Banana Cake with Butter Cream sauce

Cake:

• 6 ripe bananas mashed
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1.5 cups flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 

Whisk ingredients together in large bowl, pour into greased 9 by 13 inch baking pan, bake at 350 degrees until knife can be inserted into the middle and and it comes out clean.   Serve warm and topped with Butter Cream sauce.

Sauce:

• 1cup milk
• 1cup butter
• 1.5 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract 

- Heat in sauce pan on low heat  while stirring until mixture thickens.

Egg Muffins

It's really that easy.....make 12 at a time...you'll need one beaten egg for each muffin cup...add season salt or salt and pepper if you like....they reheat and freeze well...perfect for busy weekday mornings ....just reheat and eat or squash one in a toasted English muffin if you need to have those carbs :)

Keep Them On Track? What Planet Are You on?

  We've entered our third year of cyber home school and our attitudes have changed quit a bit as far as what we expect from ourselves and our student.  "Roll with it" is the new mantra around here......We had been pretty determined to do things by the book when we started this.....but life knows nothing of this book I speak of........ so that was kinda silly.   The bottom line is that she can only be as "on track" as we are .....and keeping all the balls in the air while simultaneously coping with the guilt over the one ball we dropped last month is challenging to say the least.  I knew balancing homemaking, school and work wasn't supposed to be easy,  but when we added baby three to the mix I really wasn't sure how a "normal" school day would play out around here.

  It turned out that our trifecta functions pretty well.......they have their moments of course (as do I) ...but over all it works.  Learning to "pick up the slack" is an important part of a young adults development.....and by picking up the slack... I mean taking responsibility for one self, being helpful to others, and not being dependent on others to ensure your success.  All children are born self motivated learners.... and after a few years of this, we've come to the conclusion that encouraging personal accountability is the way to go........ :)

Stove Top Poor Man's Chicken Parmesan

What you'll need:

• a big pan with a lid
• 20 minutes
• olive oil
• as many boneless skinless chicken thighs as you can fit in your pan
• Italian seasoned bread crumbs (store bought or made at home :)
• shredded Parmesan cheese
•  shredded mozzarella cheese
•  dried basil and oregano
•  two big tomatoes (sliced)

Directions:

In case your not familiar with boneless skinless chicken thighs, they are the "poor man's chicken breast"...... they are by far the most versatile cut of chicken available, and when you find them in the meat case....buy them all and stock your freezer :) 

Put your pan on the burner and add enough oil to completely coat the bottom.  Then "open" each chicken thigh, flatten it out on a big plate of bread crumbs and thoroughly coat both sides. Wait until the oil is hot then add each piece one at a time.  After all are nicely browned on the bottom, turn them, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, then top with sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, dried basil and oregano.....put the lid on, turn the burner off, and leave it sit for 10 minutes......serve and enjoy :)

Simple Bread :)

This is a great everyday sandwich style bread

You'll need:

• 2 cups warm water
• 2 packs of yeast
• 2/3 cup of sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons of salt
• 6 cups of flour (any combination of whole grains or white)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 bread pans
• corn meal
• cooking spray
• large bowl
• rubber spatula
• a dish towel

Mix the warm water, yeast and sugar together in a large bowl.  Let stand for 15 minutes or until it becomes foamy.  Stir in salt & oil, then work the flour in one cup at a time with a rubber spatula.  Pick the dough out of the bowl and knead into a ball, add a little more flour if it feels to sticky.  Spray bowl with cooking spray and put the dough back in....cover the bowl with a dish towel and leave it alone for an hour so it can double in size.  Spray the bread pans and sprinkle some cornmeal in the bottoms, then divide the bread dough into two equal sized pieces, hand knead a few times and place in pans..... cover with a towel and let it rise again for about 40 minutes or until the dough has risen about two inches above the lip of the pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.   Cool completely before slicing.

Turkey Pot Pie

You'll need:

• a double pie crust (those pre-mades from the store are ok too :)
• a can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup of turkey gravy (canned gravy is fine if you don't make your own)
• 3 cups of chopped left over roasted turkey
• 2 cups of chopped mixed veggies of your choice (again.....frozen is ok)
• salt & pepper

Mix the cream of chicken soup, gravy, turkey, veggies and salt & pepper in a bowl.  Pour into a baked pie crust, cover with un-baked pie crust, pinch down the edges, poke some vent holes and bake at 375 degrees until its golden brown :)

Whole Grain Pie Crust

I use this recipe for any variety of meat pies I might be making.   It's also great for quiche, fruit pies and apple dumplings.  This is a rich crisp crust so it's not ideal for meringue desserts though.  This recipe makes two crusts.







You'll need:

• A flat surface and a rolling pin (I love my baking mat)
• 1 & 1/4 cups of flour (an equal parts blend of white, wheat & oat works best)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons ice water
• 1/4 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup buttery spread (we use Smart Balance)

Put flours, salt, yogurt and buttery spread in a bowl.  Mash with a fork until it become crumbly.  Then mix in water one Tablespoon at a time until a nice dough forms.  Split the dough into two equal sized sections and knead each by hand a few seconds.  The dough should feel smooth and soft but not sticky, if it does feel sticky put some flour on your hands and work it in.  Turn your dough out onto a floured surface and roll it flat into circles big enough to hang over the sides of your pie plate. Spray your pie plate with cooking spray and put the bottom crust in the pan (the dough should hang over the sides) gently push the dough down into place so it is covering the entire interior surface of the plate, then pinch the remainder of the dough around the lip of the plate.  Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.  Remove the crust from oven and fill with whatever filling your using.  Then you can put your second piece of dough on top and pinch it over the already baked edges.  Poke a few vent holes in the top and bake until its golden brown.

Potato & Onion Sandwich Rolls

We make these rolls to go with turkey barbecue, but they're great for cold-cut sandwiches or just dinner rolls as well.

you'll need:

• 3/4 cup of warm milk
• 5 Tablespoons of warm water
• 3 Tablespoons melted butter
• 3 Tablespoons white sugar
• 1 yeast packet
• 1/4 cup dried minced onion or Onion Onion from Tastefully Simple
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 &1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup instant potato flakes
• 3 cups white flour (you can use whole grain if you want, but then you won't have that old school Dutchy potato roll taste :)
• cooking spray & corn meal
• optional: egg whites to brush on before baking and a few extra sprinkles of Onion Onion (makes em look like you bought em)

Mix the warm milk, warm water, melted butter, sugar and yeast in a bowl and let it stand about 10 minutes until its foamy.  Then add the onion powder, onion flakes, salt, potato flakes & flour and mix with a rubber spatula until your dough has a nice consistency.  Next, split your dough into 8 equal balls,  knead each by hand a few minutes, then shape into patties.  Place on a cookie sheet that's been sprayed and corn mealed, cover loosely with plastic wrap and a dish towel then let them rise until they double in size.  Brush with egg whites and sprinkle on additional seasonings in you want, then bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the buns are golden brown.  Allow to cool a few minutes, then slice :)

Goosebumps

A few weeks ago I was passing through the living room with a load of laundry and I over heard my daughter say to her little brother "if you call them when your scared they'll come".  I was pressed for time, so I didn't stop to ask what she was talking about, and eventually the day took over and the moment got misplaced in my thoughts............until last night.

My two year old has nightmares a few times a month... not just your normal little scarymares, he has full blown night terrors complete with thrashing, screaming, kicking and punching. He doesn't wake up while this is happening to him........................ but I do.  Last night was a particularly bad night for him, I was in an out of his room almost every hour throughout the night. 

Around 3 a.m. I woke up again, but not because he was screaming..... I heard his VOICE, clear as a bell, calling for Sully..... it was beautiful and melodic and was kind of an alien sound to me, because my little guy doesn't talk much to begin with (I spend most of my day trying to determine what he wants by decoding patterns of grunts and hand gestures)  AND HE WAS CALLING OUR DOG...... who passed away last year.  His song turned to a question and then to a series of oooooo's and awwwhs, then to delighted two-year old chatter.  I waited and listened until his voice tapered off to just happy little whispers, then I snuck in to peek,  he was sleeping soundly with a smile on his face.

Some angels have fur :)

4 dollar pizza :)

This is so fun to make! and it's a great kids activity :) divide the dough up, and let em go crazy, they love to decorate their own little pizzas.

You'll need :

• 1 pack of yeast (if your using whole grain flour, get the special yeast for whole grain flour)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2.5 cups of flour (we use a blend of white, wheat & oat flours)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons corn meal
• 15oz. can of pizza sauce (or three big sliced garden tomatoes, if you use fresh tomatoes add your own seasoning after you arrange them on the crust)
• 16oz. block of mozzarella cheese
• cookie sheet with raised edges

Stir the yeast and sugar in a bowl with the warm water then let it sit for about ten minutes while you grate the cheese.  When the yeast looks foamy, add the olive oil, salt and flour, and mix thoroughly, leave it sit for a few minutes while you clean up a bit :)  Heat your oven to 450 degrees, Spray your cookie sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle corn meal evenly on the sheet. Roll you pizza dough into about twelve equal sized balls. Place the balls of pizza dough on the sheet, place them equal distances from one another, then press them all flat with your fingers until the entire sheet is completely covered with dough. At this point you can leave the dough rise for a bit if you want a thicker crust, 15 or 20 minutes is good, or if your in a hurry you can just top with sauce and cheese and stick it in the oven for 20 minutes or until in looks done to you :)

ENJOY!

The Zombie Maker Martini

In case you haven't heard the Zombie Apocalypse is upon us.  BE PREPARED, It only makes sense to have the appropriate drink in hand.
you'll need:

• 3oz. Vodka
• 4oz. cranberry juice
• 1oz. triple sec

~ combine all ingredients over ice in a martini shaker, shake a bit, then strain into a martini glass :)

Chicken & Seasoned Dumplings

This is one of our house favorites, I used to fall back on chicken pot pie for making use of the leftover chicken, but rolling out pot pie dough is not easy with a toddler under foot,  so now we do dumplings :)

You'll need:

• A left over rotisserie or roasted chicken (preferably beer can chicken)
• 2 cups chicken broth (if you don't have it add extra water)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 green onions
• stalk of celery
• 1 cup carrots
• 1/2 cup peas
• diced red potatoes
• 4 tbsp dried onion flakes (divided)
• 4 tbsp dried parsley flakes (divided)
• season salt
• 1 tbsp tarragon leaves
• half cup of Greek yogurt
• 1 and a half cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• salt & pepper
• Parmesan cheese

Start with the dumplings:
    Mix flour in a bowl with the baking powder, a few pinches of salt & pepper, and 2 tbsp each of the onion flakes and parsley flakes.  Break in eggs and add the Greek yogurt. Mash together with fork until its crumbly, then hand roll into super ball sized balls.

    Boil down your chicken in 3 cups of water in a big sauce pan with a lid until you can easily pull it off the bones.  Remove the bones and discard.  Add garlic, lots of salt & pepper, tarragon, season salt, chopped green onion, celery, potatoes, carrots & peas and simmer until the potatoes are almost cooked.  Add the chicken broth and bring back to boil, add hand rolled balls of dumpling dough and let them cook for about 10 minutes with lid on.  Stir and serve topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Lazy Sausage and Egg Casserole

• 1 pound sausage
• 12 eggs
• tater tots
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 4 tbsp parsley flakes
• 4tbsp dried onion flakes
• salt and pepper to taste
• cooking spray

Brown sausage in frying pan, then spread evenly across the bottom of a sprayed casserole dish.  Beat eggs, milk, parsley, onion flakes, milk, salt & pepper separately.  Pour the egg mixture over sausage in the casserole dish, top with the shredded cheeses, then put a layer of tater tots on top.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the tots look crispy.  Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting.

I've made versions of this dish with left over ham, bacon and even tuna or just all veggies, and its always great! 

Sesame Teriyaki Venison over Sticky Rice

You'll need:

• About two left over venison steaks, sliced into thin strips.
• a thawed bag of broccoli florets
• three cups of pre- made rice
• 2 heaping Tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 orange
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• sesame seeds (about 3 tablespoons)
• soy sauce (about 2 tablespoons)

This quick meal is not supposed to be a project, I throw this together for a quick lunch in about 5 minutes, so don't make it anymore complicated then it has to be :) All ingredients are approximate, so modify it to accommodate your tastes :)   I use what I have around example: if you happened to have opened a can of pineapple recently, save the juice, and use it in place of the orange.  I slice the left over venison steak up before I put it away from the night before, to save time.  Make your rice when you have time and stick it in the fridge a day or two in advance, then you have it ready for side dishes, quick rice pudding or whatever :)

Ready?    Saute your sesame seeds and sliced venison in 3 tablespoons butter, sprinkle the brown sugar over it, squeeze the orange over it, add your broccoli florets, splash the soy sauce on it......and stir.  Keep it moving till its heated through, and serve on a bed of white rice...... it's really that simple :)

Loofah Sponge Holiday Craft Project

We picked our gourds last week and brought them in to dry on a rack by the fire place.  Most of them dried out real nice, the skins turned a dark brownish green and they sounded hollow when I tapped them.   There were a few that got moldy and needed to be discarded, but we learn from our mistakes and next year we'll be more careful to turn them more often during the drying process.

The first step to this process was the most fun for the kids.  Zi got to slam the gourds against the floor to loosen the skin and knock the seeds loose.  After a few good whacks the bottoms break off and all the seeds can be shook out fairly easily.  We saved our seeds for next year's Loofah garden (Zi plans to expand this little enterprise).

After all the gourds were assaulted to the best of Zi's ability we sat and peeled the skin away with our fingers. This at first seemed like a grueling chore but after the first one it got easier.  It just took some practice to become efficient at it.

Next we rinsed all the sap off them, lightly washed them with dish soap, then soaked them in a mild bleach and water solution for a few minutes to destroy any bacteria or molds that may have been hiding in our sponges. After another good rinse, we squeezed all the excess water out of them and hung them up to dry by the fire. By tomorrow our loofahs will have dried again and we'll cut them into manageable sized sponges.

This project was probably one of the simplest and inexpensive educational crafts we did this year.  Zi saw a whole process through from start to finish, experiencing all of the stages of the growth and production of a loofah sponge, from a seed to practical holiday gift. 

Simple lazy night Hot potato salad

Very yummy, perfect for cool fall evenings when you just wanna sit on the sofa and eat something hot from a bowl.  I throw this together late in the season right before it's time to turn the garden under because  I can't stand to let the late broccoli go to waste.  very easy to make :)

You'll need:

• four or five baked potatoes
• fresh grated cheddar cheese
• steamed broccoli
• crumbled left over bacon
• salt and pepper
• sour cream

How much of any of the ingredients listed above you choose to use really depends on your tastes. Dice your baked potatoes with skins on,  chop up the steamed broccoli and gently mix it all together in a bowl with the crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar then add salt and pepper. Serve with a big spoonful of sour cream on top :)
 

Local Fallen Heros Ride & Pig Roast

beer line

This weekend we attended a fund raising event at the Cementon play ground created to benefit the children of Jesse Reed and Adam Keys, both were graduates of Whitehall High School.  Jesse gave his life serving our country and Adam was left severely disabled.  This event was very well organized, extremely family oriented, and had something for everyone :)  The people who organized this event are incredible people, as are the local businesses that made such grand contributions.   For $20 an adult (kids were free), it was all you could eat and drink, and the variety of food options was amazing.  There was over 300 motorcycles parked out on the grass, and roughly 1000 people came out in all.  The Chinese auction had over a hundred donated items to bid on, there was a moon bounce, face painting for the kids (free tattoos for the adults) door prizes, a live band, and beer. 



Chinese auction table



Tattoo artists were available if anyone wanted some ink, patriotic designs seemed to be the most popular.

Klein Farms Dairy Tour

 Recently I joined the Eco-Moms Alliance Group of the Lehigh Valley,  it's a group of  like minded moms pursuing an eco-friendly lifestyle. Members of this group coordinate family style outings to various places of interest in the area :)  Today we participated in our first group organized meet up event at Klein Farms Dairy & Creamery.  We made attendance of this event a priority because Zi desperately wanted to visit a farm that sold meat and dairy products that were raised and processed on site.  She was thrilled to be able to meet the cows that made the milk her yogurt smoothie was made from.    Klein farms gave our group a free tour of the premises, we saw the milking room, the cheese making kitchen, the baby cow area and the chickens.  There was also a playground and two corn mazes for the kids.  One corn maze was short and simple for the little kids and one was a much longer more complex maze for the big kids.  The tour was about a half an hour long and was honest and informative, and the kids had opportunities to ask questions (which was important to Zi).  After the tour, the group took a hay ride up to the pumpkin patch, then everyone was treated to product samples in the farm store.  We came home with a cooler bag full of milk, cheeses, yogurt and beef, and the prices were reasonable :) We were very fortunate to have had the opportunity to be present for the birth of a beautiful baby calf during our visit, and that made the day extra special :)   I think we'll make this a regular thing.
  





The calf being born :)



Anti-bacterial surface spray

Homemade spray cleaner is so easy to make, and it's so versatile you really don't need any other cleaning products :) 

Mix equal parts water, vinegar, and vodka in an empty plastic spray bottle, and go clean something!

You can add 30 drops of your favorite essential oil if you'd like a scented cleaner, lavender and orange are nice :)

Did they really post that?.......WTF

Seriously, I get it,  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.   But when it's a rude or deliberately hurtful opinion (in the form of any sort of random derogatory remark), directed at another human being, it's just bad manners, plain and simple.  Don't try to justify this behavior as some sort of social mores, some of us know better :P  

I have a love/ hate relationship with Facebook.  I love it because I know whats going on with all my friends and family, and I hate it for the same reason, LOL   One thing I have noticed is that I happen to know quite a few cyber bullies.  I've deleted about 50 people this year because they can't be civilized to one another online (and I don't want to see their posts on my news feed, even if the remark is'nt directed at me). I had know idea that there was an official  term for these people until it came up in my daughters Internet safety class.   Generally most people are polite and courteous with one another when speaking on the phone or in person, but they turn into animals "expressing their entitled opinions" online, almost all of which, I might add, are completely unsolicited by the target of the bully's aggression.  What happened to "if you don't have anything nice to say, keep it to yourself ?"........ :P