Father’s Day Recipe Book

1 Jun

Anyone who knows my Dad, Larry, knows that he is the town “Pickle Man”…  He makes all sorts of different kinds of pickles from dill to sour, refrigerators to sweet.  He keeps his recipes in a box in his garage… They are all scribble scratched up with notes and formulas, changes and additions.  One of my boys favorite thing to do at G’s house is help him make and eat pickles…  I decided that this Father’s Day I would make him a book of recipes from the boys… It’s still in progress, but it has pictures of my boys helping to harvest the cucumbers, onions, dill etc.. that you need for pickling, as well as photographs of his famous pickles themselves!   The pictures coincide with the different recipes I’ve tried to translate into readable form :) .  I also included some of our other favorite recipes that we enjoy at “G’s” house just because I had the pages to do so :) !   I’m ordering the finished product from a site called paper coutier that has excellent deals right now.  They have tons of varieties of books (from recipe books to journals) you can personalize for that special dad or grandpa in your family!

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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

31 May

I love this time of year…  planting my garden, picking rhubarb, making rhubarb desserts :) …  My Dad has rhubarb plants, I do not :( but I take his when ever I can…  I highly suggest this pie, you will love it!  MMMMM…..  Not too sweet, not too sour, just perfect!

Ingredients

  • 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 6 tablespoons cold milk
  • 1 1/4 cups plus 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 cups halved strawberries
  • 2 cups thinly sliced rhubarb
  • 2 tablespoons butter , cut up
  • 2 teaspoons milk
Directions
To make crust, preheat oven to 400°. Mix flour and salt. Measure oil and milk together—don’t stir. Add to flour. Mix until dough forms.  Split the dough into two balls…  You will roll out both crusts, one for the top and one for the bottom…To make filling, mix sugar, flour, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add rhubarb and strawberries, stirring to coat.

Fill crust with filling. Scatter butter on top of the filling. Add top crust. Pinch edges and ventilate the top. Brush with milk. Sprinkle sugar on top. Bake on cookie sheet for 50 minutes. Can cover edge with tinfoil if cooking too fast.

Allow to cool 1 hour before serving or you will have a runny pie :)

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Pizza Bites

22 May

Last night Shaeffer had his Montessori graduation.  We love Montessori and it was a bitter sweet time.  We are still debating whether to send him to Montessori for Kindergarten so I guess if we do that he will graduate twice :) .  Any ways, they had a pot luck dinner prior to the ceremony and it was organized so well.  The sign up for pot luck included all the basics, appetizer, salad, fruit, entree, paper products, drinks and kid food…  KID FOOD=GENIUS, I mean why didn’t I think of that… They had an entire table of kid food, which I find perfect because my kids are not huge fans of random salads and casseroles (yes I wanted to say hot dish).  One family brought little PB& J sammy’s with the crusts cut off… There were mini hot dogs, nuggets, cheese and crackers, etc..  It was adorable.  We brought PIZZA BITES for this table…  Pretty easy and very yummy!  I think these would be a great appetizer for a party or even a fun dinner at home.  You can fill your bites with what ever you want.  I did pepperoni for ease, but anything would be yummy!  Here’s The Scoop:

PIZZA BITES

Ingredients:
½ batch pizza dough (enough for 1 pizza)- I used Pioneer Woman’s, but you could probably buy it too…
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, sliced
Sliced pepperoni (I used Mini Pepperoni)

For topping:
Olive oil
Italian seasoning
Shredded Parmesan

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate or cake pan.  Divide the pizza dough into 20 equal sized pieces.  Take one of the dough pieces, top with a cube of cheese and a slice or two of pepperoni.  Pull the edges of the dough around the fillings and pinch closed.  Place seam-side down in the baking dish.  Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.

Lightly brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil.  Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.  Serve warm, with dipping sauce as desired.

Recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats

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Lemon Bars

18 May

 

Ingredients

For the crust:

  • 1/2 pound softened butter
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 cups flour

For the filling:

  • 6 extra-large eggs
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (5 lemons)
  • 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 cup flour
  • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.   With the mixer on low, add the flour to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.  YUMMY!

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Summer Safari

15 May

This summer the boys and I are going to go on a “Summer Safari”…  There are several reasons I want to do this, but most of all it’s a way to stay engaged in learning while on a bit of a break…  We are going to study the continent of Africa, their culture, and the animals that live there.   We are most certainly going to do some reading, writing and of course CRAFTS to go with our unit…  Please join us and add your links to the comment section if you’ve done cute activities that relate to a SAFARI :) …  We will probably start our journey at the end of June…  Can’t wait!

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Mother’s Day Challenge

12 May

So I had this thought the other day…  I’m not sure why exactly, maybe it’s because my Mom was a single parent, maybe it’s because my cute older neighbor lives alone and her family is so far away, maybe it’s because God has an idea for me… Not sure, but here it goes…

Who helps single Mom’s celebrate Mother’s Day?  What do people who are all alone do on the day we honor Mom’s?  What if you are a mom who lost a child, or a mom who hasn’t been able to have a child?  Who remembers these people?  I remember being a little girl and bringing home the handmade gift I made in class, but that was it.  No one took me shopping for my mom, I didn’t make her special meals, and she most certainly didn’t get the day “off”.   I know she loved my handmade gifts more than anything, but I’m also sure it would have been nice to be treated a little bit like a queen :) .   I wonder what my sweet little neighbor will be doing tomorrow?  She has a grown son and grandchildren, but they live far away…  I wonder how my friend who lost her two year old son feels on Mother’s Day or our other friends who are unable to get pregnant?  It’s just heartbreaking for me to think of all these people who maybe wish the day would come and go or for whom the day does come and go without so much as a “thanks mom”…

This is the first Mother’s Day we are away from my Mom.  I know she’s ok with it, she has lots of friends to celebrate with and our boys sent her some special gifts and treats, but there are tons of Mom’s out there where Mother’s Day might actually be hard…  So my idea is this… Let’s brighten someones day just a little…

I asked the boys what they would like to get for Ms. Janet (our neighbor) for Mother’s Day…  They told me she loves fruit and especially kiwi.  Shaeffer wanted to give her flowers and Sutton wanted to draw her a picture in a frame.  It took me a little under an hour to run out and gather up all of their ideas and put them together in a basket for her.  We are going to bring it over in the morning and wish her a happy Mother’s Day.

I’m wondering if you can do the same?  Is there a neighbor, a friend, someone at church that you could just bring a something little to?  Stop and pick up some flowers in the morning, maybe muffins or scones…. If it’s someone you don’t know maybe just a gift card for a cup of coffee…  I just think we could help make Mother’s Day a little more special for those in our community who otherwise may see the day come and go without being honored for the Mom’s they are or want to be!

Will You Join Me for The Mother’s Day Challenge?   

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Easy Ways to Appreciate your Teacher

8 May

 

 

I don’t always feel crafty, sometimes I’m the opposite of crafty, sometimes I’m just in a slump, and sometimes I’d just rather play outside…  This happens to be one of those weeks.  I’m not really sure why, but I’m fine with it.  We’ve spent a lot of time outside riding bikes, exploring and playing with balls.  We’ve spent a lot of time entertaining friends for dinner and cleaning up the toy room after all the fun has been had…

This week also happens to be Teacher Appreciation Week.  I have seen some adorable ideas on Pinterest and am amazed by your creativity.  I love spoiling teachers-especially since I know how it feels to be spoiled.  I also know that spoiling teachers sometimes means giving them things they can do that don’t always relate to school… Meals out, time with their family, books, and gift cards are all special to that person who helps make a difference in your child’s life.  This week we are donating some food for special lunches, buying coffee and treats, drawing thank you pictures and spending a little money on some gift cards…    Not super crafty, but from one teacher to another I know they will be appreciated!  I guess what I’m saying is that you don’t have to be crafty or cutsie to thank your teacher, just thoughtful!

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