Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Menu Planning "Monday" - 4/29/09

Once again, I am running late on posting things for the week. We're still working on the low-carb diet, and it's fun to actually SEE results... unlike when I was actually working out for an hour a day and not seeing the scale budge. We've declared "Friday" to be our weekly cheat day, but the funny thing is... neither the hubby or I really cheated all that bad last Friday. I had lunch from a local vegan/vegetarian restaurant (tomatoes stuffed with tofu, veggie ham, and shitake mushrooms with brown rice) and hubby had a salad from ChickFilA (chicken and lots of fruits and veggies). We also had food from the vegan place for our lunches on the weekend which I'm sure is a lot more healthy than our usual weekend treks to fast food for lunch.

Anyways, on to the menu for the week... or at least, the ideas I have in my head for what I may or may not make.

Monday we had carne asada - thin cut round steaks with homemade salsa, steamed broccoli, and salads. The kids had steaks, rice and veggies.

Yesterday, I made souvlaki salads. Chicken breasts in a greek marinade (balsamic vinegar, oregano, pepper, lemon juice) with homemade tatziki sauce, served over lettuce with tomatoes, red onions, and cucumbers. (Lunch was taco salads - chicken with leftover salsa on lettuce, and just a teaspoon of sour cream!) The kids had the same chicken with tatziki sauce, rice, and baby carrots.

Tonight, we're having chile rellenos and salad. Pasilla chiles, roasted then peeled and deseeded, stuffed with cheese, turkey sausage, and possibly some other stuff (maybe some jalapenos and onions), dipped in an egg meringue batter and fried in canola oil... served with warmed-up salsa casera from a tin, and leftover homemade salsa. Will have a salad on the side! The kids will have turkey burgers with mac n cheese and veggie.

Thursday... I'm thinking dover soil, cooked with butter and lemon. Steamed broccoli with lemon & Parmesan cheese, and a salad.

Friday.... sushi night!

Langulator 3000

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

118/365

Presenting.... the Langulator 3000. (That's an alien translation device for all of you out there who may not be in the know!)

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My memory card ran out of room, so I only have this short video to share for now... Hubby used the camcorder to record her acting out her whole commercial, but I wanted to put this up so you could at least see the way it lights up.

Monday, April 27, 2009

117/365

My Dad wanted to check out the state of the local river to scout out some good fishing sites, so we decided to take the kids to a small nature center and walk out to the river from the wildlife sanctuary trail.

Look, snakes! And tarantulas!

Neat snake skin!

Take a picture of this!

These are cool...

Rawr!

Look at this bird!

Admiring all of the pretty minerals

Checking out the hut

Checking out the river

Admiring the wildflowers

Sunday, April 26, 2009

116/365

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Queen Elizabeth I, made out of a vinegar bottle. This was part of Sabrina's oral biography project. They were required to make a 3-D representation of their historical figure using some sort of cylindrical base (Pringles container, water bottle, etc.) We chose this vinegar bottle because the shape of the bottle made the perfect corset once it was spraypainted with a coat of black paint!

Friday, April 24, 2009

Need to catch up!!

I took a bit of a break from blogging this week as I had to finish a 6-8 page paper for my English class. It ended up being 7 pages, and I like what I wrote, so I hope it does well... it was on Oedipus Rex & Antigone, and the concepts of free-will and fate in both of the plays. Trying to concentrate and write anything worth reading in a house full of noisy children is challenging at best, depressing at worst.

Other than homework, I have spent a good portion of the week really tackling Mount Washmore, that ever growing pile of laundry. I am pleased to announce that I can see my garage floor!

Quick recap of the week while I am thinking about it:

Monday - It was over 100. It was hot. I detest doing anything in the heat.

Tuesday - Took Niko to the park in the hopes that he would go play long enough for me to read some of Antigone and make notes on what passages I would use as support in my paper. Not much luck with that, but he had fun.

Wednesday - Ordered new drapes for the living room! I am so excited to actually have window coverings again... we had to take down the vertical blinds ages ago because the kids had really messed them up... which in turn had been replacements for the original drapes that MELTED together when we had them dry cleaned. They should be here next week, and are going to make a huge difference just in keeping the living room from being an oven (south-facing wall)! After I get them, I'll let you know where I ordered them from if they're good quality. :)

Thursday - Had to pick Cecilia up from school after she got stung. By a bee. On the BUTT. It was on the slide, and she ran it over. I asked her if she was planning on getting a bee sting at school every year, as she got a sting on the finger last year in Kindergarten.

Friday - Went to class. Turned in my paper. Pop quiz on Hamlet - glad that I read the Cliff Notes for that this morning! Mid term next week. Dad requested a trip to the thrift store, which I readily agreed to... scored a full-length denim skirt for Abigail and a cute shirt for her, and two skirts for me... which I adored when I tried them on, but am having second thoughts since my mom called them both "hideous".

Thursday, April 23, 2009

113/365

Sabrina and Abigail had their GATE Art Gallery tonight. They enjoyed showing us all of the special projects they have been working on over the last couple of months.

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My silly little ones:
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

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The kids played in the backyard after school for a bit with one of the little girls from down the street. Sabrina took my camera out to take some pictures while I worked on my paper.

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Jack-Jack and Sandy were happy to have someone new to love up on.
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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

111/365

Niko at the playground...

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I can't remember what he was pretending the stick was...

Monday, April 20, 2009

Menu Plan Monday, April 20th 2009

After seeing some recent pictures of myself and thinking "Yuck!" "Whoa!" and various other four-letter words, I've decided to make a change to our diet (again). I really need to lay off the heavy cream and butter.

This week's dinners include:

- Steak, steamed broccoli and PURPLE cauliflower, salad with fat-free dressing (rice for the kids!)

- Halibut steaks with steamed broccoli and purple cauliflower, salad with fat-free dressing (fish sticks for the kids!)

- Ground sirloin (4% fat) with mushrooms, onions, and salad with fat-free dressing (baked potatoes for the kids!)

- Shrimp with green beans, salad with fat-free dressing (rice and fish sticks for the kids!)

- boneless/skinless chicken breast, carrots, and salad with fat-free dressing (hashbrowns for the kids!)

Breakfast for the kids will be cereal and milk, eggs with whole-grain toast and tea for me and the hubs. Lunches for me and the hubs include things like 98% fat free lunch meat, salads, lean chicken breast, fruits, etc. Snacks... for the kids, cookies and crackers. For me and the hubs, hardboiled eggs, reduced fat cheese sticks, 2% fat cottage cheese, fat-free yogurt, and diet Jell-o.

Wish us luck! :)

(Oh, the diet allows for however much salt, pepper, seasonings, vinegars, mustard, salsa, etc. as you would like to taste on your food... for the veggies I followed Chile's Guiltless Grill's example and used a very light sprinkle of parmesan cheese and lemon wedges.)

I spent about $25 more than my usual budget, but I hope to bring that total down as I get used to cooking a bit lighter and start stocking up on leaner cuts of meat as well. It's not too bad though considering it includes all of hubby's lunches!

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The perfect way to end a healthy activitiy like a family walk...
doughnuts

Doughnuts at the corner shop!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

108/365

Cookies. Yummy, delicious cookies. Oatmeal cookies... with mini chocolate chips. And dried blueberries. And flax seed meal. And... shortening.

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Friday, April 17, 2009

107/365

Today was a whirlwind.

I made it to class this morning. I got back my last essay and got an A- on it. He looked over the rough drafts that a few of us actually brought in (soooooooo not feeling bad about only having 3.5 out of 6 pages with me... out of the dozen people that actually showed up, he sent 3 guys home for not having a rough draft at all, and everyone around me only had 3-4 pages done too!). I've got a bit of feedback to go on, so with a little bit of His help I should get my essay done and ready to turn in next Friday.

I left school and stopped at Del Taco on the way home for breakfast... got home and left again shortly thereafter to go to Joann's. Got a call while at Joann's from one of Sabrina's friend's mothers asking me if I could pick up her daughter after school and watch her for a bit. Left Joann's and went to Petco. Came home and made Niko's lunch. Did 2 loads of laundry. Did the dishes, then left to pick up the *four* girls.

Got everyone loaded in the van, including my Dad, and hightailed it out to a park 20+ miles away to meet up with some strangers friends... all lovely ladies that I had met 7-8 years ago on AOL's breastfeeding or cloth diapering boards. Two of them I had met and hung out with several times before, but the third was a special treat as she lives over 10 hours and two states away - her family was in California to visit Disneyland. It's so much fun to finally meet in real life!

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Sabrina allowed the kids to completely bury her in the sand. I am going to be washing sand out of her hair for eons.

Came home, gave the kids more snack foods. One of the neighbor girls showed up at my house too... *five* girls now. They were playing inside, outside, on the Wii, painting each others nails, dancing... Started prepping for dinner. Sabrina's friend's mom came to pick her up, hubby got home, cooked dinner, ate, watched Hell's Kitchen... I am ready to collapse. My head hurts. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Thursday, April 16, 2009

106/365

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In an effort to get Niko engrossed in something where he wasn't derailing every train of thought I had today, I set up the easel in the kitchen. It didn't work. But he had fun!

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Cecilia enjoyed painting when she got home from school too. I think Sabrina and Abigail drifted around to it at some point in the afternoon too, but I didn't get pictures.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

105/365 - Chicken A La King, Goulash Recipe, and laundry

In response to the comments that were left asking for the Lazy Mom Goulash recipe, I am sorry that I didn't link back to the recipe! I posted it back in February... It's in this Menu Plan Monday post: Lazy Mom Goulash recipe post.

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My comments on this recipe are in italics.

Chicken A La King (from The American Peoples Cookbook, 1956)

Set out a 2-qt. saucepan.

Cut into chunks and set aside enough cooked chicken to yield
3 cups cooked chicken. (this turned out to be 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves)

Prepare and set aside
1 1/2 cups quick chicken broth (2 chicken bouillon cubes + water)
Cook and set aside (drain if necessary)
1 10-oz. pkg. frozen peas
Meanwhile, clean and slice
1/2 lb. mushrooms
Heat in the saucepan over low heat
1/3 cup butter, margarine, or chicken fat (ewwwwwww!)
Add the mushrooms. Cook slowly about 5 min., frequently moving and turning with a spoon. With slotted spoon remove mushroooms, allowing fat to drain back into saucepan; set mushrooms aside.

Blend into butter in saucepan a mixture of
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Accent (omit this, it's just MSG!)
Few grains pepper

Heat until mixture bubbles; cook 3 to 5 min. Remove from heat. Add gradually, stirring constantly, the chicken broth and
1 1/2 cups cream
Return mixture to heat; cook until thickened. Add the chicken, peas, mushrooms and
1/4 cup (2-oz. can, drained) pimiento strips
Cook mixture slowly until chicken is thoroughly heated. If desired, transfer mixture to a chafing dish.

Serve over waffles, rusks, Toast Points, or in Toast Cups. (I also enjoy having chicken a la king over rice! I served this over toast points for tonight though)
6 servings

This recipe made our "Make it again, Mom!" file. Actually, as soon as the kids took their first bite, their eyes rolled back in their heads and they gave it an instant thumbs up.

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I hate pairing up socks!!!!!!

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Donation Deadline - Can you help?

This is copied from the Livesay's blog (they are missionaries serving in Haiti):

Heartline Women's Program is currently touching the lives of more than 90 women and in turn helping hundreds of children have brighter futures because their mothers are becoming better educated and more empowered. A matching grant of 15K was given to the program. We only need to raise $395 more in order to receive the grant --- today is the day!!!! Please click on the left side where it says "Heartline Ministries" Go to the Womens Program tab and click to donate to help today be our last day of fundraising for this grant. THANK YOU!!!!!

Please help them raise the last couple of hundred dollars that they need to get this matching grant! This money will help them so much! You can read all about the Women's Program here... then just scroll down to donate. Every dollar helps! Please pass it on.

Heart Line Ministries

http://heartlineministries.org/womensprogram.aspx

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Menu Plan "Tuesday" 4-14-2009

Planned menus for this week are:

16 bean soup with ham, cornbread muffins

Chicken Fajitas and bean burritos

Lazy Mom Goulash

Crockpot Potato Chowder

Chicken A La King over Toast Points

And tonight is a Rotisserie chicken, green beans, salad, and pan de leche rolls.

104/365



One of the ways I have been saving money is cutting boy hair myself. A set of clippers at Walmart costs less than $20, so by the time you have done just two or three hair cuts, you've made your money back.

I love to rub my hands over freshly shaved heads... they're just so fuzzy and soft!!

Monday, April 13, 2009

103/365

I did it. I framed the kids. Again.

Here's the second frame that I bought last week, spray painted satin black and reassembled. In order to solve my "dilemma" over having black frames, a black monogram, and a navy barn star I bought a double mat for this frame. It's white AND navy blue. The navy stripe is small, and probably not very noticeable, but I feel that it ties everything together nicely. I got the mat at Michael's... and by the way, bookmark this blog; they post the latest Joanns/Michael's/Hobby Lobby/ACMoore type printable coupons and it's so much easier than trying to search for them every time you need one!

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I can't wait to have this room repainted and get all of my goodies hung up on the walls! If all goes as planned, I should get to order the drapes in about two weeks!

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We have been slacking on our church attendance. It seemed like every weekend was jam packed full of plans, or someone(s) in the family was sick. We made going to church for Easter a priority. The pastor again preached a lot during offering time, about how blessings pour out when you tithe. Today, we received such a blessing. We were surprised to get a packet in the mail from our mortgage company stating that we were qualified for an immense reduction in our payment, nearly halving our payment for the next two years (our interest rate being knocked down all the way to 2%!!), then increasing a bit for another two years (with interest of 4%), then ending up at a payment for the remainder of the term that is still less than our current payment, and at a lower interest rate than what we are now paying (6%)! This was truly the answer to so many of our prayers lately. We'll be mailing off all of the paperwork for it tomorrow, and it just feels like a big weight has been lifted off of our shoulders. It's a savings of 152K over the life of the loan.

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I procrastinated a bit on writing my essay (rough draft due on Friday). I was trying to work on it, but Niko was being his usual gregarious self and I just couldn't concentrate. I ended up finishing Eclipse from the Twilight series. I haven't read the 4th book yet, but I must admit that I am more of a Jacob fan than an Edward fan. And as for the movie? I must be getting old because I thought the cutest guy in the movie was Charlie (Bella's Dad).
This week's essay topic that I chose from the three prompts that we were given is on free-will versus fate in Oedipus and Antigone.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

102/365 - Happy Easter!

The Easter baskets:

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The "littles":

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The whole family:

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Gathering for dinner with Grandma:

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He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. -Matthew 28:6

Saturday, April 11, 2009

101/365

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The annual egg-dying mess.

Friday, April 10, 2009

100/365

homemade chocolate cake

yumminess

From The American Peoples Cookbook, 1956:

Blender Chocolate Cake with Glossy Chocolate Frosting

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Blender Chocolate Cake

Prepare (page 34) two 8-in. round layer cake pans. (Before using the electric blender see page 13).

Melt (page 12) and set aside to cool
2 sq. (2 oz.) chocolate
Sift together into a bowl and set aside
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put into blender container
2 eggs, unbeaten
Cover and blend a few seconds. Turn off motor and add in order
1/2 cup hydrogenated vegetable shortening or all-purpose shortening
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Add chocolate, cover and blend 2 min. Scrape sides of container and blend few seconds longer.

Add gradually, stirring after each addition, two-thirds of blended mixture to sifted dry ingredients. Stir until well blended (total strokes, about 100). Add remaining mixture all at one time; mix until smooth. Pour into cake pans.

Bake at 350*F about 25 min., or until cake tests done (page 34).

Cool; remove from pans as directed (page 340).
Two 8-in. round layers

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From page 340:

Prepare pan- For cakes with shortening and for cake rolls, grease bottom of pan only; line with waxed paper cut to fit bottom of pan only; grease waxed paper.

Test cake when minimum baking time is up. Touch lightly at center; if it springs back, cake is done. Or insert a cake tester or wooden pick in center; if it comes out clean, cake is done.

Cool butter-type cakes 10 min. in pan on cooling rack after removing from oven.

Remove butter-type cakes from pan after cooling. Run spatula gently around sides of pan. Cover with cooling rack. Invert and remove pan. Turn cake right side up immediately after peeling off waxed paper. Cool cake completely before frosting.

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Glossy Chocolate Frosting

A frosting with a beckoning gleam. It looks rich, tastes wonderful, keeps well, is easy to make and a pleasure to spread.

Mix thoroughly in a 2-qt. saucepan
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons cornstarch

Stir in
1 1/2 cups boiling water
3 sq. (3 oz.) chocolate, cut in pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt

Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens (about 5 min.). Remove from heat. Beat in
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Spread on cake while frosting is hot.
Enough to frost sides and tops of two 8-in. or 9-in. round cake layers

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I used 9-inch cake pans as the store didn't have any 8-inch cake pans, and I was in desperate need of new ones. I bought two "professional grade" Wilton cake pans with a 20-year guarantee, and they feel so much more substantial then my old ones.

I followed all of the instructions explicitly because I have had such bad luck in the past with cakes. I've had them fall, crack, burn, etc. This was the first time I have lined the bottom of a cake pan with waxed paper. I tore off a rectangle slightly bigger than the pan, and folded it down into triangles, which I trimmed to match the radius of the pan. Upon opening the triangles, I had perfect circles that nestled beautifully in the bottom of the pans.

While I was working on the batter, I handed the bowl that I had melted the chocolate in to Sabrina to rinse out for me. She thought she was being crafty and sneaky and stuck her finger in to taste the yummy looking chocolate. Her body convulsed in revulsion. She didn't realize that it was unsweetened baking chocolate. Oh, what a bitter taste that is!

When making the frosting, DO make sure that the cornstarch is well blended with the sugar before pouring in the water. Otherwise, it's incredibly hard... nay, impossible, to get out all of the lumps. Then while you're frosting the cake, you'll be picking out little white lumps of cornstarch... which luckily didn't detract from the taste much, as my whole family declared it the best cake ever.

The cake was light, moist, and had a nice delicate chocolate taste. The frosting was gooey and luscious, and my hubby described it as tasting "like warm chocolate pudding". Yum.

Roast Rock Cornish Game Hen (recipe)

From The American Peoples Cookbook, 1956:

Roast Rock Cornish Game Hen

Set out a shallow roasting pan with a rack.

Prepare and set aside for stuffing Wild Rice with Mushrooms (one-half recipe, page 305; add all mushrooms to rice)

Clean 4 Rock Cornish game hens, about 1 lb. each
Rinse and pat dry with absorbent paper.

Rub cavities of the four hens with
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon Accent

Lightly fill body cavities with the stuffing. To close body cavities, sew or skewer and lace with cord. Fasten neck skin to backs and wings to bodies with skewers. Put game hens breast-side up on rack in roasting pan.

Set out
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Brush each hen with the butter.

Roast uncovered at 350*F.

Frequently baste hens during roasting period with drippings from roasting pan.

Roast 1 to 1.5 hours, or until hens test done. To test doneness, move leg gently by grasping end bone; drumstick-thigh joint moves easily when hens are done. (Protect fingers from heat with paper napkin.)

Place game hen on a heated platter; keep warm while preparing gravy. Before serving, remove skewers and garnish hens with
Sprigs of water cress

For Gravy - Prepare
1/2 cup quick meat broth (page 13)
Set aside to cool.

Leaving brown residue in roasting pan, pour the drippings into a bowl. Allow fat to rise to surface; skim off fat and reserve. Remaining drippings are meat juices which should be used as part of the liquid in the gravy. Measure into roasting pan 1.5 tablespoons of the reserved fat. Blend in
1.5 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon Accent
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Stirring constantly, heat until the mixture bubbles. Remove from heat and add gradually, stirring constantly and vigorously, the broth and 1/2 cup of the drippings. Return to heat and bring mixture rapidly to boiling, stirring constantly. Cook 1 to 2 min. longer. While stirring, scrape bottom and sides of pan to blend in brown residue. Remove from heat and stir in
2 tablespoons Madeira wine
Pour into a gravy boat and serve hot.

4 servings
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Wild Rice with Mushrooms

Set out a medium-size skillet.

Bring to boiling in a deep saucepan
3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Accent

Meanwhile, wash in a colander or sieve
1 cup wild rice
Add rice gradually to water so that boiling will not stop. Boil rapidly, covered, 30 to 40 min., or until a kernel of rice is entirely tender when pressed between the fingers. Drain rice in a colander or sieve.

If necessary to keep rice warm, place colander over hot water and cover with folded towel.

While rice is cooking, clean and slice
1/2 lb. mushrooms
Heat in the skillet
1/4 cup butter
Add mushrooms with
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
Cook slowly, occasionally turning and moving gently with a spoon, until mushrooms are lightly browned. Remove from heat and reserve about 1/4 cup mushrooms for garnish. Combine remaining mushrooms, onion, wild rice, and
1/3 cup butter, melted
Toss gently until mushrooms and butter are evenly distributed throughout rice. Turn hot mixture into a warm serving dish and garnish with reserved mushrooms. 6 to 8 servings

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Prepare quick broth - dissolve in 1 cup hot water, 1 chicken bouillon cube for quick chicken broth or 1 beef bouillon cube or 1/2 teaspoon concentrated meat extract for quick meat broth.

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Okay, so here is my summary of changes. First off, Accent turns out to just be MSG (monosodium glutamate), so I completely skipped that throughout the recipe.

I had to use a lot more water than called for in the wild rice, because it kept boiling off. Just keep adding small amounts of water and continue boiling it until tender.

I skipped the water cress garnish.

I used salted butter because that is what I had on hand, and I figured if I was skipping all the MSG a little extra salt would help with flavors.

I used chicken bouillon instead of beef.

I used Sherry instead of madeira wine. If you wish to skip alcohol completely, you can substitute in a bit of reduced balsamic vinegar with beef broth... experiment with the amounts until you get the flavor to be pleasing to your palate.

My husband loved the wild rice stuffing and has requested that I make it on it's own as a side dish with chicken. I hope you try out this recipe too!

Thursday, April 9, 2009

99/365

I took the kids hiking today. I couldn't pick just a couple of pictures, so here's a slideshow with 50 of my favorites.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Menu Plan Monday 4/6/2009... continued.

Okay... I made some progress on my menu plan for this week. Can you tell Spring Break has me all out of wack?

Tonight, we're having frozen pizzas and sweet potato fries. I was going to cook a bigger dinner, but I just plain got wiped out taking five kids and my Dad to the store. It was like walking a pack of wild dogs.

Other dinners planned for this week:

-Rock Cornish Game Hens with Wild Rice and Mushroom Stuffing, served with Buttered Brussel Sprouts. Dino Chicken Nuggets, macaroni and cheese and peas for the littles.

-Crockpot Potato Chowder (no onions).

-Chicken and Sour Cream-Mushroom Gravy over Rice with Green Beans.

-Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Deviled Eggs, Strawberries, and Baby Carrots.

I need to either pick up a ham for Easter, or defrost a turkey. I'm not sure which way I want to go.

Menu Plan Monday 4/6/2009... a little late.

Last week we got a little off of our menu plan. On Friday, Hubby treated me to sushi takeout. On Saturday, we went out to El Torito (without the kids!) I think there may have been a couple of other changes to our plan as well. Sunday, my Dad and I didn't do our grocery shopping because we were at the park all day. Monday, my Dad was in too much pain (he has a lot of spine issues) and I was sick and in bed with food poisoning so we still didn't do any grocery shopping. I made some chicken soup with what we had on hand. Tuesday, even though we went to Walmart, I didn't buy any groceries other than milk, cereal, and bread. I made do again, and made some beef stew (with elbow macaroni instead of potatoes) and some corn bread muffins. I have our cornish game hens defrosting and will hopefully be cooking those tonight (with dino chicken nuggets for the kids). I am planning on going to the store tonight and getting the groceries we need for the rest of the week. I'll update later when I have my plans figured out!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

97/365

I know I am running late with my posts this week, but I hope to get back on track soon. Tuesday was filled with dry cleaning errands, a mystery shop, and a trip to Walmart for pet food and mini blinds. Hubby and I stayed up until past midnight finishing our accounting homework for the week.

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I can now adjust for inventory shrinkage. Exciting.

Monday, April 6, 2009

96/365

Monday. The first day of Spring Break. And what happens? I end up stuck in bed most of the day, suffering with nausea and cramps from a batch of bad salsa.

On the plus side, I finished Twilight. And New Moon. And I had a very snuggly kitty who spent his day sleeping on me. He is always so affectionate when he knows I am not feeling well. He's helped me through a lot. I <3 Henry!!

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Sunday, April 5, 2009

95/365

We met up with some old friends at a park. We spent five hours enjoying the sunshine, the view, the playground, the food, the conversation, and the relaxation. I forgot my camera, so I just have pictures from our cell phones.

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Helping Cecilia cross the monkey wheels.


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The whole big kid playground. (There's a smaller little kid playground behind that, as well as a water play area!)


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Dad and Nathan prepping their fishing equipment. They didn't catch anything, and couldn't get down to where they actually wanted to fish because their was a Civil War Reenactment going on.


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Everyone except for hubby and Dad! 2 couples, 10 kids... what a fun group!


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No, no... the abundance of play guns between the Civil War kids and the camping scout troops had no influence on him at all.


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Abigail quickly mastered this challenge... such a monkey!


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His favorite pose, as always.


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The human hamster wheel was a big hit!


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She chickened out.


NickNack

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Okay, so this didn't exactly show the balance beam she was on... Oops!


Twilight and a Lake view
I finally started reading Twilight.