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 Here are our climbing green beans.  Amie and Demi really like picking these and eating them raw, a good incentive for me to plant them...my kids are not really into vegetables, except for broccoli.

• Something I learned this month...that if you don't use up your romaine lettuce in a timely manner, they get really tall and bushy and taste kind of strong.  

• A recipe I will be using when our green bell peppers are ready:

6 large bell peppers  (or two large for the parents and just stuffing for picky kids)
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 16 oz canned diced tomatoes
1/2 cup quick cooking rice
1/2 cup water
dash salt
dash pepper
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cut tops from bell peppers, discard seeds and membrane.  Dice up some of the tops to make 1/2 cup full, put aside.  Cook the whole bell peppers in boiling water for about 5 minutes, uncovered.  Set them up-side-down to drain.  In a skillet cook ground beef, onion and the chopped tops until meat is browned.  Drain fat off and then add the can of diced tomatoes-undrained.  Add the uncooked rice, water, salt, pepper and worchestershire sauce.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover.  Simmer for 18 minutes.  Stir in half the cheese and then stuff the peppers with mixture and place in a baking dish or pan.  If you are only making two peppers, put the extra stuffing around the peppers.  Sprinkle the other half of the shredded cheddar cheese on top, bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Serves 6.

How is your garden growing??

Labels: garden, recipes

I made these all-time favorites last night to go with chicken tortilla soup. 


I will re-post the recipe for you.  Go make them. Now.
You're welcome :)

I found this blueberry corn muffin recipe in a magazine, sorry- I don't remember which one. It's very easy, short list of ingredients, and a surprising mix of flavors.

Corn muffins with blueberries

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup corn kernels (listed as fresh, but I used canned)
1 1/2 cup blueberries
raw sugar (turbinado) for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place baking liners in 12 cup muffin pan

Combine flour, cornmeal, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk, egg and butter together and then stir in dry ingredients until just combined. Gently fold in blueberries and corn.

Divide batter among muffin cups and sprinkle with the raw sugar. (I happen to think the more the better...mmm, sugar)

Bake about 25 minutes, cool.

Easy, internet friends, and soo worth it....

Labels: recipes

• Go check out Cozi !
  

It's this family organizing hub/ blog/ list keeper...I don't really know how to explain it.
It's one central place to keep all your family planning, I mean all. You have calendar categories for each family member in a different color. You can make shopping lists, and if you forget it, you can bring it up on your phone. Don't have a smart phone?...then you can call cozi and have your list read to you! You can set up event reminders, and different types of to-do lists. It is set up for sharing, too. You can create blog-type journal posts and share them. There is a place for your photos, too. All of this is free! I didn't get it at first, but then I watched the video, which was really helpful. (click the play button next to the title "see cozi in action".)

• Martin Luther King Day activities and ideas article *here: great links, make sure you check out both pages.
  

• Martin Luther King Jr. '" I have a dream" speech, audio and video here*.

• And finally,
  

One chocolate chip cookie recipe to rule them all...

I quit making chocolate chip cookies years ago (much to my children's sorrow) because they always came out very flat and thin and had to be scraped off the cookie sheet and eaten in bits, if eaten at all. Sky dubbed them "Pangaea" cookies, because, they looked like the world's continents all smooshed together...
-Instead, I would make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (which are my favorite and always come out perfect!) But, sigh...sometimes you just want a regular chocolate chip cookie.

Barb was having the same sort of problem, until someone sent her this**recipe. Click over to find it. I made them, and they were great!! No more cookie problems here!


Final thought: I finally got a twitter account, and a tweet deck.

I have to say, I don't get it, still. I was hoping once I was doing it, things would become more clear.

not.

Labels: recipes

I am not a great cook. I do have a few favorites I do well, though. I've noticed that they are all recipes that are, um, -forgiving. I do best with a recipe for the more 'subjective' cook, -a recipe I can add or take away from and it will still turn out. I've discovered lately that I also like uncomplicated recipes, ones without too many ingredients and/or too many steps.

I found this blueberry corn muffin recipe in a magazine, sorry- I don't remember which one. It's very easy, short list of ingredients, and a surprising mix of flavors.
I am reveling in its awesomeness this week...!

Labels: recipes

Sunday night at our house means serving dinner to a houseful of Bible college boys. We usually grill, because I seem to be challenged when it comes to cooking things in big batches- it's never ready on time when I cook. I do like to do dessert, though...here is one that is easy and a favorite

Apple-cranberry crisp recipe*

(I usually double the crisp part, and we serve it over ice-cream...and it is very good without the cranberries if you don't have any.)

Hilary Weeks and her version of My Favorite things...which happens to be my favorites, too :)



hat tip to Rudy Family Rukus for introducing me to Hilary Weeks, what a treat!

Well, I'm thinking about breaking out my 30 day shred dvd again...I did several days of this back in the Spring, it was pretty intensive but thankfully short, you just feel like you are going to die for 20 minutes. I had to stop because we had just brought home Emma the wonder-dog and she would go nuts when I tried to do it. So, I'm about to break it out, anyways, there are several bloggers doing it, I found this interesting blog called Shredheads, with lots of advice and encouragement. Check it out if you are thinking of trying this!

goodnight, God bless you!

Labels: Emma-doodle dog, recipes

or...
" shoot, it's dinner-time Again? "

" What's for dinner?...good question!"

or how about Sky's question..."yes, it's 4 o'clock and yes dinner time rolls around everyday. Why are you always surprised by this, Jen?"

My blog is an eclectic mix of this and that, mostly homeschooling...but recipes are something you will not find much of here. Unless it is easy and special. And easy.
Did I say easy?

here is one that is a hit at my house;

Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger pie

First, I double the recipe, then I use the low-fat bisquit mix, and on half I put the onions and I also add cut up bell pepper and tomatoes- this is for the adults, the other half I leave bland for the kids.

I just saw this apple recipe over at Quiche Woman in a Barbecue town,

Apple Squares

this looked very easy, yummy, and something you could do with the kids.

Labels: recipes

I've posted before that every Sunday night we host 8-10 bible college boys over for dinner, plus a few friends. We are so blessed to do this, and we enjoy the boys so much. I tried this dessert this past Sunday, and oh my goodness-it is a keeper! Sorry, no photos..the kitchen was a madhouse as we were assembling these and passing them out.

Labels: recipes