This morning I made a batch of donuts for breakfast. The children helped to decorate them!

 

Justin even helped!

 

Here is a photo of Lauren this morning. They are so yummy, and truly not too hard to make. I don't make these very often, so when I do, they are a treat!

 

Green Clean~

I thought I would write a little post about something I try to incorporate into my cleaning...the use of natural products that do not contain harsh chemicals. First, let me start by stating that I am a bit of a clean freak. This does not mean that I don't let my children make messes when they play. I just like things clean and tidy most of the time. I used to use harsh chemicals to do all of my cleaning. The bad thing about that, is they just are not good for us to be around all of the time. The skin is a permeable membrane, meaning it will absorb things and they get into your body. This is good when needing to use say, an essential oil, but not so good when we are talking about chemicals that are toxic. There for, I have tried to use more and more "green" products when cleaning my home. I started out by purchasing the natural cleaning products, and progressed to making my own to use in addition, or even in place of the store bought ones.

I really like to buy the Meyers dish washing soap and surface cleaners. They work well, and have a pleasant scent. Another store purchase that I have found to work well is the Seventh Generation Disinfecting spray. It kills 99.99% of germs all botanically. This stuff is all natural, but it does not smell good at all. However, the smell does fade and it works well.

For my home-made products, I like to use vinegar and water. I scent the vinegar with essential oil, however, you can still smell the vinegar. I have not tried this as of yet, but I guess you can add lemon or orange peels to your vinegar, and let set in a jar for two weeks, then remove the peels and add to your spray bottle the vinegar and water. I use about 1/3 cup of vinegar to 3 cups of water, when I make my vinegar spray. Vinegar naturally cleans very well, and the smell does go away shortly after you use it. To make my house smell good, I like to boil some water and add a little cinnamon to it. It not only smells great and is chemical free, but it also adds much needed moisture in the winter time. (Some add citrus peels to this, or essential oil of lemon, or orange)

Baking soda it great for scrubbing sinks and tubs and then do a vinegar spray clean and rinse after wards. Also, baking soda with essential oil works great to freshen carpet. I mix this in a bowl by hand, kind of squeezing the mixture to disperse the oil. My last tip, is invest in a steam mop. I have had one for years, and it works well and no chemicals needed, the steam does all the work!

How to make the most yummy veggie burger~

For lunch, I have been enjoying veggie burgers, and I thought I would post how I like to make them. They are easy, full of protein, and heart healthy as well. :)


First you take your veggie burger and put a little spray oil in a pan and top the burger with some black pepper. Cook on both sides until done.





Next I use the Sarah Lee Whole Wheat Buns. I turn my oven to broil and spray the inside of the bun with a little spay oil and put it in a glass dish inside part facing upward, and broil it. This gives the bun a really yummy taste, and just adds a little extra something, something. ;) Be careful if you do this, because the toasting process happens very fast, and you would not want to burn your bun!





Then top with your favorite toppings. I like to do organic spinach, tomatoes, pickles and onion and pepper jack cheese. Then enjoy a yummy lunch, that not only tastes oh so yummy, but is pretty healthy as well!

What I do all day...

I thought it may be fun to write a post about what I (as a stay at home mother) do in a day. I have a lot of people ask me what I do all day, so I thought I would keep a written example of one of my days. Each day is different, but this is a record of my Friday this week. :)

Woke a little before seven. (I got to sleep in this morning, because Tristyn did not have basket ball practice, normally I wake around 5:20 am)

I got Tristyn up for his shower, and put his clean uniform pants in front of his door.
Woke both Lauren and Megan and got gave them their uniforms to dress in for the day.
I helped both Lauren and Megan study for their spelling exams, and then quizzed them.
My husband fed the children their breakfasts, while I made three lunch's for school, and got the water bottles made up for them to take, made up my husband's tea and got it into his bottle to take to work.

Then made sure everyone had teeth brushed and hair styled. Put the lunch boxes into back packs along with water bottles. Put on their coats and said goodbyes.

8:00 am - 9:00 am
~Brewed myself some coffee and heated and frothed my milk for my latte. :) Drank my yummy coffee and posted a recipe on my blog for Amish friendship bread.
~Checked my facebook.
~Unloaded and reloaded my dishwasher. Disinfected my kitchen sinks and counter tops. ~Refilled my soap containers for my kitchen and bathrooms.
~Little Justin woke up, so I said hello, and got him his breakfast and milk. He is watching PBS kids so I thought I would quickly work on this post before getting back to work. ;)

9:00am-11:00am

~Made all of the beds
~Gathered up all dirty clothes to be washed
~Folded two huge baskets of clothing, and put away
~Sorted socks from the sock bin. (a place I put stray socks that I wash and every week, I find all the matches.)
~Bathed Justin
~Cleaned up the girl's room, and put away all stray toys and art supplies
~Recorded tasks on this post. ;)
~Got a hug from my little fella!

11:00am -2:00pm

~Took a little time to check out a few of my favorite blogs.
~Cleaned and disinfected both bathrooms.
~Emptied all trash cans and replaced the bags.
~Put a load of towels and the bathroom rugs in the washing machine.
~Cracked the ice into the ice bend, and added water to make more ice to the treys.
~Walked around the house and put away stray items in their spots.
~Vacuumed the upstairs.
~Had a coffee break. ;)
~Took a shower and got myself ready for the day. (blo-dry and makeup)
~Made lunch.
~Ate lunch with my husband and son.
~Cleaned up lunch, did dishes and wiped down table and counter tops.
~Talked on the phone for about 5 minutes to a friend.
~Put the laundry into the dryer, and started another load.
~Recorded my time on this post.


2:00pm-6:00pm
~Cleaned the basement & Vacuumed the entire down stairs (this took a good hour, as the children had everything a mess.)
~Put laundry away
~Fed the stray kitties that come around my back yard.
~Went to get the children from school, and brought home a friend of Megan's, for a play date.
~Baked an after school snack.
~Had a friend over to visit.

6:00pm-8:00pm

~Made veggie bean tacos and rice for dinner.
~Ate dinner with my family.
~Cleaned up the dinner mess.
~Picked up mess in basement from play date.
~Talked on phone to friend.
~Got some laundry from the dryer,put wet clothes from the washer into the dryer, started a new load of laundry.
~Folded the clean clothes and put them away.
~Spent a little time with Justin.

Now I'm calling it a night, going to get PJ's on and read a bit. ;) That was my day... :)

Amish Friendship Bread Recipe

Still waiting for day ten to actually make my friendship bread, but I thought I would go ahead and post the recipes that I have for the bread. :)

Amish Friendship Bread Recipe

Pre-heat oven to 325, then mix the following well:

1 cup of starter
2/3 cup of oil or applesauce
3 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla

In Separate bowl combine:

2 cups of unbleached (organic) flour
1 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
1&1/4 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp of cinnamon

Combine the wet & dry ingredients thoroughly. (I cheat a bit, and do this all in my kitchen aide, doing the wet first and then adding to that the dry.) Grease 2 bread loaf pans. (I use spray oil) Pour mix into pans, then mix some cinnamon and sugar and top your bread with that. Bake on 325 for 1 hour or until toothpick is clean when inserted. (Because all ovens vary in temperature, I like to start checking after about 40 min.) You can bake in a 9x13 pan, and it takes about half the time this way. (30 minutes or so)


Chocolate Amish Friendship Bread Recipe

2 cups of flour
1 cup of sugar
1.5 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 (5.9 oz) box of instant chocolate pudding
1 cup of starter
1 cup vegetable oil or applesauce
1/2 cup of milk
3 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla

Follow the same baking instructions on your bread. You can bake in a 9x13 baking dish, and it is done sooner. (if you do this, it takes about 30min, in my oven at least.)
As far as the rest of your starter, here is how to maintain it...

You can freeze it in 1 cup portions to use later,(just make sure to thaw it to room temp. before you use it.) or you can keep it up by doing the following

Stir each day (with a non-metal spoon), or put in a zip lock bag and squish and release the air. Once every 8-10 days, feed your starter 1 cup flour, sugar and milk. Every time you do this step, remove about 1/3 of starter and either freeze or bake into bread. You may also remove your frozen starter and thaw to room temp. and start the feeding process as though just one day was completed.) So you would then have ten days to a new batch of starter.

Chocolate Parfait Bars Recipe

Yesterday I made a batch of Chocolate Parfait Bars to send for my children's teacher's appreciation lunch today. I do not make these too often, because I love them so much, I can not help but eat more than I should. :) These are very easy to make, and the word yummy does not even start to do them justice. Here is the recipe if you would like to try them...but beware, if you like this sort of treat they are hard to resist.

Chocolate Parfait Bar Recipe

Crust:



1 devils food cake mix
1 stick of butter (I use smart balance 50/50)
1 egg

Mix together and press in a jelly roll pan and bake on 350 for 9 minutes. (you can use a normal cake pan, but increase your baking time by a few minutes.) Remove and let cool completely.

Filling


1 envelope of gelatin
1/4 cup of boiling water
4 cups of powdered sugar
1 stick of butter (softened)
1/2 cup of shortening
1/2 tsp vanilla

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water, stir to remove lumps. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Next mix your gelatin mixture with the sugar butter, shortening and vanilla
and beat until smooth. Spread evenly over cooled chocolate crust. Cover and refrigerate until firm.

Frosting
1.5 cups of chocolate chips
4.5 tablespoons of butter

Melt chocolate chips and butter together, stir until smooth. (use low heat to do this step) Spread evenly over filling. Cover and refrigerate until cool. Cut into bars and put on a plate or platter to serve. (note...let them sit for about 20 min before cutting after removing from the refrigerator.)

Snow Fall & Lazy Day Feeling

Today I awoke to a bit of a winter wonder land. I was a bit let down, as I was hoping the children would have a snow day, but no such luck. Outside my window a blanket of fluffy white snow encumbers the world. On days like today, I want to just stay in my pjs and read, or go make a snow man with my children...anything but work. However, there is so much to get done today around our little home, so I have to force myself to get busy. Not an easy task, I might add. When I have a day such as today, where doing my work, feels a bit like pulling teeth, I have a little trick I use to get my work done. What I do, is make my self work for ten minutes, then I get to read, or do what I want for ten minutes. Work gets done, be it slowly, but it does get done. This way my spirit gets the time it is longing for, and my home can stay neat and comfy for myself and my family to enjoy. (Not to mention the fact we all need clean clothes, and we still need to eat!) I just thought I would share my little tip on keeping up with things, when your motivation drops to next to nothing. :) Happy Monday

Egg Plant Pasta Recipe

Today, I found the most beautiful eggplant at this cute little market, and wanted to make something yummy out of it. So I made up a little recipe that turned out to not only be fairly easy, but quite tasty.

First peel and slice your egg plant in thin slices.

Next, salt each slice of egg plant and let set in a colander for at least an hour. (this step takes out the bitterness)

Next, wash the salt off of your eggplant, and in a large skillet add a little canola oil and cook your egg plant on medium heat. While cooking the eggplant, I like to add a little basil and black pepper. After your eggplant has cooked on both sides, lay on a paper towel.

Now open a normal ( approx. 16oz) size can of organic diced tomatoes and put them in the skillet you cooked the egg plant in. Add to it 1 teaspoon of basil, 1/2 teaspoon of oregano, 2 teaspoons of diced garlic, 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, and black pepper and Parmesan cheese to taste.

Next, let this cook down on med/low heat stirring now and then for about 5 minutes, then add your cooked eggplant and let cook for another 5 min. I also added some fresh organic spinach at this point, but this is totally optional.




Boil some good pasta. (I like Amish egg noodles) cook as directed, then put them on a platter and top with your pasta sauce and shred some cheddar cheese on the very top.

Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe

This is a recipe that my sister found for me years ago on a wonderful blog at www.homesteepedhope.com It is for the Amish Friendship Bread Starter. I am going to first post the starter recipe, and when I make the bread (in 10 days) I will post the Amish Friendship Bread Recipes that I have as well. They are both super moist and yummy. This is worth the time it takes to make the started, because the bread is very good, and it is fun to share with friends and family as well.

Starter Recipe: Note...do not stir with metal spoon, or use a metal bowl


DAY NUMBER 1

1 pack of yeast (or if you use bulk like me 2.5 teaspoons)
1/4 cup of warm water
~In a small bowl combine the water and yeast and let set for 10 min. Stir with a non-metal spoon.




1 cup of organic flour
1 cup of sugar

~ In a 2 quart (non-metal) container combine your flour and sugar




1 cup of milk
~Slowly stir in milk and dissolved yeast mixture. (remember to use a non-metal spoon) Truly a whisk would be wonderful, but because you can not use metal, I used a spatial and then put my lid on my plastic container (it is a lock & lock, so it is a tight seal) then I shook it really good. Next I washed and dried the lid, and put in on the top very loose and put it aside until tomorrow.



Cover loosely and let stand at room temperature.


DAY 2

Stir with a non-metal spoon, cover loosely and let set until day 5
Here is a photo of what it should look like on day two, before you stir...



Here is what it looks after you stir (with a non-metal spoon of course!)





Day 5

Stir in 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of sugar (with a non-metal spoon) :)
cover loosely and let sit

Days 6-9 Stir with a non-metal spoon

Day 10

Stir into the starter 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of milk & 1 cup of sugar. Now your starter is ready to use for bread!!!

This can be frozen in 1 cup portions to use for more bread later, or you can share it, or just bake extra for friends. I will post the two bread recipes before I make my bread. ;)