...

Fried Rice from Miserly Meals...

2tbsp oil
3/4 cup diced onion (I used very little, maybe 1/8 of a cup very thinly sliced)
2 cloves garlic, pressed (I used minced)
4 egg whites (I used 2 eggs)
2 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
1/2tsp ground ginger ( I used fresh)
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

(I also added 2 cups leftover BBQ Chicken, diced, that had sauce on it.)

On medium heat, cook up the onion and garlic in the oil. Add peas and carrots, ginger, chicken, and soy sauce. Cook egg separately and set aside. Add in your rice to the meat and veggies, adjust seasonings. (I added more soy sauce) Add egg and serve.

This was sooooo good! I think the added BBQ sauce really added an authentic taste to this dish. I think I've found the secret to good fried rice....American BBQ sauce!LOL

Enjoy!

Lisa

Sophia with her new toy. She looks quite amused, doesn't she?LOL Oh, well. Maybe she'll like it when she's a little older.

Kate's Peanut Chicken...

Peanut Chicken

Cook, cool, and cut into bite size pieces several boneless chicken breasts. You can use leftover chicken if it isn't strongly seasoned. I usually toss severalof the Tyson breasts in a 9x13 covered tightly with foil and cook them untildone at 350 or so earlier in the day. You can add salt and pepper.

Put rice on to cook. I use jasmine rice and toss in a couple of spoonfuls ofvirgin coconut oil for flavor, but any rice will do.

Mix together in a saucepan:

1 can of coconut milk

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce or Bragg's liquid aminos

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 - 1 t ginger

1/8 t red pepper if desired(couple cloves garlic if desired if you aren't Lisa LOL)

Heat until mixed and bubbly and then add chicken.

While sauce heats, chop some green onions and cucumber. These are best ice cold.

To serve, scoop rice onto each plate and top with chicken and sauce. Top liberally with onions, cucumbers, and lots of salted cocktail peanuts.

If we serve this for the family, I put each component on the table individuallyand don't add the chicken to the sauce. Some children like it the way Idescribed while others prefer their own combo or prefer to have the plainchicken, the rice with some butter and salt, and the cucumbers and peanuts intheir own piles. Can't have our food touching LOL.

This is very versatile. You can double it or triple it. You can go light orheavy on the meat. You can freeze the sauce with or without the chicken. Iusually make a big double batch, serve it just for Jeff and I for date night andfreeze two more dinner's worth. That gives me two date nights where all I haveto do is cook rice and chop cukes and green onions. :-)

I really liked this! It was different than what I normally serve but everyone enjoyed having something new. I can't wait to serve this to my dh tonight!

Blessings,

Lisa

The finished product! We've already eaten one of these loaves.lol I also made 2 loaves so we have 4, well, 3 now.YUM!!

The inside.

Flour coated littles.


Jon working on step 2, Kneading the bread.

Bread baking 101. Jon has made our regular bread many times so I let him take the reins and make a more complicated recipe today, Cinnamon Swirl Egg Bread.



Allison goofing off.lol

Jon's creations.

Genevieve and Allison's creations.

My work of art.lol

Genevieve's tea party.


Cookie creations.

Allison decorating.

Here are the Cheese-topped Pork Chops. They were really good! I also did one chicken breast to see what it would taste like and it was good too! The kids said it tasted like Heavenly Chicken and I agree. I grilled the meat and then topped it with the cheese, then baked it in the oven. YUM!

Blessings,

Lisa

Here's my pie. Looks yummy! I can't wait until after dinner tonight.

Lisa

Here are the rolls that Jodi has on her blog. I made them and they are good! I did the cinnamon/sugar ones and they are mostly gone already.lol In addition to making these, I also did another batch of granola because the batch I made on Monday was supposed to last 2 weeks and it only lasted 5 days.lol I've also started a list for my every two month run to BJ's and will try to get that done either tonight or tomorrow morning before our run to TRU. Now, I need to work on dinner. We only have Chili left on the list of dinners so I guess that I won't have to make too many decisions.lol

Blessings,

Lisa