Join Me in the Take Ten Challenge!

I have been a failthful reader of Heavenly Homemaker for years. She always has great ideas on how to get things done in the kitchen as well as reminding us to eat our veggies. Her new challenge "Take Ten" will help busy moms like us to get dinner on the table without spending a lot of time in the kitchen. Here is the link to get you started.

https://heavenlyhomemakers.com/take-ten-minutes-to-prep-for-tonights-meal-take-the-challenge

Homemade Tortillas

A few weeks ago my sweet husband bought all of the things I had sitting on my Amazon wishlist, On that list was a new tortilla press. Our old one was confiscated by my "adult" children for their apartment. Not that I necessarily missed it. Since it was made of crappy aluminum it was never really heavy enough to produce a thin tortilla like I was used to buying. I had only used it occasionally, and then only for making tortilla chips. I had considered buying a better quality one for years but honestly it was too easy and pretty inexpensive to keep buying them.

My husband likes all things fresh. I remember a conversation when we first got married all the way back in 1995 *gasp* when he told me he didn't want frozen meat. As in he wanted me to get fresh meat daily for our meals.  I shot that one down immediately. First I had a full time job. Secondly it would have been an epic waste of gas not to mention time to go shopping everyday. At the time we lived in Omaha Nebraska. Getting around there was never quick and easy. Third, while I wasn't exactly as frugally minded as I am now, I did realize that meat prices fluctuated. It made the most sense to buy meat on sale and freeze it. Otherwise we just might have starved.

Anyway....

With my new toy, my daughter and I set out to make chips and salsa. For the tortillas I followed the recipe on the bag of Masa and the salsa I used a Chili's copycat and added the juice of a lime. This produces a very mild salsa that even the kids will eat. Which I like because they think they are getting a treat when I know it is loaded with vegetables.

Once I got the rhythm down making tortillas was quick and easy.

They were so yummy that we devoured them immediately.

The next day I decided to make a bigger batch in order to save some for another day. That didn't turn out as well. I guess my air tight containers aren't quite so air tight and some of the chips lost their crispness overnight. I am somewhat frustrated by this because I know I won't always have time to make chips fresh and yet I do not want to go back to buying them. The whole bag of Masa cost around the same as a bag of store bought tortilla chips and I barely made a dent in it.

My next idea is to make the tortillas ahead of time but not fry them until needed. Hopefully that works since it will still save me time. Plus hot fresh chips are the best!!!!

Another disaster

I am not sure why I am voluntarily posting my kitchen disasters. I mean really!! This one I do not actually blame on myself or even my children. Instead the "cool" kitchen gadget that my mom gave me turned out to be not so cool.  *sigh*

 The concept is really neat and I am very disappointed that these did not work at all.  My daughter thought it was probably my fault (She is 13 so I can't do much right at the moment) and stepped in to show me how it was done only to find out that it wasn't Mom being "stupid". See mangled mess!!

I ended up just hand rolling the homemade hot pockets and they looked better but took a long time. So long that I remember why I haven't tried making these since 2001. My family doesn't really care how big of a pain in my rear these are they have been BEGGING for them since 2001 (also homemade marshmallows because they are divine!!).

These look much better. I filled half with cheddar cheese and diced ham and the other half with pizza fillings.

You can find the recipe here.

Since I was in the kitchen for hours I also decided that I would make up some french fries to freeze.

Homemade french fries are super easy to make yourself and much cheaper. I scrub and poke my potatoes then put them in the crock pot until tender. Then let cool. Once cool enough to handle I peel them and either grate them for homemade hash browns or cut them into fries. The best part about doing it this way is that I do not need to par fry them later. It will take only one time frying (or baking) to get them crispy on the outside while tender and done on the inside.

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

I don't like touching raw chicken. Which is why it has taken me this long to decide to try making chicken nuggets from scratch. For the most part when working with chicken I just plop frozen chicken into the crock pot so I do not have to feel the raw texture of thawed out chicken. Bleh! I am happy to announce that it wasn't too bad. I used kitchen shears to cut them into chunks.

I was surprised the amount of nuggets I got out of one chicken breast! Man I have been wasting $$ buying pre-made ones all this time. 

Originally I was planning on preparing these as a make ahead freezer meal but once my kids got wind of what I was doing they wanted them for lunch. The rice-a-roni is homemade based loosely off of this recipe. Instead of bullion I used homemade bone broth. I didn't have Italian blend seasoning so I added thyme and rosemary. It was yummy enough even DS#4 (who claimed he would hate it) loved it.

Now to figure out why my kid sized IKEA cup and small dessert plate look so HUGE in the picture. 

Fire!

I tried making my own chocolate graham crackers from scratch. I have no idea how they would have turned out because I had "helpers" take them out of the oven too early. In an effort to get them back in quickly they slid right off the pan and well you can see the results.

Thankfully my attempt at making triple berry pie from scratch was a success. Although there won't be many picture of success posted here because my family devours it before I can snap a picture.

Jumping right back in!

Wowzers! It has been a very long time since I blogged. I am not even sure where to start!?!?!? I think almost all of my readers are family and close friends so there probably isn't really much I need to catch anyone up on but here it goes....

#1
Motherhood has drastically changed for me since I last blogged. Two out of my five children are now adults!! *Gasp* I am still having difficulty coming to terms with it. I certainly don't feel like I am old enough to have not one but TWO adult children. I also do not feel like they were kids for very long. Looking back on the pictures I have posted here makes me long for those days again.  What has surprised me the most is that parenting is always challenging. I guess I always thought that at a certain age they would be so independent that they wouldn't need me any more. That has not been the case. In fact in someways they need me more. I am back to not sleeping all night through as I wait for them to let me know they have arrived home safely. They are quickly figuring out that being an adult is not as fun as they imagined.

#2
Meet my newest baby!

Her name is Layla. She is spoiled rotten. No doubt she will be featured on this blog regularly. I just may be guilty of photographing her more often than my human babies. In my defense my human babies don't appreciate me snapping a bunch of photos. Plus she is the only one who snuggles me like this anymore.

#3
My husband retired from the Air Force! First thing he did was grow a full mustache and beard and stop cutting his hair. You would't even recognize him anymore. He is pretty shaggy now but I LOVE it!

#4 We no longer live in beautiful Alaska. While I miss the beauty it is nice to be in the lower 48. I am able to travel to see friends and family easier. Prices are also better although housing is not (at least not in my area).

I think that is about it for catching anyone up. 

Memorial Day Weekend

We spent our Memorial Day Weekend camping in Homer Alaska. This was our view from out campsite. I love Alaska so much. There are not many places where you can camp right up next to the beach for a whopping 34.00 a night. The kids loved the beach. We spent so much time there that we didn't see much else. I had originally wanted to go halibut fishing but instead settled for this

It's not mine (it is not even real) but hey I can dream that I caught the big one. Instead of fishing we spent the time:

Combing the beach

Finding cool stuff like this:

Digging for razor clams....and actually catching one (boy are they fast!)

Flying a kite...

...And subsequently losing said kite. :( (it's the little dot in the distance)

Building a sand castle

And having a bonfire out in the midnight sun.

All in all a terrific weekend :)

What homeschooling is all about

Caution: dissection pictures included. Not for squeamish!!!

There is nothing sweeter than seeing your teenage son sit with his little sister listening to her read.
When your kids go to school you miss out on fun things like dissecting frogs, worms, fish, and grasshoppers.

Even the little pipsqueak likes to learn.

Someday he is going to be quite the starving artist!!!

I love how the older kids love to "teach" the younger ones. It is great for them too since it helps to re-enforce what they have already learned.

The #1 thing I have learned being a homeschooling mom: The best way to learn math is snuggled on the couch with your big brother.

It doesn't get any better than this!

The not me monster strikes again

This is what happens when you ask a 13 year old boy to take out the trash. Apparently it is too much to ask that one put on shoes before going outside to take out the trash. It is finally warming up here in Alaska and the ground is muddy.

I can't wait until the snow is gone and the ground is dry. Then I am going to have my carpets cleaned. They certainly need it with this kid.

You will laugh about this later

A comment made to me time and time again by older more seasoned mothers. Mothers whose kids have often flown from the nest. I have been uttering these words to myself for the past few days. You see my 13 year old is driving me insane. He is half man and half boy and I never quite know which one of him he will be at any given moment. There are time when he is so helpful, so thoughtful, so mature that I can't hardly believe it. Then there are days when he thinks it is a good idea to unzip the futon mattress and crawl inside. Just because. I mean why not right? My younger children who have used that bunk bed set before him never thought to do it. I guess it takes maturity to think to do it. I don't know. What I do know is that once you ruffle the filling inside a futon mattress it will never ever be sleepable again. It is in fact much like a cheap pillow that you wash and then dry. It all bunches into a ball and no matter what you do you can never get it to be pillow like again. And so I will have to say over and over in my mind that I will one day miss this. That someday I will have wished I took pictures (actually for the purpose of this blog I should have) and will laugh hysterically about it. Apparently grandchildren get a kick out of this sort of thing. Until then I will just have to breathe, count to ten, and pray a lot.

Happy Birthday Princess

My baby girl is now 7. Where has the time gone?

For her 7th birthday we had a family party at home with the princess cake. Then the next morning we had a crazy fun filled party at Chuck E Cheese. I opted for the 10 am party. I am very glad I did. It was crazy when we left and people where lined up out the door. At 10 am you practically get the place to yourself. Plus they give you an extra 100 tokens for booking early.

Nothing says I love you more than...

Cinnamon Rolls!!!

I finally got around to making my hubby and kids their most desired and longed for breakfast. To ensure that I would indeed make them DH told everyone at his work that I would be bringing them in Monday morning. Nothing like forcing the hand there LOL.

Recipe: here.

The biggeset baby

Living in Alaska gives the oportunity to see neat stuff like this.

Writing on the Wall

"My mommy is mean and she makes me wash the walls after I color on them. Why doesn't she like my beautiful art work? "

(note to self. always check the date on camera when changing batteries. He wasn't even born in 2004...lol)

Only In Alaska

I am seriously wondering if there is any other place that has a carnival in the middle of winter. I am not sure who is crazier. Them for having one or me for going....TWICE!!! *sigh* Put this on the list of crazy things I do for my kids.

I talked them into riding in the helecopter. At least this way they had some shelter from the snow/wind.

My daughter on the other hand didn't take my advice. LOL

Guess I'll Go Eat Worms

yes indeed, I most certainly did feed my children mice, snakes, and bloody worms.

Happy Birthday Brandon!

Never!! I repeat never tell your excited 4 year old that when he wakes up it will be his birthday. He was up 3 times last night. It doesnt help that in Alaska it is daylight 24/7. He really did think he slept all night long and that it was indeed time to get up and celebrate. LOL

Collin baked and tried to decorate the cake. Brandon had other ideas. It still turned out super cute!!!

Here is Collin bummed that Brandon won't let him help decorate the cake.

Here is Kimberly cautiously going for it. "please let me help!"

Pantry Tips

A well stocked pantry is a wonderful way to keep your food budget low. The problem lies in remembering what you have and not forgetting what you have bought. A simple way to do this is to write each item that you buy and then put a slash next for the quanity that you have. Then when you use up that item you put a slash the other way (making an X).

<---- I use this free printable . It can be found here. I do the same with my freezer.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! I hope that you all enjoyed your day!

Mine was good. This year Daddy was so busy that he didn't get a chance to take them shopping for me. I didn't mind at all because I didn't want anything. Daddy felt bad though and so when we made an unexpected stop at Wal-Mart on Saturday he gave the boys 10.00 each and told them to meet us in the front in 15 minutes.

My 10 year old bless his heart bought me the above. He thought he was getting me a wreath to hang on my wall. He didn't realise that it was meant for my grave. We all had a chuckle over that. I told him I would go to the craft store and buy him a wooden wreath that he can hot glue the flowers on so I can hang it up. I think this just might be my most memorial Mother's Day present ever.

The Good Mama Crown

Some days I don't feel like a very good mommy. Being a mother is a lot harder than it looks on the outside. In fact I think most people do their best parenting before then have kids. I know I did.

With my first child I was able to live up to my own crazy expectations. Reality hit when I had my second child. Now 5 children later I found that diapers could hold a lot more than I thought, that babies didn't need to be bathed everyday, and that I was not above bribing to get my children to do what I wanted them to. yes, I have been stripped of my good mama crown.