New Hanbok

Andrew was so excited about his new hanbok.  So here is our boy.

Cooking with Andrew and Aaron too....

Andrew has taken interest in cooking with me lately.  I think, mostly because it means he gets to do something with mommy.  And he is a do something with someone all the time kind of guy.  It has been fun to see him enjoy helping and being so proud of the results.  He loves to make his own eggs BY HIMSELF.  He has "taught"  Aaron how to do it as well.  He is my regularly dessert maker for Sabbath eve and sometime even for church pot lucks.  He picked out the dessert for this week.

We had a minor disaster awhile back, perpetuated by his sister.  He had made this dessert cookie pizza that included icing.  We had left it on the counter.  His sister climbed up licked the icing.  Normally this is not a big deal we would have rolled with it but it was for covered dish dinner.  This was not going to fly...so a quick replacement item was made.  Andrew however was quite distraught.  So we let him make it again for the next covered dish...minus the sister assistance.

 Now Aaron has started to get in on the helping thing too and Angela wants to lick the batter bowl.  Cooking has encouraged Andrew to try new foods, because even if he isn't convinced that he will like it, the fact that he put it in makes it better.  Cooking with my boys sometimes means dinner is a little late but the joy they get from helping is worth it (most of the time).

Leftover Potato Soup

I made this last night out of leftovers...the rest of the leftovers are going in a quiche today...it keeps coming back.

3 baked potatoes skinned and chunked (we had baked potatoes monday night)
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup chicken chunks already cooked(some on sale in the fridge section - rest went into quiche)
1 cup ham chunks(had lunch meat)
1 cup of milk with a 1/4 cup of flour dissolved in it.
1 cup of shredded cheese ( had italian mix in the house)

Place potatoes, broth, chicken and ham in the pot.  Heat to boiling.  Add milk mixture to pot.  Cook until it begins to thicken.  Add cheese.  Serve cheese is melted.  This took less than 20 minutes.

We had steak'ums on the side.

So tonight quiche contains, chicken, steak'um, broccoli (leftovers)  and cheese.

NOTE: Don't have baked potatoes throw them in the microwave and you will have them in about 5 minutes...stab them with a fork to prevent a microwave disaster.

Ham Roll Ups

Here is another left over creation...

3 cups shredded ham or turkey ham

24oz size container of cottage cheese

2 cups of mozzarella cheese, divided

1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese

1 egg

1 tablespoon of garlic and herb seasoning(I like McCormick's salt free brand)

1 large jar of Alfredo/white sauce

12 lasagna noodles 

Cook lasagna noodles according to package.  Drain cottage cheese.  Mix cottage cheese, 1.5 cups of cheese, Parmesan, egg and seasoning.  Spoon and spread about 1/3 cup of cheese mixture onto the noodle.  Spread 1/4 cup of ham over cheese mixture.  Roll and place in greased 13 x 9 pan.  Repeat for the remaining noodles.  Pour Alfredo sauce over pasta, top with remaining cheese.  Cover and bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes.  

Family pictures...finally

My sister-in-law took these amazing pictures.  We were at Bethel University in Minnesota.  It is the land of a thousand lakes and there was a little one at the college.  Angela is so the third child.  We are lucky to take any pictures at all.  School has started back and we are adjusting.

Empanadas and Chicken Pot Pie

I am reminded again how food even when it is different is the same.  I find it fascinating that most cultures that I have run into have some sort of noodle comfort food and a form of chicken noodle soup or soured foods.  Take for example the lo-mein, or drunken noodles (Thai) or Pancit (Filipino) or mac and cheese (american).  Kimchi a Korean dish isn't that different from Sauerkraut.  I don't have to go through the list of chicken soups but you get the idea.  The same goes for pastries filled with stuff.  The filling vary depending on what is available but dough with stuff in it crosses cultures.  Shall I start the list pasties, chicken potpie, wontons or pot stickers, calazones, even pepperoni rolls. Well you get the idea.  This happens to be empenadas and my cookbook tells me there are hundreds of variations from Mexico to Chile.  Their roots can be traced to Spain and the Middle East.  This happens to be an Argentinian version.  It contains 1 pound cooked lean meat, 2 cups shredded potatoes, 3 tablespoons of beef broth and a little salt and pepper.

Place in 6 inch crusts.  This recipe is nearly identical to the pie crust recipe I use.  This contains a little baking powder which I use in my pie crusts.  Seal and punch wholes in the top.

 Coat with egg mixture.   Miss Angela helped me.

 Bake at 450 for 10 minutes and then lower to 350 and bake 30 minutes.

Being a typical lazy american - here are a few short cuts I came up with to speed up the process.  You can make this recipe faster if you use prepared pie crust, preshredded hashbrowns and there is probably precooked shredded beef out there somewhere without sauce.

The amazing thing is there are recipes that contain everything from beans to bananas.  This is just empanadas.  The amazing diversity in food is so much fun.  It is fun to think that in the last 7 days I have bot empanadas and Chicken pot pie.

Doggie Therapy

We jokingly referred to Andrew's learning not to be afraid of the dog as doggie therapy.  Well we have another kid that is afraid of dogs and we are helping her face her fears.  However we are missing Tina girl.

 She was an incredibly patient dog.  And as the picture shows with time Andrew overcame his fears.  Well Tina girl is gone but we have found two incredible dogs who happen to be rescues to help us out.  Yesterday was the first day.  Angela was willing to be in with the dogs but didn't want to be down but by the end she was willing to get close to the dogs.  She was bravest when she was downstairs and they were upstairs.

 This is Samson and he is 3 years old and super mellow.  He isn't used to kids but was great because he stayed in one place so Angela could watch him and the boys loved petting him.  He is in training to be a service dog.

 This is Zippo and she is a sweetie.  She is 6 year old boxer.  She loves to be where the people are and to play.

Aaron and Andrew want to know why we can't go back again today but we will be going back weekly for a while so Angela can get comfortable with dogs.  So if you think about it say a prayer that doggie therapy goes well.

Cheesy BBQ Rice One Pot Meal

It was a put together what is in the refrigerator night and this is the result.  After we added the crunchy chips it was voted a hit.  So I am sharing.

3 cups water
1 and 1/2 cups rice (we use Korean short grain but any will do)
2 cups of frozen veggies (we had corn)
1 container of pulled bbq chicken from the refridge section of the store (Lloyd's is one example)
1 and 1/2 cups of cheese
1-2 cups of crushed tortilla chips

Bring water to a boil.  Add rice and veggies and reduce heat to simmer and cover.  When rice is almost done (about 15 minutes) , add chicken.  Heat through about 5 minutes.  Top with cheese and chips just before serving.

So here was our dinner in a pot served with applesauce on the side.

Side note for the Pampered Chef people.  I made this in my new Rockcrok.  It worked great.

Buckeye Brownies

I made these brownies up and this is what used.  A lady used to sell these at work and I always wanted to try to make them.

You need a 9 x 13 pan of brownies.  A box mix is fine or this is a super fast and easy recipe from Hershey's.  Don't make the icing. https://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipe-details.aspx?id=98.

To make the topping I used another Hershey recipe.

3/4 cup butter melted
1 and 1/3 cup peanut butter
3 cup confectionery sugar

Mix together until smooth consistency.  Set aside.

Melt 2 cups chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of Crisco until smooth.

Top brownies that have cooled for about 10 minutes with peanut butter mixture.  Carefully spread.  Then pour chocolate over top.  Spread evenly and let cool.  Cut and serve.

North Carolina visit

This was our first long trip with 3 kids and overall they did very well.

 Perry's Dad made a fabulous meal for actual thanksgiving day.  We also enjoyed visiting with great grandparents.  It was a relaxing few days.

 Friday evening we had a Thanksgiving with lots of extended family.  The kids had a great time playing with all the cousins both old and young.

The days flew by and Perry had to return to work.

Intro to Snow

We had snow early this year.  We lost two days of school and the boys have had several delays due to very cold days.  Angela's first response to snow was "white rain."  Pretty good description for no exposure to the stuff.  She likes the sled riding but is not impressed with brothers throwing snowballs.  She did try her hand throwing them at mommy.

 Aaron

 Angela

 Andrew

 The icey stuff made for great sledding and skating on the back porch.

Swimming and sleeping

 Angela has loved her swimming lessons.  We are taking the month of January off but will return in February.  She tries to swim in the tub.

 Mr. Verne spends many Sabbaths with us and Angela crashed out in his lap one week.

Angela cheesing it up in the our churches small nursery.

Visit to Great Grandpa's

We had an enjoyable but busy Christmas.  Andrew's birthday is two days after Christmas so it makes things exciting but busy.  It has become my habit to go out to WI after Christmas with a child not in school to see grandpa Graffius.  It is always an adventure with the weather but always a lot of fun,  Angela charmed all the people at the home where grandpa lives.  Great grandpa had a great time giving her sweets and playing with her.  They created a game with a grabber tool he uses and she loved the seat belt on his power chair.  We got to stay two extra days due to weather and that resulted in a chance to check out a small museum in Madison.  She liked the rocks but the dinosaurs were two big scary.  Overall a great time was had by all.