Little Farmer Lunch Box

Isn't this the cutest little lunch box you've ever seen? My three year old spotted it while we were at Tractor Supply and just HAD to have it.

 

Lunch was served...

Cream Cheese Bites

I changed Mad Mad Me's Recipe a little...

Cream Cheese Bites

16 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
2 tsp. orange or lemon zest
For coating:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tbsp. cinnamon sugar (I keep a mix in a jar for toast, so I just used a tbsp. of this)

Mix together all ingredients except the graham crackers and cinnamon sugar for coating; chill for about 15 minutes.  While cream cheese mixture is chilling, mix cinnamon sugar into graham cracker crumbs in a bowl. Make bite sized portions of the cream cheese mixture, roll them in the graham cracker, cinnamon sugar mixture and shape them into whatever shapes you want. I made flat rounds so they would stack, but you could leave them in balls. Chill them for another 10-15 minutes before serving since the rolling and molding soften up the cream cheese a bit. Enjoy!

 

 

Crescent Rolls in the diaper bag????

It is unlikely that anyone else will find this as funny as I did. Especially at 11 p.m. I was getting ready for bed and trying to clean off the table from the aftermath of a hectic day of shopping and other errands. I started to pick my bag up (it is basically a diaper bag and purse all in one) and I noticed the one side was unzipped so I started to zip it closed and spotted this tube of crescent rolls peaking out at me.

 Yeah, it confused me too... for a minute or two!

 

I'm sure you are wondering "why would she have Crescent Rolls in her diaper bag?"

Well, let me tell ya ...So was I... Then I remembered!

About halfway home from the grocery store *Z* pulled it out of one of the bags that were in the back seat next to his car seat. Then he proceeded to hit the back of the front passenger seat with it... where my mother was sitting. All I could envision was the seal breaking, from him hitting it on the seat, and the can exploding on the back of my mother's head... I know it would have scared the bejeebers out of her. But the worst thing is, I'm sure I would have laughed... and reprimanding a child, while laughing, has never been very effective!!!

It would not have been a good thing!

I had taken it away from *Z* and put it on my lap for the rest of the drive home.
At one point Mom and I were laughing over a story I had heard once where one of these things exploded and hit the driver in the back of the head. She thought she had been shot. She had reached up to feel the back of her head and could feel wetness and was sure that she was dying. She only realized what had happened after the EMS arrived... yes she even called the medics, she was that certain that she was shot...LOL
 Once home, I gathering the loose things from the truck and just tossed the tube into the closest bag that I knew would be going in the house right away..... It went to the house. But that was the last I thought about it.

Zucchini Bread

How to turn this (well not all of this, just 2 cups)

into this!

Zucchini Bread

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cups sugar

3 eggs, beaten

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups grated, unpeeled zucchini

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup apple sauce

1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar.

3. Add the eggs, vanilla, zucchini, nuts, and oil. (I did not put nuts in mine this time.)

4. Mix well using a wooden spoon.



5. Pour into 2 generously buttered and floured loaf pans.

6. Bake for 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.

* If you would rather have muffins, this recipe will make 24 muffins, or 12 muffins and a loaf of bread.

Fried Dandelion Flowers

We have tons of dandelions in the lawn right now and *Z* loves picking them for me. Yesterday I asked him if he knew they are edible, of course he gave me a very quizzical look, as he told me 'no'. But I reassured him it is true and told him we'd try them sometime. Well today on the way home from Mom's house we found a nice patch of really clean dandelions so we picked some to bring home. Once home we made Fried Dandelion Flowers. It was really easy and to *Z*'s surprise, very tasty.

Wordless Wednesday

Late Saturday Night....

Saturday evening was a rare night out for *T* and I. My mom came to stay with the boys while we were gone. *T* brought me home around 8:45 pm then went back out to spend some time with his fellow firefighter friends. We try to have the boys in bed by 9pm every night but that night they were excited, as they always are when we leave them with someome else for  a few hours. Mom stayed for about an hour after I got home and then I sat down to watch a show on tv. In the meantime the boys were playing quietly in their bedroom and about the time I was going to get up to start getting them ready for bed *Z* came running into the living room and was digging in his one toy tote and went back into his bedroom with a handful of toys, then came running back and was digging for more. On his first trip through I asked him what his brother was doing and he said "just playing" and went running out of the room. I knew I had to go see for myself because they had been quiet for too long.

This is what I found when I got to their room. Now lets not forget that *K* is only 11mths old and doesn't even walk yet and it was 10:20pm when I took this photo. He was playing so contently that he didn't even know I had walked into the room until the camera flash went off.





He is sitting in the middle of *Z*'s bed playing with his Little People Tow and Pull Tractor.  That is when I figured out what *Z* was digging for in the tote in the living room. The tractor was in the bedroom but all the animals and people were in the tote in the other room. 

*Z* came back with his second load of animals and climbed up there and started playing with his brother. It was the cutest thing ever. I said "don't you think that you should be going to bed soon"? and *Z*'s reply to me was "we ARE in MY bed Momma"! I just shook my head and went back to the living room.... there is a point when  mom knows she may as well surrender!

I love that *K* is getting old enough that the two of them can sit and play now. I just wish for now they'd do it at a lower elevation. I hope *K* doesn't fall off the bed and get hurt in the mean time. I guess he is so determined to be a big kid he doesn't care that he momma says he is "too little" to be doing these things.

I also couldn't believe how wide awake they were for it being so late. I did finally get *K* to go to bed around 11pm and then *Z* and the dog fell asleep on the couch with, the cat standing guard around 11:30pm.







Friday Evening...

So... Friday evening found us here at home, the boys and I had eaten a late lunch, *T* wondering if I was making anything to eat and I was without a plan. I asked if there was anything he wanted and he said he'd eat "whatever you fix".
The guy ought to know better, is all I have to say!
A quick scan of the cupboard and fridge and these are the first things I found:

I really put my culinary skills to the test and came up with this:

That is all folks!

New Look

It was time for a change....
I was tired of the old color combination of this blog so did a little rearranging. What do you think?

Not much to report here on the home front. I've been busy with the boys.

Yesterday morning *K* figured out that he can climb onto the bottom shelf of the changing table, so that quickly because a game for he and his brother. The kept taking turns crawling in and out of the space... so cute to see finally starting to play together,
Later, I found *K* standing on *Z*'s toddler bed turning the light switch on and off. He was in the bedroom playing and I noticed the light was going on and off and went in to tell *Z* to leave it on and found it wasn't *Z* after all.... EEK..... He's too little to be doing these things already! He's only 11 1/2mths old for goodness sake and can't even walk yet... well unless you count a few lunging steps toward something "walking".
After that I couldn't keep him off the bed for anything. As soon as I'd take him to another room he'd crawl as fast as he could into the bedroom, crawl up there and bounce on the bed, sometimes hanging onto the rails sometimes not....oy vey.... I had to push it against the wall and put the huge tote of toys in front of it so he couldn't climb up there anymore.

Saturday *Z* was sneaking around the house. I asked what he was doing. "Tracking a ghost!" he says "I see ghost footprints - I follow 'em".... no doubt this old house could have ghosts but he was really following one of his white cats. He has started calling them ghosts lately and I have no idea why.
Later that day he asked me to make him some "Pawp" (pop). He seems to have the impression that I can just go to the kitchen and whip up whatever he wants. I may need to get some water kefir grains from my friend so I can try to fill his request.
He also thinks I'm the coolest mom ever (forget the fact I'm the only mom he knows) because I make him "ice cream" for breakfast! Little does he know (and you better not tell him) that what he thinks is ice cream is really yogurt and ice cubes, and the "ice cream maker" is my blender.
Oh and the latest.... "Sorry, Momma, it was a nois-ident"!!! ........ He must figure noise that he did mean to make is equivalent of an accident. So it is a Noise-ident.... ♥

There is never a dull moment around here....... I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Cinnamon Rolls with Raisins

  (printable recipe)

   6 cups all purpose flour

   2 cups warm water (110°F)

   2/3 cup white sugar

   1/4 cup vegetable oil

    2 eggs

   1-1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

   1-1/2 teaspoons salt

Filling Mixture:

   1- 1/2 cups Brown Sugar

   1/2 cup Sugar

   4 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

   1 tsp Ground Nutmeg

   4 Tbsp. butter, melted

   2 cup Raisins

Icing:

   1 cup Confectioners sugar

   1 Tbsp Milk

Instructions:

In large glass two cup measuring cup, measure out 2 cups warm water. Keep in mind the sugar will drop the temperature a couple degrees so you might want to make it a bit warmer.

Add sugar directly into the water.

Add 1-1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast to the sugar water mixture and stir a little. Wait about 5 minutes. The yeast will form a creamy froth. At this point your yeast has proofed and is ready to use.

In a mixer bowl, add your salt and oil. Stir in two cups of flour and eggs and mix until eggs are incorporated. Pour in your proofed yeast water and mix well using the dough hook.

One cup at a time mix in the remaining flour. By the time the rest of the flour is in the bowl, the dough is beginning to form.

Once the dough is formed and has pulled all the flour up from the bottom of the bowl set the mixer to the second speed and mix for 5 minutes. During this time watch to see if you need to add a bit more flour. (this step takes the place of kneading the dough for 8-10 minutes by hand)

Place dough into a well oiled bowl. Pick up the dough and turn it over to coat it completely with the oil.

Cover bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm place until it has doubled (mine took about 45 minutes). An easy test to see if the dough has risen enough is to poke two fingers about a half of a inch into the dough. If the impressions remain without going immediately back into place… it is ready.

When doubled, punch down dough and knead for a few minutes to get all the air out. Divide in half.
Roll out half of the dough.

Spread with half of the filling mixture and sprinkle with raisins. You could roll out the whole thing at once but I find it is easier to work with just half at a time.

Roll up dough.

Cut into 1 inch sections and place in two greased 9 inch pie pans or something similar.

I used the other half of the dough to make a loaf of bread.

Set in a warm place, cover with damp towel and let raise for about a half hour.

Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are a rich brown.

Brush tops with a light coating of vegetable oil and let cool for about five minutes before taking out of pans and putting on a plate.

Mix confectioners sugar and milk together in a bowl and spread on top.

(printable recipe)

The Perfect Wheat Bread

The Perfect Wheat Bread

(printable recipe)

3 cups all purpose flour (sifted)

3 cups whole wheat flour (sifted)

2 cups warm water (110°F, 45°C)

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1-1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

Instructions

1. In large glass two cup measuring cup, measure out 2 cups warm water. Keep in mind the sugar will drop the temperature a couple degrees so you might want to make it a bit warmer.
2. Add 1/4 cup sugar directly into the water and recheck the temperature. Wait for it to cool, or microwave for a few seconds at a time until 110 degrees is reached.
3. Add 1-1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast to the sugar water mixture and stir a little. You will notice the yeast will settle to bottom of the measuring cup and then all rise to the top in a few minutes. The yeast will form a creamy froth. At this point your yeast has proofed and is ready to use.
4. In a mixer bowl, add your salt and oil. Stir in two cups of flour. Pour in your proofed yeast water and mix well using the dough hook.
5. One cup at a time mix in the remaining flour. By the time the rest of the flour is in the bowl, the dough is beginning to form.
6. Once the dough is formed and has pulled all the flour up from the bottom of the bowl set the mixer to the second speed and mix for 5 minutes. During this time watch to see if yo need to add a bit more flour.  (this step takes the place of kneading the dough for 8-10 minutes by hand)
7. Place dough into a well oiled bowl. Pick up the dough and turn it over to coat it completely with the oil.
8. Cover bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm place until it has doubled (mine took about 45 minutes). An easy test to see if the dough has risen enough is to poke two fingers about a half of a inch into the dough. If the impressions remain without going immediately back into place… it is ready.
9. When doubled, punch down dough and knead for a few minutes to get all the air out. Divide in half and form two loaves. Place in well oiled 9×5 bread pans. Let loaves rise in warm place for another 30 minutes, or until most of the dough has risen about a inch above the top of the pans.
10. Bake at 350°F, 175°C for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are a rich brown and tapping on the tops sounds hollow. Brush tops with a light coating of vegetable oil and let cool for about five minutes before taking out of pans and cooling on wire racks.

Wheat Bread ready to go into the oven

Note:

Yields 2 - 9×5 loafs of bread perfect for sandwiches or most anything else.

For The Perfect White Bread, use 6 cups of all purpose flour instead of 3 wheat and 3 all purpose.

Wheat Bread done and ready to be eaten - Yum!

4 Years Ago Today

Wordless Wednessday

January 9th 2012 - Wolf Moon

Link to: Wordless Wednesday

Sunny and warm...

Overnight Low: 31.1°F.
Today's High: 50.5°F.
Current Temp: 48.2°F. and sunny

Not a lot going on today, just relaxing with family and enjoying this beautiful day. Clear sky and sunshine, what more could one ask for?

I really want to start making homemade bread on a regular basis so I decided to start today. I'm attempting to make Perfect and Easy Homemade White Bread today. It is on the stove raising as I type. I cut out the kneading by hand process and let my kitchen aid to do all the work, by mixing on second speed for 5 minutes once all the flour was added.

picture from Ever Parent

*** Update***

Gotta love a loaf of bread that rises this high above the pan!

I can only dream that this recipe will be as easy and turn out as wonderful, every time, as this first time! Look at that beauty... in all my previous attempts to make bread from scratch I have rarely gotten it to rise like this.

Sorry... for some reason the taste function is not working on my computer today.

I so wish I could share just a slice (or two) with all of you. You'd be hooked too. I can see several loaves of this in our future. I'd like to send a special thanks to Ever Parent for sharing this wonderful recipe.

Happy new Year!!!

Overnight Low: 39.2°F.
Today's High: 48.9°F.
Current Temp: 45.5°F.

   Today started out sunny and warm, but by noon the rain had started and it's been raining all afternoon. The temperature is still 43°F. Very unusualy for this time of year, but I'm not complaining.

   My friend *D* and I went to get some chickens yesterday morning, she ended up keeping 4 of the hens and I brought home 6 hens and a rooster home with me. We were told they are about a year old. Most are RIRs but the rooster and one hen are White Leghorns. When I did chores last night I found two eggs, I know the white egg is from one of the new chickens as I didn't have any white egg layers before. And the brown one I think also came from one of the new chickens because it was in one of the nests on the top row which my old chickens have never used. Only had one egg in the nest today at chore time, but hopefully they will continue to lay and the rest will start.... I miss getting eggs everyday.

3 Years Ago Today
4 Years Ago Today