jump up and down

fisted flower garden

This came home from preschool a few weeks ago (it was a Valentine card for Ryan and I) - I thought it was a fun idea and great for Spring (which is going to get here any day now, right?).  It looks like they had the kids make a fist and put the thumb end of their hand in some poster paint and then stamp it on white paper.  Cut out the hand stamp around it's outline, add construction paper stems and leaves and you've got yourself a flower garden!

dinner co-ops and braised pork chops

This week's dinner recipe comes to us from Rachael Ray - you can find the link to these yummy pork chops here.  Instead of talking so much about the recipe this week, I wanted to talk about my dinner co-op.  I mentioned it last fall and said I would talk more about it, but got so busy and never did. 

Last semester, there were four families in the dinner co-op (all had at least one student in the family and one or two kids - very similar to our family), which meant I was only cooking once a week.  We were only required to make a main dish, but often provided a little something else.  This ended up being a real life saver last semester when I was trying to juggle working, school, and family.  I only had to cook once a week (it was a big job when I did it, but not too terrible) and I was able to choose a day when I had a little more time.

Two families have dropped out for various reasons, but our family and one other (thanks Kellie and John!) are still enjoying eating each others meals once a week.  I love it!  We get to try new foods, it gives me a little break from cooking each week, and it saves money too.  I'm a little less busy this semester so exchanging with just one other family is working well.

I usually choose a recipe that I can make in one big pot.  This one happened to be an exception and I needed to use my two big stock pots.  To manage all the cut produce, I try not to think too much about the dishes and use bowls and cutting boards (I own 3) to keep things separated until they need to go in the pot.  This week's dinner happened to be meat based, but we just as easily exchange vegetarian meals and keep everyone happy and full.

I think the key to making something like this a success is first finding a family that is similar in size to yours and has fairly similar tastes in food.  Make sure to talk to the other family about anything that you might want to ban (last semester we had a family that didn't like seafood and Ryan is not a fan of chunky cooked tomatoes, so that's on the "banned" list too).  It also might be helpful to see if you can exchange meals on your busiest days - hopefully they don't fall on the same day.  I know one of things I'll miss most when we move from here is our dinner co-op.  It won't be easy to find a replacement for the Perke's yummy dinners!

scrappy giveaway

Last month I promised there would be more giveaways.  I've decided that I should do at least one a month this year.  I started it off right in January, so why not keep it going?  It didn't take much to figure out what I should give away this month - I've been walking all over the scraps that are on my sewing room floor for the better part of the last month.  They fell out of my scrap box a while ago because there are just too many of them and I didn't put them back because I knew they would just fall out again.  I have good intentions of using all my scraps, but really I have more than I will ever use.  If you win the giveaway, I'll stuff a flat rate envelope full of scraps (all of the ones in the pic plus a few more)- vintage, new (lots of Amy Butler here - scraps from all my purse making), not so new, bold colors, subdued shades - and send it to you!  Just leave a comment and your entered.  Announce the giveaway on your blog and I'll enter you one more time for everyone you refer - just make sure they mention you in the comment (I guess you'll have to trust your blog readers on that one).  I'll take entries for a week - until next Wednesday, March 4 (oh hooray, next week is MARCH!!!), at midnight.

Not sure what to do with them?  Here are some great scrap fabric projects that can help you get started...

**Fabric Bookmarks at How About Orange

**Fabric Magnets at el-e-ment-al

**Patchwork Kitchen Towels from Sew, Mama, Sew

**Doll Quilt from Soto Softies

**Scrap Wreath from Lindamade

**Bird Mobile from Spool

GOOD LUCK!!

head start on easter

Ryan showed the boys It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown a few days ago and then Peter started asking to make colored eggs.  He asked several days in a row, several times a day (see how much his language is improving?), "Mommy, I wanna make colored eggs," or "We make colored eggs tomorrow?" or "Look Mommy, it's the eggs (showing them to me in the fridge).  I wanna color eggs."  I decided he wasn't going to be able to hold out until Easter, so, we relented this weekend. 
It was a good activity to do while Grandma was here - she came to help out because the boy's babysitter is out of town.  We're excited to have her here next weekend too!  Hooray for Grandmas!

 We used a sparkle egg coloring kit - it had sparkle glue that was painted on and the color packets had a bit of oil in them that created a swirling effect.  The sparkle glue probably wasn't worth it - there was only a small amount in the kit.  I wonder if you could pull off a similar effect by just painting the egg with glue and using your own glitter.  The swirling effect could definitely be created with a strip-down dye kit - just add a couple of drops of oil to your cup of dye.  Re-dip in a second color for a multiple color effect.

And the best part is that Peter is enjoying eating the eggs too!

what's for dinner: Lettuce Wraps

Hands down, this is our new favorite dish - we have made it twice in the last week and will probably make it again this weekend while my Mom is here to visit.  When I took my first bite, it took me back to a few months ago when I had my first visit to PF Chang's and enjoyed their lettuce wraps.  Ryan loves it, the kids will at least eat the chicken, and it's definitely healthy food friendly.  Thanks to my friend Cheryl for sharing it on her blog! 

Lettuce Wraps

1 lb chopped chicken (I just pulsed a few chicken breasts in the food processor.)

12 lettuce leaf cups (romaine or butter lettuce) Crisp in ice bath 10 min.

2 T sesame seed oil

1 T minced garlic

1 T minced ginger

6 green onions

¼ cup soy sauce

2 T hoisin sauce

1 T rice vinegar

1t cornstarch

¼ cup cold water

Rice, Rice Noodles, or Crispy Rice Noodles

Island Soyaki (a sauce from Trader Joes - we don't have a TJ here, so I used Soy Vay Island Teriyaki)

Chop and measure all ingredients before starting. Heat oil in skillet over med-hi. Add garlic, ginger, and ¾ of green onions. Stir fry 30 seconds. Add chicken and stir fry 3-4 minutes. In a small bowl whisk together soy sauce, hoisin, vinegar, cornstarch and water. Add to skillet. When mixture boils reduce heat to low and simmer 1 minute. Spoon mixture into lettuce leaf and garnish with green onion, shredded carrots, cucumbers, peanuts, rice, and island soyaki sauce. 

MMMMMM!  This stuff is delicious!  I think I might even try it with tofu. I am usually not a fan of it, but I think I might like it in this.  Enjoy!!

playtime

Cutting Mat or Race Track?  You decide...

our valentines

The end of the week turned out to be a bit hectic - I had my first test on Friday morning, so I spent the last part of the week studying.  And then on the way to take my test, Peter threw up about two blocks before we got to the babysitter's house - ack!  I thought we were out of the woods - no one had shown any symptoms for two days. 

Ryan was already a work (an hour away) and had carpooled anyway, so I would've had to go get him.  Emergency mode!  Long story short - I took Peter with me to the test (yes - I did ask to take the test later in the day, but the response from my teacher and my thoughts on that are a whole different story!), he threw up once more, but we made it to the bathroom that time, and when I was about three questions away from being finished, my teacher brought me a note telling me that the babysitter had called to say that Ned had thrown up and I needed to come get him. 

 

I finished up my test, picked up Ned, and went home and did nothing for the rest of the day except eat saltine crackers and drink flat soda.  We've taken it easy this weekend too...we ate dinner in as a family yesterday and today I kept the boys home from church (since apparently this thing just comes on with no warning) and we made Valentines.  I bought the digital file for the animal ones from Up Up Creative.  Peter enjoyed putting them together...

and Ned loved taking them apart.

 

red letter day

I spent yesterday cleaning up after Ned - he couldn't keep anything down.  But he seems to be doing better today.  In between all of the laundry and wiping up (he is still too young to make it to the bathroom apparently), I found it nice to look at this banner that I had hanging on the wall from taking pictures.
 
This is why I love custom orders - such great ideas!  I'd been wanting to come up with a banner that was more of a general celebration banner, but could not think of a good saying.  And then this one gave me the perfect opportunity to use a lot of great red and blue vintage fabrics that I have collected.  I loved it so much, I made an extra for the shop here.  Now I just need to find some less floral-y fabrics to make our male dominated family one.

thrifting

I haven't posted thrift finds in a long time - I have had some, but they've been few and far between.  I remember it being like this last winter too.  Hopefully people start doing their spring cleaning soon and things pick up!  I should probably do a little spring cleaning of my own.  I have to admit that another reason I haven't been showing as many thrift finds is that I have been a lot more selective about what I bring home.  I'm running out of space to put things!  Anyways, here are a couple of my favorite finds from the past little while.

An assortment of vintage sheets.  The stripes  and blues are harder to come by, so I was very excited to find blue stripes!  And my shop is getting low on banners - I can't wait to make some from these fabrics.

For some reason, I am drawn to anything needlepoint, even though I don't do much of it.  I just have a really hard time leaving needlepoint kits on the shelf.  This one just took me right back to my very 80's childhood, so I had to have it!

And this one was already finished, so how could I pass it up?  It is meant to be the front of a pillow - it even came with some very bright teal linen, piping, and a zipper to make it into one.  Someone got this far, and then never made the pillow.  I'm not too keen on the bright teal, but I think I will make it into a pillow, just with something a little more muted on the back.  I think it would add a nice splash of color to our bed. 

recipe box swap: grandma's brownies

Today is Recipe Box Swap day over at Randi's blog.  Her chosen theme this time was fun foods - anything sweet, salty, fried, etc.  I chose sweet and sinful.  These are the brownies I grew up eating.  I have fond memories of making these on Sunday afternoon  I'm not sure where the original recipe came from, so I guess this is almost as close as I get to a secret family recipe as it gets for me. So, I hope you enjoy!

Grandma's Chocolate Brownies

1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa, 4 eggs

Add each ingredient one at a time, beating well after each one.  Then add: 

1 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup chopped nuts (optional), 2 tsp. vanilla

Spread in a greased shallow pan.*

Bake 20-25 minutes at 350.  Then cover the brownies with a single layer of miniature marshmallows.  Return to oven for 3 minutes.  Cool for at least 1 hour and then frost.

Frosting:  1/2 cup butter (can use 1/4 c if you want), 1 2/3 cup powdered sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 1/3 cup canned milk

*To get the best brownie texture, I use the broiler pan from my oven.  You can use a 9x13 pan, but you will get a more cake-like texture.  For the best texture, use something a little larger (a jelly roll pan maybe - aren't they 15x10?), but not as big as a cookie sheet.

And, boy have they been coming in handy the last couple of days (in moderation of course - I've still been eating those grapefruits too) - Ned is trying to give up his nap, but not really ready for it yet which means he's a serious grump when he doesn't get his way, I'm really not liking having my early class three days a week - so many complications with it and the babysitting, and I'm dealing with a reoccuring minor health issue that is also oh so annoying!  Luckily, Ryan cut them into bite size pieces and took about half of them to work, otherwise I would have eaten the whole pan by myself by now!