Snack Bags

I made a few reusable snack bags for Landon to use in his lunch when he takes cold lunch. These are so easy to make and even better don't take very long. There are tutorials all over the internet for these, maybe now that my camera is working, I will show you how I make mine. I just used some cotton fabric for the outside, laminated fabric for the inside, and velcro. Now I don't have to go through a million plastic baggies. These are also great for throwing in the diaper bag, and not just for snacks. Use them for crayons, hair clips, makeup, coin pouch, etc.

Don't you ever grow up....

.........

Ted just bought me the new Taylor Swift cd, and I LOVE this song. I think of my kids and get teary, then I think of myself and get teary. Love it, I found it on youtube so you can all hear what I am talking about. I love the entire cd, I can listen to it all without skipping any of the songs. Did I mention that Ted surprised me with it, he never surprises me and I love that he remembered that I mentioned it as I had forgotten it came out.

Venison Stroganoff

Remember this recipe I promised? Here it is, sooooooo good!
Venison Stroganoff

• 1 1/2 lb venison strips, seasoned with tenderizor
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup flour
• 12 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients except sour cream in a 2 1/2 qt baking dish and bake for 2 to 2 1/5 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
3. Right before serving, stir in the sour cream. We serve this over egg noodles or brown rice.

**I have made this gluten and lactose free, by replacing the flour with a rice blend all purpose flour and instead of the sour cream I added my homemade yogurt (made with 2% milk but lactose free, because I ferment it for over 24 hours which is SCD yogurt). I only used about 1/4 cup of yogurt. It was GREAT!

My Camera!!

I have a Canon EOS Rebel XSi, and if you have been reading you know that I dropped it. I FINALLY called the 800 number in my manual and got it all set up to send in. I was pretty sure it was my lens but still didn't know if it was my camera too. Luckily my dad has a very similar camera and I was able to try his lens and find out it was not my camera! My lens (even in manual) would stick as you turned it, so after I twisted it back and forth a few times the other day it stopped sticking. What??!! I put it back on my camera, and what do you know, it works again! Here are some randoms I took to see if it was working again.

Granola Bars

Landy Bandy! He is such an amazing boy, words would never even get close to describing how much love I have for my first "baby" boy. Landon is in preschool now, three days a week, all day. We miss him terrible those three days. Trevor just asked this morning if we could go pick up Landon now. Trevor usually asked to go pick up Landon early at least once a week. Ethan has now joined in in missing his brother. He goes to the door and says, "YANNY!" Landon does so well at school, so that part of having him not be here is good. He loves people, so being around so many in a class room setting is totally his thing. 

Here is my sweet Landon on his first day of school this year (only blogging about it almost 3 months later, oops!)

What does any of this have to do with granola bars? Ah, yes back to granola bars. Landon has been asking and asking for me to make him granola bars, and I keep forgetting (aka putting it off). Not today. Even though I am not feeling 100% (darn you sore throat!), I am on the ball and have the bars in the oven as I type. Of course I wouldn't blog about it and not share the recipe, so here it is. Enjoy!

Granola Bars

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup flour (can use wheat if you want, or a mix of white and wheat)
• 1 cup *whatever you want* I used chocolate chips, could use any dried fruit, nuts, etc
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 tsp vanilla
• **1/4 cup applesauce if you want them more on the gooey side, don't use this if you want a crunchier granola bar!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, *whatever mix* and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil, and vanilla. Mix well (use your hands!). Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan (my rubber spatula does this best).
3. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Don't forget to cut while they are still warm, or they might get too hard to cut (especially if you didn't use applesauce)

Will be bringing one in to Landon when I pick him up from school. Love you Landy Bandy!!

Pancakes.

Just a second ago...
Trevor: Will you make me pancakes?
Me: Will you make them with me?
Trevor: SURE!!
Off to make pancakes, after I just cleaned up supper. I love being his mom!

Back to August

This post is well overdue! Every year my dad takes pictures with his grandson(s) in hunter gear. If you didn't already know, my dad is   a huge outdoorsman and loves hunting. He hunts trophy whitetail deer here in Iowa, and also goes out west each year to track down an elk and/or mule deer. The year that Landon was born, my dad had this idea that for his birthday (August 26th) I would take pictures of him and Landon in hunting clothes. Landon was only 3 months old, and it was before I had a nice digital camera but I did have a nice 35mm and they turned out really nice. The tradition was born, and every year since (adding a new boy to the mix pretty much each year) we have gone up to my parents house, the boys in their hunting getups, and I take pictures of them with my dad as they have a great time hanging out. Here are some of the pictures that I took this year:

Little brother

It is my little brother's birthday today. He is turning 17 (which means, shortly I will be 27...WHAT!). I don't want him to turn 20, because that means I will be turning 30. Oh, well not much we can do about that and I guess just have to love live one day at a time no matter what age we are. Back to Sam, it is his 17th birthday and I still can remember the day he was born and going to the hospital and holding him. He was so tiny and perfect, and I am pretty sure it was that very moment that I because "baby crazy". He was the sweetest baby, and I have to admit really loved his big sister. Now his is growing up into a young man, quite hansom I might add, and I still love being his big sister. With us being 10 years apart, we have gone 17 years and have not had one fight or bickered about anything. To celebrate my "baby" brother's birthday, the family and I are over at my parents and going to have super with them. One of our favorite supers. Venison stroganoff. It is deer season here in Iowa, and we do not like to go without deer meat. This stroganoff recipe is amazing and the meat always comes out so tender that it falls apart. I am sitting in the kitchen smelling it cook as I type, and it is making me super hungry. With it being a new month, and a very special birthday month (my Trevor turns 3 this month!!), I think stroganoff is a perfect recipe of the month.

Ethan getting a little snuggle time with uncle Sam

I will post the recipe as soon as my belly is good and full:)

p.s. Sam, I am so proud of you!

Granola

Nothing smells better than fresh granola baking in the oven, and if you have never made it you need to make some...today! Here is the thing with granola, at least with mine. I never make it the same. I use up whatever is in my cupboards/pantry and don't worry if I don't have an ingredient (at least any of the dry ingredients). This recipe is made up of about 9-10 cups of dry ingredients, so really you can use whatever you would like for those 9-10 cups. I have used all nuts and dried fruit before and it was still super good. Plus it was SCD (specific carbohydrate diet) friendly. You can store it in an airtight container, but trust me, it won't last long!

Right out of the oven, perfect golden color and smelling amazing!

Granola

• 4 c oatmeal
• 1 c wheat germ (I don't have this right now, so I am going to use coconut flakes that are not sweetened)
• 1/2 c nonfat instant milk
• 4 more cups: nuts, raisins, other dried fruit, total, grapenuts (I usually do one cup less of the oatmeal and then two cups of total or multi grain flakes)
• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 1/2 to 1 cup of honey (I always use 1 cup)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, add cinnamon to this mixture and mix well.
3. Heat oil and honey to a simmer and let simmer a few minutes and then add the vanilla and remove from the heat.
4. Pour honey mixture over the dry mix and stir well.
5. Put the granola on a big cookie sheet that has sides and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, making sure to stir it half way through bake time.
6. Serve warm or let cool.

So, after the granola was made and I had a bowl, I took a shower. I should have picked up the gronal mess first, because the boys decided they were going to make their own batch of granola. Theirs has some nuts that they smashed with a kitchen mallet, smashed animal crackers, oatmeal, raisins, roasted pumpkin seeds, and honey.

 Here is their mixture

 The floor where they were making their mixture

 My honey bottle with some of the mixture in it (and the little chefs themselves in the background)

What I am sewing

I haven't posted in a while what I have been sewing. This week I have two bags cut out and ready for the machine. I am also working on a puffy quilt, making 64 tiny pillows takes a while! What I have made recently and have not blogged about...I shortened a cape for Landon, I knitted two baby headbands and put felt flowers on one, and need to glue flowers onto the second one. Then I made some headbands for myself.

16 little pillows done, 48 to go (like the extra diaper, it is a GroBaby, for quick diaper changes while I am sewing!)

Ethan trying out the headband, and yes those are oreos. Look at him, all that cuteness, I swear he could get away with anything!

 Sorry about the picture quality, I did call Canon yesterday and am sending my camera in to get repaired. So looking forward to getting it back!

I know this post is worthless without pictures, so I will try to get more pictures up tonight!

Taco Seasoning

Making your own taco seasoning is super easy and I almost always have everything for it in my spice cupboard. Plus, look at the pack of the processed taco seasonings one time and you will probably find things like "high fructose..." and ingredients that just should not be in taco seasoning! They are not good for you and really my taco seasoning is so much more flavorful! Also, with making your own you can adjust it to your taste buds and if you have little ones and don't want it as spicy (this mixture has some kick to it) cut back on the red pepper flakes and black pepper. Don't want it as smokey, use less paprika....more smokey, use more. You get the picture.

Taco Seasoning
( I almost always triple this recipe when I make it so that I have lots of extra for future use)
2 Tb chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder (this is the one that I don't always have, but will sub. flakes of died onion or onion salt and then omit the salt)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (I have this so the kids don't blow fire, at least when I don't half it they act like they are going to)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
3 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp black pepper (again I half this for the kids sake)

Mix all the ingredients together and store in a baggie or small plastic container. I use about 2 Tb per pound of meat. I put it in ground meat for tacos, taco meatballs, on crock pot chicken, on popcorn, etc.

Anyone making tacos tonight? You know you are hungry for them now!

Oh, Kody.

I don't know if you remember but the day I started writing this blog, I had blogged about our dog Kody. It was a happy day.  You can find that post here. He had went missing, and months later we found him and he was home again. While in college, Ted and I decided we were going to get a puppy. Kody was the puppy we got, a cute, spunky, playful, smart, daring, danger seeking, selective hearing jack russell terrier. There are so many funny, frustrating, happy, and sad stories that I could tell about Kody. Today it is a sad one.

Last night Ted had to run an errand and took the two littlest boys with him, I went up to bed to read and Kody came up with me. I got in bed, he jumped in bed. It was so quiet and peaceful, it reminded me of our days back in college when we would just snuggle up together in my bed or on the couch. I didn't know that would be the last time I would get to be with Kody, by midmorning Ted was on his way to our house to pick up our dogs. (Kody's best doggie friend since he was a tiny pup is Hershey. Hershey is my dog from when I was in high school. An overweight, sweet chocolate lab. Her favorite thing...Kody. When Kody had gone missing 2 springs back, I had never seen Hershey so sad. She would just lay on the ground and hardly would move all day...she got even more overweight. Then Kody returned, and that little sparkle was back in her eye) Kody and Hershey have quite the history of running, when separated they don't run off, put together they get crazy ideas and take off on crazy adventures.

Ted came home with both dogs, unfortunately Kody had taken his last adventure and was gone. Ted buried him under our pines, where Kody loved to lay in the sun and look out onto the field. Just the other morning, Ted and I were watching him lay out there and a deer was having a stand off with him. Just the other day the boys and I were chasing him all around the yard and playing frisbee with him (he could catch a frisbee in the air, and loved it). Just the other day I got mad at him for snuggling up in my clean pile of clothes, he did this ALL of the time. He especially loved when they were fresh out of the drier. I am so sad that there will be no more "just the other day......"

I am missing you so much already Kody.

Kody, you caused us many headaches and were always so mischievous. But beyond all of those headaches, I will always remember you as the great friend you were. There was always something about you, that you knew when I needed an extra snuggle. You could always tell if I was sad or down. Love you, Kody.

Cupcakes. For Breakfast!

No, I haven't totally abandoned "healthy" in a way to give my boys a "treat" for breakfast this morning. Again, Weelicious gave me this great recipe for Breakfast Cupcakes. They look like cupcakes, but they taste like peanut butter pancakes (and you can use the batter for pancakes if you wanted to). Then with a cream cheese and jelly frosting, you get a very yummy (my boys are on seconds and thirds already!) peanut butter and jelly cupcake.

Breakfast Cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2  tsp salt
• 1/4 cup peanut butter (we always use natural, and the real natural stuff that doesn't add things like sugar, it is just ground up peanuts to form a paste, also use any nut or seed butter that you want)
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tb sugar
• 1 1/4 cup milk (low fat or whole, I almost used almond milk but then used regular)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk the first 3 ingredients in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the peanut butter, egg and sugar until combined, then whisk in the milk until incorporated. (oops, I just put the all in a bowl and mixed)
4. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until combined (don't over beat, or you will have tough cupcakes).
5. Grease or line mini mufin tins and fill 2/3 of the way up this batter (I used a regular sized muffin tin and a 1/4 cup measuring spoon and it made 12 cupcakes, plus I had enough batter to make 6 mini cupcakes, if making all mini it should make 20-24)
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool.
8. Spread the top with frosting (recipe below) and enjoy!

Jelly Frosting (makes about 2 cups)

• 1/2 cup Whipped or regular cream cheese (I used regular and softened it in the microwave)
• 1/4 cup Jelly, Jam or preserves (I used red raspberry spreadable fruit, smuckers simply fruit brand)

1. Place both ingredients in a bowl and whisk until througly combined, and smooth like frosting.
2. Spread on cupcakes.

*I doubled this recipe because this spread is so good on lots of things (like tortillas, dip for apples, a new way to make a pb&j, etc)

HUGE hit over at the our house. Try them, I dare your kids not to like them!

School Mask

Landon is in preschool three days a week now. He stays all day, and loves it. He is such my social butterfly that being with 20 other kids his age is like a little bit of heaven on earth for him. His class has a Halloween party but instead of student wearing costumes, the kids get a piece of cardboard to turn into a mask for the party. Landon is so into super heros and for Halloween is dressing up like BATMAN. Of course, he wanted a batman mask to wear to school as well. I may have cheated a little bit, as I did not use the cardboard for the main part of the mask. I did how use the cardboard for a very, very important part of the mask. The ears. BATMAN would not be BATMAN without his bat ears! I did not cheat in the essance that we were told to only use things around the house. Everything used to make this mask was laying around the house.

What I used:

• a plastic walmart bag
• duct tape
• scissors 
• Landon 
• cardboard

I put the bag on Landon's head (no, I did not put it all the way over his head, he could breath!). Then I just started going crazy with the duct tape. (The bag made it so it didn't actually stick to his hair/skin, that would have been mean!) I did his head, and then the mask, then the sides of the mask, and lastly cut out the ears from the cardboard, covered them with duct tape and taped them on. 20 minutes later I had a VERY happy boy:)

(of course I couldn't make just one, so 40 minutes later...I have BATMAN and Trevor's version of ROBIN)

Still Wet

That roll of toilet paper from yesterday, yep that one in the picture below. It is still wet. The sad thing about this toilet paper situation was that it was our last roll and I have not gotten to the store. Yes, I have been using wet toilet paper. Source of the water is now known and culprit has come forward.

This morning I had a little chat with Trevor
Me, "Look at this wet toilet paper, how did it get so wet?"
Trevor, "Someone did it."
Me, "I wonder who did it?"
Trevor, "Sorry mom, I did it."
Me, "How did it get wet, from the sink or from the toilet?"
Trevor, "The toilet, mom."

That means I have been having to use toilet dipped toilet paper. I think I will switch to Kleenex until I can get to the store (not sure why I wasn't using them before??).