Levi at 4 months

 

Today Levi had his four month check up.  I adore my very seasoned pediatrician and the funny comments he makes.  Today he said that he predicts that Levi will be a super athlete with his huge frame and advanced physical developments.  Levi is a whopping 20 pounds at four months and is tall for his age as well.  Despite his extreme weight, he is bearing weight on his legs and can move about the room as he pleases which shocked the doc.  Heavy babies tend to not have the abilities to move as much as Levi.  Only time will tell.  One thing is for sure, that boy is going to eat A LOT. 

For that reason and that fact that I love gardening, I am attempting to learn how to grow a vegetable garden and preserve foods.  Today I preserved twenty of my latest tomatoes by de-skinning and freezing.  It only took a few minutes to put these up for the fall.  I'm planning to make soups, chili, and spaghetti sauce with these!!!



Happy Independence Day!

We had a great holiday weekend.  We played hard, worked hard, and ate GOOD!  Michael and I built another raised garden and planted three apple trees and two blueberry bushes. The kids enjoyed fireworks and staying up late.  Here's some pictures as of late.

Joel and Levi hanging out.

Levi was smiling and giggling like crazy, so I tried to capture it with the camera. 

 

I got it here.  This is a huge, belly shaking, toss your head back, and pee in your pants LAUGH!

This is supper.   I am so thrilled to be eating stuff out of our garden.  I made homemade salsa with the peppers, tomatoes, and cilantro from our garden!  It was DELICIOUS!!   And the stuffed peppers are home grown too.

Blueberry Breakfast

 

For an exciting food adventure this morning,  I made blueberry syrup and blueberry walnut pancakes.  YUMMY!!!  

I LOVE summer with all the fresh fruit and veggies!!

CHECK! One domestic goal completed....

Well not really completed.  Just making lots of progress.

This year, one of my domestic goals was to become a better chef. And the goal for being a kitchen pro is actively being persued. 

Clark is so thankful for my kitchen experiments--most of the time.

STEP ONE: Getting Organized

I have organized all my favorite recipes in a handy dandy binder with sheet protectors.  I have a list of 14 "go to meals" if ever in a pinch and in need of inspiration.  I even have a section for recipes I want to try.  My husband has commented time and time again that he has been impressed with meals lately.  I think it's because I have been really working  hard to be organized.  I can cook better meals when I have a handle on the contents of the pantry and frig and garden.  I also plan meals one month at a time with my self created meal planner worksheet.  I plan 20 meals that includes two meals to freeze for later.  I also plan several meals that I call hospitality meals for unplanned guests.  I think good planning goes a long way at meal time.

STEP TWO: Practice, Practice, Practice

One of my kitchen goals has been to start canning.  I have great memories of my grandma and I sweating it out in her kitchen for days canning all kinds of things when the harvest came in.  

So with the help of my domestic diva mother-in-law, I have learned how to "can".  I have made plum jelly under her supervision.  And today, I ventured on my own and made strawberry jam!!!!  And it's DELICIOUS!  I was surprised how easy it was.  The cost per pint jar of jam was 80 cents verses several dollars at the store. (That is not counting the cost of the jars since I will use them over and over.)  What a deal!

Next on my agenda is canning blackberry jelly and salsa from my garden veggies!!!!  :-) YUMMY!!!

So do you have any domestic goals?  I'd love to hear about what you are working on!

To Cake Pop Or Not.....

 

For my friend Melody's baby shower, I made cake pops for the first time.  I've heard they are growing in popularity, and I love an adventure.  Definition of cake pops: cake and icing mixed together, rolled into balls, and covered with some sugary substance (I used melted chocolate and fondant).   It's a lot like a bonbon or Ho Ho.  It took me about two hours to make 20 pops while taking care of four small children.  That's my first pro.

Pros to cake pops:

1. Fast--I baked the cake and froze it until the day.  I used ready make icing.

2. Tons of ways to decorate and design.

3. Kids eat every piece not just the icing

4. Portion sizes are easy to control

5. No need to for extra cake plates, forks, or knives to cut

6. Easy clean up

7. You can get a major chocolate fix with chocolate cake, chocolate icing, and chocolate shell

8. Easy on the hands--no piping to aggravate carpal tunnel

Cons:

1. Cake and ice cream are deep in my subconscious for parties

2. The wow factor of a big cake is missing

3. Where would candles go??

4. No difference in taste between icing and cake.  I have to admit I love icing!!!

 

Here's the big spread with the cake pops in the left corner.  See what I mean...they just blend in with the other food.  I like a big wow factor with a cake!

So my final decision...cake pops are fun for special occasions, but they'll never beat a cake. :-)

What Would You Do With 30 Pounds of Chicken Breast?

This is maybe half of the chicken I bought. 

I am certifiable crazy.  I admit it. I love to save money and get good deals.  This is what we do to save money and time.  I hope this will help someone who is need of more time or more money or both.

We found skinned boned chicken breast for 99 cents a pound, and I had a $5 coupon.  So I bought over 30 pounds of it!!!

So I spent several hours pulling off chicken skin, de-boning, and slicing.  I boiled half of it for future chicken tacos, chicken spaghetti, chicken and dumplings, etc. I bagged and froze it.

One of my three pots to boil the chicken.

Then I took the rest of it and bagged it with marinades and special spices.

Bags full of seasonings and sauces

Next time I grill, I'll just pull out a bag and be ready to go.

 It's a lot of work, but it makes life easier in the long run. :-)

Happy cooking and saving, everyone!