Here's a Question...

How do you restart blogging after taking an eleven month break?  I'm asking for a friend.

I still can't believe it's been eleven months.   I have thought often of my poor, neglected blog, and thought about how to jump back into blogging regularly.   And then I thought of how to explain my absence,  and all the updating I would "need" to do...

Because my children's photos on the sidebar are about two years old now...and various links need to be redone or removed...and I haven't had short hair in a few years so my profile photo would need to be updated...

And I would put it off again..and again...because life got a bit busier during my blogging break.  For instance,  Robert is now a senior, with weekly football games that are close to wrapping up.

Robert is number 84.  My sideline shots are the only ones where you can tell who is who. 

And so here I am, just deciding to start where I am and change what I can when I can.  And that will be OK.

That, and I will be in a chili cook-off tomorrow, and I'm supposed to come up with a name for my chili.   All I came up with (besides "My Husband Signed Me Up For This") was Cheeky Chili.  I guess this is as good a reason as any to jump back in, right?  And maybe I can hit some highlights of the past eleven months with occasional "Throwback Thursday" posts.

Baby steps, y'all.

If you're interested in the chili recipe I use, click here for the recipe and click here for how I mass produce my own chili spice packets ahead of time as well as to see what changes I make to the original recipe to suit my family.

Works For Me Wednesday: Making Spice Mixes For Recipes Ahead of Time

For at least a year or two, I have measured out the spices I used in a specific chili recipe in two batches at a time...

once for the recipe I was preparing that evening, and once for a time in the future.  I labeled the second batch of spices with the name of the recipe (because I always think I will remember but...you know what happens) written on an empty spice container that I used for storing the mix over and over again.

Recently, in an effort to simplify things, as well as the realization that chili was off the menu on plenty of evenings if I didn't have the spices already measured out, I decided to mass produce the spice mix for my chili recipe.  

I used plastic food containers that I already had on hand.  I store these in a larger plastic food container that is now labeled "SPICE MIXES" so that the spice smells don't take over my pantry.  I plan on measuring out spices for another recipe, too, so I already labeled the bottoms of these little containers with a "C" for chili (along with a note stating which specific recipe these spices go with because...you know).

The process of measuring the spices into a series of containers all at once took a couple of minutes longer than measuring them for one use.  Chili will be back on the menu more often this winter, and I will expand this idea to other recipes for more time-savings...

And that works for me!  Click over to We Are THAT Family for more Works For Me Wednesday ideas.

If you are interested, here's the link to the chili recipe I use:  Laura's Quick Slow Cooker Turkey Chili.  I mostly follow the directions but have tweaked it to fit my family.  I am allergic to the beans listed in the recipe (I can eat great white northern beans and that's about it, and I only add one can instead of two), so that's one change I made.  I have never, ever made this recipe with tomato soup but always use some form of diced tomatoes, and I have not added red pepper flakes because I want my kids to eat the meal.  :)  Be sure to read the comments on the recipe to see what others have changed--you'll likely find what will work for your family in particular, too.  Even though the recipe is for a slow cooker, I usually prepare this on the stove top.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

This week's scavenger hunt items are:

• Home/Thankful
• In the kitchen
• Couple
• Bubbles
• Trees

HOME/THANKFUL

There is so much to be thankful for...

Photo taken July 2011

Thank You for the cross, Lord.

Thank You for the price You paid.

Bearing all my sin and shame, 

In love You came and gave amazing grace.

~Worthy Is the Lamb by Hillsong

IN THE KITCHEN

Snickerdoodles fresh from the oven...Yum!

I'm including this next photo not for the shot but to share the idea:  this is my "double boiler."  I have a metal mixing bowl sitting on top of heated water in a pan that the mixing bowl will...float...inside.  This worked very well for keeping the chocolate melted!  (I dipped marshmallows in the chocolate, in case you are wondering.)  Just be careful of the steam escaping from the pan!  

COUPLE

These are a couple of mischievous boys.

BUBBLES

Bubbles in a paper weight...

TREES

Um...yeah...this is where I went a little crazy.

Trees seemingly dwarfed by tall grass.

Click on the link below to see others' photographs or to join in the fun!  

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

This week's scavenger hunt items were

1. Nature
2. Vintage or Retro
3. Whimsical
4. Cooking
5. Week's Best

NATURE

I saw these birds on the top of ALDI after we had finished loading our groceries into the van. I waited for a few minutes, camera ready, to capture them in mid-air again as they were when I first spotted them.  (My guess is that they were being territorial and each trying to run the other bird off.  There was a lot of aggressive-looking hopping and charging going on.) 

The weather looked like it was getting a little wild on Wednesday.  There was only one huge clap of thunder and that was pretty much it, although the kids spotted what they thought was a little hail.  Whatever it was, it was short-lived.  

RETRO

Look!  There's some nature on my retro dryer! 

WHIMSICAL

My kids with an oversized puppy...'nough said.

Josiah (10) with Bono (7 mos.)

Grace (6) with Bono (7 mos.)

COOKING

I tried great white northern beans in a chili recipe this week.  I am allergic to most kinds of beans, and have been trying to gather the nerve to try these beans to see if I reacted. 

Fortunately, I didn't notice a reaction, so now I have two types of beans I know I can eat (this, and baked beans).  Woo hoo!

Click on this link to see the recipe I modified from AllRecipes.com.  My modifications:  I make this completely on the stove top rather than crock pot (mostly due to lack of planning, but also because I already have used the skillet so why not finish it there?).  I use 1 can of diced tomatoes rather than the tomato soup, I omit the red pepper flakes or else my kids would not/could not eat this, and I only use 1 can of beans. However, now that I know I can eat the great white northern beans, I may use 2 cans next time.  


WEEK'S BEST

The thing that tickles me about this farmland shot is that this picturesque scene is right next to a large car dealership and across from a bank, two restaurants, and a government building. 

Click on the link below to see others' photographs or to join in next week's hunt!  

Mmmmm...waffles!

I bought a waffle maker (Oster CKSTWF40 4-Slice Waffle Maker) with a Kohl's gift card I got for Christmas, and I tried it out last night for supper. I found a recipe for waffles on AllRecipes.com, read the reviews of the recipe, and this is what I ended up with after making the changes I thought my family would like:

Ingredients

2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons white sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

After I began getting the ingredients together (and too late to make a run to the grocery store), I realized that I was a little short on flour. I lacked about 1/4 cup, and so I processed enough oatmeal in my Chopper Jr. to make up for the flour I didn't have. I have used recipes for pancakes that called for oatmeal, so I wasn't just making this up.

These waffles were so good, and very easy to make! Everyone loved them, and Josiah (8) said they were almost better than the ones Cindy makes. ;)

They were so good, Jason requested them for supper tonight, too, which never happens. I think the first batch was better, so I may continue to use 1/4 cup of oatmeal with 1 3/4 cups of flour to see if that makes for a better waffle. Of course, the difference could have also been that Josiah was my mixer yesterday...hmmm...

We don't have a lot of cabinet space in our kitchen, so I was a little hesitant to get a waffle maker. However, this particular one can be stored on end, so it's standing next to our George Foreman grill. Also, it seemed like this one had a larger space to pour batter than the circular ones, so this was a good choice for us.

Do you have a waffle maker? Do you have a favorite waffle recipe or mix?

WFMW: Chopping onions without the tears

OK, a quick show of hands...Who can't stand chopping onions?

Yeah. Me, neither.

I had heard about cutting onions under running water (Who can do that? Safely, I mean...?) and wearing goggles (Really?) but I wasn't going to do either of those tricks. Finally, I heard about freezing the onions before cutting them.

Freezing them? I can do that. So I tried it, and...

Success!

First, after removing the outer skin and chopping off the ends, I sliced the onions. I'm almost ashamed to show you the photo of my onion slices because tonight I found out I've been doing it the wrong way all these years. So, cut yours vertically (with the onion standing on the flat end you've cut away) instead of horizontally like I did.


I placed the incorrectly sliced onions in the freezer on the top of a plastic container and set the timer. About 30 minutes has been the best time for me--any longer than that, and the onions become brittle and harder to chop. Even if you have less time to leave the onions in the freezer, it helps. Just grab a few slices, leave the rest in the freezer, and come back for more when you're done slicing the ones you've taken.

Place the chopped onions in a labeled freezer bag. Do not overfill the bag so you can flatten the onions into a thin layer; freeze the onions flat, and then the chopped pieces will be loose enough for you to get what you need from the freezer in the future.


If you are interested in more tips on chopping onions without tears, check out this link. There is even a video on how to remove the part of the onion that is releasing the gas that makes our eyes tear up...I don't think I have a sharp enough knife to try it, but you might.

For more ideas and helpful hints, check out We Are THAT Family!

A treat

I have been meaning to pass along this link to a few of you, so thought I would post it on the blog since I also meant to mention it to more of you. :)

I have not tried this recipe, but how can you go wrong with it? Let me know if you make them.

The woman who posted the recipe didn't give it a name...I'm not trying to be vague here. :)

Baked Chicken in the Crock Pot

I have finally found a way to cook chicken in the crock pot that my husband will eat! Until now, I was forbidden to cook chicken in the crock pot because he despises the texture of it--he says it's like boiled chicken.

The directions are simple:

• If your crock pot came with a rack to place in the bottom, use it! Otherwise, loosely wad up a couple of pieces of  aluminim foil to cover the bottom.
• Season the chicken however you like. I usually cook extra to use the chicken in multiple recipes, so I may only use lemon juice and pepper then.
• Place the chicken on top of the rack or the foil.
• Cook on high for 4 hours (for boneless) or until the chicken is done. Especially if you are using boneless breasts, watch carefully towards the end to make sure the chicken doesn't dry out.

Easy and versatile! And not the texture of boiled chicken! ;)
I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. If you go to this link, you can do an ingredient search. Be sure to read some of the reviews listed for each recipe before you try them--you will probably get a good idea of whether or not the recipe will be something your family likes, and there are usually some interesting ways others have changed the recipe for the better.