Where Did September Go?

I can't believe that I haven't written for so long!  On the first day of school I got a call to coach my daughters junior high volleyball team.  So.....I said yes.  Since then I have been quickly learning how to work until 2:30 then be changed at and at practice at 3:10.  Practice until 5 then run  over to the high school and help out with the high school team.  We all arrive home around 5:45 and I have to think about supper!  I have decided my crockpot is going to get a workout itself these days.  

This summer I went to a wedding shower for a couple who were living in Ottawa.  I thought it would be a good idea to get them this beautiful cookbook I saw once in Indigo called "Flavors of PEI".  Before I wrapped it up, I had to go through it and copy some of the recipes.  They looked so yummy!!!!  Here is the first recipe I tried.

Old Fashioned Pot Roast

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 lb. boneless beef roast (blade or shoulder)
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. fresh cracked black pepper
1 lb. button mushrooms - halved
3 lg. garlic cloves - minced
2 medium onions - chopped
2 cups hot beef stock
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 bay leaf

Heat the oil in dutch oven over med. heat until smoking hot.  Add the beef and brown on all sides.  Remove from pot, season with salt & pepper and set aside.  Add the mushrooms, garlic and onions to the dutch oven.  Cook, stirring, until the onion is lightly browned.  Add the stock, balsamic vinegar and bay leaf.  Bring to a simmer then add beef.  Return roast to pot, reduce the heat, cover tightly and simmer for about 1 1/2 hrs.  Turn roast over and simmer until the roast is fork-tender - another hour.  

I am not a big pot roast lover, but this was delicious served with some mashed potatoes, green beans and homemade biscuits!

Friday Night Pizza

The last 2 days have been really busy, people running in and out, going here and there.  So fixing supper has been a challenge.  Thursday night was a series of "oops".  I cooked a yummy pork tenderloin - slicing 4 small slit in the top and stuffing the slit with 1/2 clove of garlic, salt and pepper.  Then I made macaroni and cheese.  I cook the macaroni, pour in some milk and butter and grate lots of cheese over it and stir.  Then I put in the oven for just a few minutes for the final cheese melting process.  It is very cheesy!  I don't use a recipe and I don't make any fancy white sauce to put over it.  I love it cheesy.  But, when it came to the beans and friend apples....that was a different story....I was trying to help out the girls and do other things and I failed to remember I had the heat under both the beans and apples to high and burned them both.  Oh, there were a few apples that could be spared, as long as you didn't scrape the burned brown sugar sauce out of the bottom of the pan.  But the beans, just tasted scorched.  Like I said, Betty Crocker I am not some days!

Last night was pizza night and we the last volleyball participant didn't arrive home until 6 p.m.  We all just kind of sat around the table and talked for awhile and they finally asked when we were going to eat.  Hannah helped me out with some yummy BBQ chicken pizza. When it was finally finished, it was so yummy.  I LOVE thin crust pizza, so our crust is thin and crispy.  I don't like to waste good stomach space on lots of crust, give me the good stuff. It's a great way to use leftover chicken.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 batch of your favorite pizza dough

1 bottle of Bullseye Original BBQ Sauce

Chicken, cooked and diced

Green onions, chopped

Bacon, cooked and crumbled

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

After I roll out the dough, I pour on the BBQ sauce.  I just cover the bottom of the crust because when the sauce gets hot, it seems to get thicker.  Sprinkle lotsa mozzarella cheese over the sauce and add the rest of the ingredients.  I bake it at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes or until everything is bubbling hot and the crust is brown around the edges. 

Blueberries Galore

I know I said I don't bake (that often) and my first food recipe is going to a baking recipe...go figure.  This year the girls and I picked 18 pounds of fresh, yummy, PEI blueberries at the Berry Patch in Grand Tracadie.  I had never seen so many blueberries in one place.

My favorite blueberry muffin recipe is a recipe I received from an older lady that was in our church years ago (18), Olive MacLean.  It is a yummy!

Blueberry Muffins

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup milk

1 cup PEI blueberries, fresh or frozen

Beat together egg, oil and milk.  In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients except blueberries.  Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients, mix until moistened.  Gently fold in blueberries.  Fill large muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 - 25 minutes. 

After they come out of the oven, I brush a little melted butter/margarine over the top and sprinkle them with sugar.....mmmmm!

It's Not Food...But I Cook It Regularly

Being a family of 6, four of who are girls, there is always lotsa laundry.  I am always looking for ways to save a few bucks, so I tried my hand at making homemade laundry soap.  I invested in a box of Borax, a box of Arm & Hammer So Clean Washing Soap and a bar of Sunlight soap.

The original investment was about $10 and I have used the same boxes of soap for over a year.  The soap works well on the laundry.  It only takes a few minutes to make and a batch lasts for awhile...depending on how much laundry you have to do.

HOMEMADE LAUNDRY SOAP

1/3 bar of Fels Naptha or 1 bar of Ivory or Sunlight soap

1/2 cup washing soap

1/2 cup Borax powder

1 large bucket or pot (approx. 2 gallons)

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan.  Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts.  Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket.   Now add your soap mixture and stir.  Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir.  Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel.  You use ½ cup per load. 

 You will get about 64 loads of laundry from 1 batch.  The finished soap will not be a solid gel.  It will be more of a watery gel that has been accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look.  Sometimes mine is a little more of a firmer gel than other times.  I'm not sure what I do that makes it different.  It is also a low sudsing soap so you won't see suds or bubbles.  It says wait for about 24 hours.  Well...depending on how desperate I am for soap, I don't always wait that long and it still seems to work o.k.

Thanks to http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com for the tried and tested recipe.

Welcome to the Beginning!

I enjoy reading different types of blogs.  I once thought I would try my hand at blogging, but I couldn't remember the title of my blog to log on, so I guess it's gone off to the cyberspace somewhere.  Recently I considered starting another blog, but wanted to do something a little different but couldn't think of anything creative.  I was fixing supper the other night and it came to me.  I really enjoy cooking (not baking).  It takes me a little bit to plan a weekly menu for the family because I scour recipes, blogs, cookbooks, etc...for new and yummy meals.  I always include a few tried and true recipes and then add some new stuff.  I have found favorite chefs that I like to try, favorite websites and cookbooks.  It always feels good to prepare a meal and serve it to the family.  I come from a long line of excellent cooks - my grandmother, my mom, my aunt, etc.. - so I grew up with yummy meals.  My grandmother made the best chocolate pie - with no recipe!!!  I haven't gotten that good.  I have always believed in cooking fresh.  We eat very little pre-packaged foods.  I also LOVE variety and detest leftovers.  I have had my share of disasters and successes.  This summer, everyone was home.  I had to plan meals that included a vegetarian, a chicken-only eater, a "I don't like many vegetables" eater and 3 "I'll eat whatever is fixed" eaters.  It was a challenge, but it was fun to try and figure it all out.  I have never been a believer in making more than 1 meal.  I have a saying hanging in my kitchen I have lived by; "Todays special - Take it or leave it"

Our supper meal is where we gather as a family at the end of the day.  We talk about the day, things that are going on in our lives our people we know, we have trivia, laugh and we discuss some pretty serious topics. The dining room table always been a place that as a family we know we can share and we can talk about things and it is safe, honest, caring, fun and relaxing.  We also pray for many of our family and friends together as a family.

Earlier, I mentioned that I am not that great at baking.  It's not for trying that's for sure.  I just get a little distracted and impatient and that doesn't bode well for a baker.  I have put things in the oven, and set the timer, and then gone outside to enjoy the great outdoors, while my baking bakes away into a hard, burned stone.  Baking is exact and I am not.  I have a daughter who is an excellent baker, so I leave the baking to her.

So, I hope you enjoy some of the recipes and a little look into our lives and what we are up to.