Menu plan changes ...

So, I had this brilliant idea to use my crockpot all summer. This was a good idea and necessitated a new crockpot. But, some of the recipes just aren't working for me. My new crockpot runs way too hot for my liking. On Thursday our quiche cooked in less than an hour and a half making dinner ready to eat at 3:30 ... not ideal. I turned it to the "warm" setting but it was still very spongy and over cooked. My pasta recipes have also been disasters. They cook so quickly that by dinner it's a big pot of mush and because I can't waste anything we've been eating too much over-cooked, mushy food. My other issue is that it's hard to cook enough for us in my crockpot ... well, there was enough mushy pasta but that's because no one really wanted to eat it. I tripled the Spinach Feta Quiche (which we love by the way) and barely had enough ... I think a few kids were missing that night too. This week I'm going to try something different. Here's my plan:

Monday: Chicken Chow Mein (using recipe listed in my Summer Menu Plan) BUT I'm only cooking the veggies and sauce in the crockpot. I'm going to make Asian Roasted Chicken ( http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=222178 ) in my roaster to serve with the veggies over noodles or rice that I'll cook separately. This is kind of what I was hoping to avoid. I didn't want to have the roaster, the crockpot and a pan boiling ... that's just a lot of dishes at the end of a long summer day. Hmmmm.

Tuesday: White Chicken Chili - This is an old recipe we enjoy. It's Luke's favorite soup. I'm hoping that the bones from the Asian Roasted Chicken aren't so "Asian-y" that they make an odd broth. I figure if I add enough chili powder and green chilis no one will notice. We'll see.

Wednesday: Tuna Cakes - I'll pretty much wing this on Wednesday (winging it sometimes ends badly but ...) I have oodles of tuna to use so I'm going to give these a try. I hope I can just cook them on my griddle and serve with a salad and some tartar sauce. I'd love to be able to grill every Wednesday but it either gets too pricey or we end up eating junky hot dogs.

Thursday: Quiche

Friday: Pizza Night

I will also go to Sams this week and ... gasp ... buy some convenience foods and paper plates. The beginning of my third trimester has hit me like a smack in the face. I'm big, round, hot and tired. This is hard for me to accept but, guess what, being pregnant with your 10th baby at 40 is draining! It's hard for me swallow my frugal pride but I'm too tired to care all that much right now. Come October when we are in the bad habit of using paper plates and eating pre-made burgers I might regret this but I think I can live with that. Ha.

I have ambitions to take a weekend and do a months worth of cooking in preparation for the baby. Nothing complicated but a freezer full of casseroles and breakfasts will be nice both when the baby comes and the final days of the pregnancy. I haven't decided when I'll do this but it needs to be soon as once the garden starts producing I want to can and pickle and jelly my heart out. I live for this time of year and pray that baby will cooperate with my ambitions!

I finished my first book of the summer ...

... and it was fantastic! I read No Time On My Hands by Grace Snyder. It's the biography of 82 year old Grace published in 1963 beginning with her move to Nebraska via wagon at the age 8 to homestead. Truly an amazing life. It was so good that I can hardly move on to my next book because I don't want to forget the memories of this one. I felt like I was sitting down with my Grandmother listening to her tell me about her parents lives. From the days when she lived in a soddy and used a horse with buggy to her frame house and first car. Talk about giving one perspective on how easy our lives are now barely 100 years later. In the midst of all of our house repairs, pregnancy, teenage angst oozing from my 3 oldest and just the day to day busyness of life this book was a good reminder that many of today's problems are due to affluence, selfishness and having way too much time to worry about nonsense.

Grace had three dreams as a child. To make the prettiest quilts in the world, to marry a cowboy and to see a cloud from the top. She accomplished all of these things. Her quilts were world renown and rekindled the dying art of quilting in the 1980's. She married a cowboy and was a ranch wife for most of her life. She flew in airplanes visiting family and showing her quilts allowing her to see the clouds from the top. Her most famous quilt is the Basket of Flowers that is so intricate it almost looks as if it is needlepoint. Each postage stamp square has 8 tiny pieces. I have a small set of the Basket of Flowers china that she patterned her quilt after. She never imagined anyone would really care about her amazing quilts as she sewed through long Nebraska winters.

I'm so thankful to have the summer to play and read. Last year I barely kept up with the dailies with homeschooling, BSF, chess, CAP ... what a relief to have a break.

An update on how the Summer Menu is working ...

Let's see ... the first recipe we had was the Lentil Spaghetti Sauce that I'd made before. It's always delicious and can be served on pasta or spaghetti squash so it works for the entire family.

Next I made the Chicken Enchilada Soup. It was wonderful. The kids thought it tasted exactly like every other chili I make, which it probably did, but it was good and the leftovers were even better.

The last new recipe I made was the Spinach Feta Quiche with spinach from our garden. I really loved this. It is much lighter than most quiches which seems appropriate for summer. The flour and baking soda sink to the bottom making a crepe like crust which was good, too. A definite keeper.

Tonight we're trying the Turkey Tetrazzini. I chose it above the zillions of other recipes for this because it has artichoke hearts ... unfortunately, the jar of artichoke hearts I'd been hoping to use in this are "marinated" so I just added extra mushrooms. I also used egg noodles instead of spaghetti because we had spaghetti twice last week ... as if my family really cares but I thought a different shape noodle might be nice. All of my other recipes for this kind of thing use a white sauce so I'm interested to know what the cream cheese is like with the broth ... also how it will work using uncooked egg noodles. I'm hoping my splash of creativity in using a different noodle doesn't spoil it!

First fruits from our garden ...

So far we've had a Spring Mix salad with a yogurt dill dressing using lettuce and dill from the garden AND a Spinach Feta Quiche with spinach from the garden. Both were delicious. Farmer Timothy, my assistant grounds keeper, took these pictures for your enjoyment.



Spring Mix lettuce







Dill







Spinach







Onions and garlic




There's more but I'll share them as things get ripe. Some of my kids think my garden obsession is weird. When they bring in a tiny little radish I oooo and ahhhh adoring it like a new baby. I think they are weird for not recognizing the wonderfulness of it all!

"Mary contemno Latin."

Or "Mary hates Latin". Poor Mary. I don't think it's Latin itself, I mean she doesn't abhor the language itself, but she is truly not enjoying the class. I figure the challenge of it will be good for her but it's going to be a long 3 weeks. She wasn't pleased when I compared taking Latin to when she took swimming lessons. She cried every single day of lessons for a few weeks (we went twice a week) but by the end she was happy we'd stuck with it. Before the lessons she was scared of the water and couldn't play at the pool when we'd go. Living in Minnesota at the time, being the land of 1000 lakes, it was just plain dangerous to not know how to swim. Her response is, "I won't die if I don't learn Latin," which is true but my hope is being challenged will give her a new confidence when she does things outside her comfort zone in the future. We'll see.

Summer 2010 ... Week Two

After a short 4 day first week of summer we jumped right back into commitment this week with Josiah and Mary starting Latin 1 at Ridgeview from 8:00 to 11:00 every morning for 3 weeks. Initially we thought this would be a good way to keep Josiah busy and introduce Mary to a higher level of learning but now I'm kind of regretting the commitment. Ridgeview is allowing Josiah to work in the afternoons to pay for his class AND Mary's which I think is just remarkable. I'm so excited to hear how the first day goes especially for Mary. Her one lament was that flip-flops are not part of Ridgeview's dress code.

Luke returned last night from his first bivouac tired and filthy. He had a great time and really learned a lot about search and rescue, tracking, survival, mapping and how to survive on very little sleep. His feet are covered in blisters but he's happy.

We have 2 contractors here today trying to finish up our projects. They are removing the family room/kitchen ceiling to see what damage there is and replacing the basement bathroom ceiling which was damaged in the first bathroom catastrophy of the year. I'll post pictures of the new bathrooms when we're all done. They are beautiful.

Summer Menu Plan

The basic menu plan is below with recipe links following by day. I had a bunch of recipes I have been wanting to try all year stashed away in the back of my brain ... mostly from the 365 Days of Crockpotting blog which I love (http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/). Anyone who knows 35 dessert recipes that can be made in a crockpot is someone I need to meet! Surely we'd be best friends. Unfortunately, the day after I came up with my great summer of crockpotting, Sparkles, Anna's cat, knocked my crock on the wood floor shattering it into 100 pieces. But, I will not be swayed, I will buy a new crock!

SUNDAY
Bundt Cake
Nachos or Quesadillas
Leftovers/Tacos/Eggs

MONDAY
Cereal/Berries and Yogurt
Bean Burritos/Taco Salad
Pasta or Italian/Salad

TUESDAY
Muffins/Berries and Yogurt
Mac 'n Cheese/Greek Salad
Mexican

WEDNESDAY
Pancakes or Waffles or French Toast/Berries and Yogurt
Baked Potatoes
Grill or Sub Sandwiches/Veggies & Dip

THURSDAY
English Muffins or Bagels/Berries and Yogurt
Ramen/Asian Salad
Eggs

FRIDAY -
Toast/Berries and Yogurt
Sandwiches/Mandarin Salad
Pizza Night

SATURDAY
Donuts
Sandwiches or Hot Dogs
Soup - Date Night
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MONDAY NIGHT RECIPES
PASTA OR ITALIAN



Turkey Tetrazzini-
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009/06/crockpot-turkey-tetrazzini-recipe.html

Chicken Chowmein-
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/07/crockpot-chow-mein-recipe.html

Spaghetti-
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/07/super-easy-crockpot-spaghetti-sauce.html

Baked Spinach and Cheese Noodles-
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/04/crockpot-baked-spinach-and-cheese.html

Super Easy Lasagna-
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/01/super-easy-crockpot-lasagna.html

Puffy Pizza Bake-
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2010/05/slow-cooker-puffy-pizza-casserole.html
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TUESDAY NIGHT
MEXICAN







Taco Style Lentils and Rice-
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/tacolentilsrice.htm

Chicken Enchilada Soup-
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2010/01/enchilada-chicken-chili.html

Chile Verde-
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009/03/crockpot-chile-verde-recipe.html

Creamy Corn and Spinach Enchiladas-
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/08/creamy-corn-and-spinach-enchiladas.html

Salsa Chicken-
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/06/crockpot-salsa-chicken-recipe.html
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WEDNESDAY NIGHT
GRILL OR SUB SANDWICHES





No recipes here ... just easy things we can take places and that won't heat up the house.
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THURSDAY NIGHT
EGGS




Spinach and Feta Quiche-
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/06/crockpot-spinach-and-feta-quiche.html

Chicken Broccoli Quiche-
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/41/Cheesy_Chicken_Broccoli_Quiche55675.shtml

Bacon Potato Quiche-
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/41/Breakfast_Casserole55552.shtml
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FRIDAY NIGHT
PIZZA





Pizza Crust-
http://kathrynscrew.blogspot.com/2010/06/pizza-crust.html

Top as you like.
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SATURDAY NIGHT A/K/A DATE NIGHT
SOUP




Again, no recipes here ... I just take any leftovers and turn them into a soup. If there are no leftovers to be had I take broth from the freezer and add noodles, veggies and possibly some meat. My funny kids LOVE soup and always gobble it up ... I have no idea why. Some of the ingredients I've made into soups will have to go with me to the grave because no one would believe kids would eat soup made out of them.
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SUNDAY NIGHT
LEFTOVERS OR WHATEVER
Sometimes I'm inspired and cook on Sundays but mostly I rack my brain while we drive home from church trying to think of a meal that everyone will eat and is quick. Mostly this includes nachos, quesadillas, leftovers ... easy, easy!

Relaxing in the shade ...

Rachel, Anna and Elizabeth drawing.

Timmy was building a fort which is why there are boards and wood laying about and the white strings are the remains of my clothesline which was used for the first attempt at a fort.

Rachel, Sophie and Anna
The giggliest cousins on the planet! I have no idea where my girls got that from ...
Timothy, Jacob and Ben exploring down the creek at cousin Thomas' 4th birthday party!
Birthday boy Thomas making a waterfall ... what a cutie!
I"m not sure what my brother Patrick was telling Grandpa, Timothy, Ben and Jacob but it was sure captivating! What a handsome lot!
Jacob and Timothy riding a ladybug ...
Dear baby Henry ... Patrick and Marcy's little guy.
Fisherman Benjamin
Fisherman Timothy
Fisherman Jacob

Summer 2010 ... Day Two ...

I think day two of our summer was pretty successful. We did the basics and kept on task pretty well. As usual there is always at least one kink in my plans. Yesterday it was Chess Club at a friend's house for Luke from 1-3 plus a pounding contractor in my room all afternoon. It made for a less than restful Rest and Read Time. I also took 5 kids to Walmart to grocery shop which took longer than expected getting me home right at dinner time. Not ideal. I think taking teenagers to the store might be as bad as taking preschoolers. They wander off, ask for things they don't need, act silly ... would it be wrong to hire a babysitter for them to go shopping? Ha!

Today we've already gotten a lot done! One dead bush pulled from the front and a ton of rocks hauled away. The contractor is installing our master toilet today ... woohoo ... no more tip toe-ing onto bare, nasty subfloor in the kids bathroom to go potty at night. And the bathroom is looking so beautiful. I may live up there ... it is certainly the nicest room in our house right now. But I still have to sew patches on Luke's BDU's before CAP tonight and the girls have dance. Thursdays almost get worse in the summer I think. Luke will be going on his first CAP bivouac (camping trip) this weekend so we're scrambling to get his gear ready. Joe is now "staff" and has his own responsibilities which is nice as he can hopefully look out for his little brother while he's there. Ok, back to reality. I hope to have time to post our new schedules and such tonight while the boys are at CAP.

Summer Reading

By the final month of BSF in the midst of Easter, 5 birthdays, catastrophic home demolition, unborn baby stress and the end of the school year the one thing that kept me going (beside Mike being home for a few weeks and my sprouting garden) was the thought that come June I would have time to read books for fun! I have a box of books that belonged to my Grandmother full of pioneer diaries. There are even notes in her handwriting in the midst of the books which make me cry. So I picked out a handful of books to read this summer. We also took out a bunch of book boxes from storage that had been hidden after moving and painting and such. Each child chose 8 fiction books and 4 biographies to read this summer. My goal is one book per week per child for my less-than-enthused readers and as many as can be devoured by my motivated readers. The one thing I seem to be missing is a box full of preschool/kindergarten books that I stashed away for a rainy day. It's gone and therefore the two littlest have very little to read that they haven't read before. I guess it's time to go book shopping at the 2nd hand stores although they seemed content to just take a stack from their bedroom bookshelves in the short term. Mike has also started a plan to read through the New Testament as a family over the summer which is especially fun as we have six good readers now to take turns. It should be a great summer!

Summer 2010 ... the first day of summer ...

Yesterday was our first day of summer. We had new chores, a new schedule, new "to do" lists and a few well-timed wrenches that didn't seem to spoil the day.

In terms of the new chores most of the kids were excited for something new to do. The first exception to this was Josiah, whose been at Ridgeview for 9 months, and had to re-acclimate to life at home with parents who believe in the old adage, "idle hands are the devils work shop." I think he was hoping we believed in the new adage, "summer is a time for kids to do nothing." So, so sorry, Joe. The second exception to this were the 3 "little" boys who are not "little" any more and therefore will have more responsibility.

Our new schedule really worked well although we were all so exhausted from Memorial Day it was a tough start. Sun burned, tired, worn-out kids all around. But, we pressed on and by the time Rest and Read time rolled around we were all ready to rest. The one mix up in our first day was that the home school park day that I thought began at 2:00 began at 10:00 ... ooops ... so we scrambled to Loveland just in the knick of time and enjoyed fellowship with a few moms before heading to Sams to get our order. It had been a long time since I took all 9 kids to Sams for lunch and to get our order. I think the kids were too tired and hungry to notice the frequent stares but such is life in a small, liberal, Californian-infested town. One day I went with just 7 and a man said under his breath to Mary, "Oh, great, over-populating the earth." If I'd heard I would have replied, "No, just repopulating God's Kingdom," or maybe smacked him for picking on a 14 year old to pass his passive-aggresive nonsense to. Anyhow, a good time and we now have groceries in our very empty refrigerator.

I made an on-going "to do" list for summer so that when we have an hour to work on the yard (9:30 - 10:30) or an hour in the house 10:30-11:30)we can check things off and have a plan. Why does my mind go blank when I have a captive audience of 9 children to work but can't think of a single job?

The second wrench in our day was the plumber needed us to select new faucets for our recovering bathroom so they could be installed. While it used to be fun to run to Home Depot it's now painful and expensive. Our home improvement plan has always been to gradually upgrade and repair but with our mold issues we've been thrown into 6 weeks of complete gutting, fixing and remodeling. While the bathrooms will be beautiful I am ready for it to be done and refuse to even look under or behind anything in this house until next year. All that to say, the trip to Home Depot fell right at dinner time but my kids sprang into action (well, Mary did) and we came home to chores done, the table set and dinner simmering. Go Mary!

So, today ... I hope to stick more to our new schedule to get a better feel for if it will work. I'll post the schedule later on the blog but essentially we work in the mornings and play in the afternoons. Today Luke has been invited to a Chess Club at the Bolshekov's home in Old Town. The Bolshekov's speak and look as if they were just dropped out of Stalin's Russia but Luke has played chess with the boys for a few years and assures me it will be fun. I can't understand the mind of the common geek but seem to have married one and have bred several so I'll need to learn. Off to make French Toast and rally the troops.