easter baked beans

Posted on March 24, 2016 by Shanda

“Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” 1 Timothy 1:2

“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” 1 Timothy 1:5

My soul, admire the boundless love of God to thee and others of the human race.
Worms are bought with the blood of the Son of the Highest! Dust and ashes
redeemed with a price far above silver and gold! ~Charles Spurgeon

“I will not glory, even in my orthodoxy, for even that can be a snare if I make a god of it… Let us rejoice in Him in all His fulness and in Him alone.” Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones

“It is grace at the beginning, and grace at the end. So that when you and I come to lie upon our death beds, the one thing that should comfort and help and strengthen us there is the thing that helped us in the beginning. Not what we have been, not what we have done, but the Grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. The Christian life starts with grace, it must continue with grace, it ends with grace. Grace wondrous grace. By the grace of God I am what I am. Yet not I, but the Grace of God which was with me.”
– Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Good day to you, friends! It has been a lovely week at our place, although there is a sickness going around. I’ve been sick since Tuesday but am feeling better although tired out. Grace was home with me yesterday, and it was cozy indeed.

There is no school today for the children. Ethan drove to the mall with Dave, Grace, and Emily (his girlfriend’s sister). Rich and Jacob are at work. Caleb, Seth, and Sarah are home with me and playing together.

Jacob’s girlfriend Emily was taking care of a duck yesterday. While she was at school, she had Jacob bring it over to our house so he could watch it. Of course we all fell in love with the duck.

And Grace wanted to keep it. She began researching but what I told her was true; you really shouldn’t keep one duck. It would be a very lonely duck.

So after a visit and much quacking, it went to be adopted by a family of ducks.

Easter Baked Beans

(way back in October I wrote about my intention to try all sorts of baked bean recipes. Well, I finally got to recipe #2 and it was delicious)

First I’ll give you the recipe and then I’ll tell you everything I did differently. 🙂

Navy Bean and Apple Casserole

1 lb. dried navy beans, 2 cups
6 cups cold water
1 tsp salt
3 large tart apples pared and sliced
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 lb. salt pork, sliced

Wash beans and turn into a 3 quart saucepan. Add the water and salt, heat to boiling, and simmer gently, covered, about 2 hours. Drain, saving cooking liquid. Arrange beans and apple slices in alternate layers in a greased casserole, sprinkling sugar over each layer. Pour in 2 cups of the cooking liquid and top with slices of salt pork. Bake, covered, in a very slow oven (250 degrees) for about 2 and a half hours, or until beans are light brown and thoroughly cooked. If they become dry in cooking, add more cooking liquid or hot water. There should be enough liquid on the beans to make a gravy-like sauce over them. 5-7 servings.

*****

I saved out 2 cups of the cooked beans to use in a chili recipe. I peeled and diced the apples and only used 2 apples because of my reduction of the amount of beans. I sprinkled onion powder and cinnamon on the beans (about 1/8 of a tsp each). I used bacon instead of salt pork (what is salt pork???) and I diced it instead of keeping it in slices. It took longer for mine to bake, in fact, I let them go on for about 6 hours (I don’t know why it took so long, maybe my oven temps are off?). I used a can of chicken broth that I had leftover in the fridge for cooking liquid. I took the foil off for the last hour so they would thicken up and brown. Adding cinnamon made them perfect–the bacon and apple basically melted into the beans making a wonderful flavor. We all liked them, and Sarah had three bowls full. They would go well with a ham dinner, which is why I have renamed this recipe “Easter Baked Beans”.

banana cream pie

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Shanda

Yesterday after a spaghetti dinner, I asked my husband if he would take me to Agway because we were out of chicken feed. He agreed, and it was a lovely drive together. When we arrived home, he drove the truck close to the coop and unloaded four bags of feed. I got out with him and gathered eggs, there were so many that my pockets were full of them. In fact, one fell out of my pocket as I stepped back in the truck and Parker the Dog ate it. Rich drove us back up to the house and that was that.

Well, this morning I received a text from him. On the way to work he had to make a sudden stop, and when he did, out the corner of his eye he saw something fly from the passenger seat and smash into the dash. And what do you suppose it was? Yep, I had lost another egg out of my pockets and left it behind in the seat to become a missile. It broke and everything. ha ha (sorry honey!)

Another fantastic way to use up an overflow of eggs is homemade pudding.

Vanilla Pudding

In a heavy medium saucepan combine 3/4 cup sugar and 3 T. cornstarch or flour. Stir in 3 cups of milk. Cook and stir over medium heat till bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Gradually stir 1 cup of milk mixture into 4 beaten egg yolks or 2 beaten eggs.

Add egg mixture to milk mixture in saucepan. If using egg yolks, bring to a gentle boil; if using whole eggs, cook till nearly bubbly but do not boil. Reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat Stir in 1 T butter and 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Pour pudding through a fine sieve to remove any clumps. Then pour into a cooked pie shell or a bowl; cover with plastic wrap, pressing wrap to touch the top and prevent a “skin”. Chill.

Chocolate Pudding

Prepare as above except add 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder along with the sugar. Use 2 T. cornstarch or 1/4 cup flour, 2 2/3 cups milk, and 4 eggs yolks (not whole eggs)

RECIPE SOURCE: Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (mine is falling apart, it’s well used)

NOTE: The part about the sieve is not in the original recipe. But, although I am sure no one in my family would even notice a tiny clump or two, I cannot stand little tiny clumps of cooked egg and so far have not perfectly mastered the technique of cooked custard. So I use the sieve just in case. Also, I know I mentioned that I would be sharing recipes that used five or more eggs. But I figured that you will want to double the recipes because homemade pudding is so nutritious and delicious.

Another NOTE: Rich’s favorite is a pie made of vanilla pudding over a sliced banana! I’m also going to try pouring cooled but not too solid yet pudding into a popsicle maker.

*****

David got home while I was finishing up this blog post and he showed me two Barnes and Noble gift cards that he won today at school. The first one was given because he was the student who had read the most books this school year. Then, he won another when his name was taken out of a raffle box. He also told me that he looked swag today. I said, “I do not know what that even means.” And he said, “It means I looked cool.” This was his outfit: jeans, a blue t-shirt, a black jacket with the sleeves rolled up, a bracelet worn on his wrist, neon green socks, and black hyperdunk sneakers.

This is the first I’ve ever heard of him even caring to look swag.

*****

Happy Friday!

hamburger dinner quiche

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Shanda

Good morning friends! I am feeling quite productive this morning. After getting the kids off to school I got into my car and drove poor poor Gentleman Gray to the vet. When he returns back home he will no longer be Gentleman Gray, he will be Gentle”man” Gray. LOL He yowled all the way to the vet but did seem soothed when he heard my voice saying, “It’s okay, kitty kitty kitty”…so I did that, a lot.

After leaving him, I went to the grocery store. It was 8:00 in the morning and the place was quiet and nice actually. I’m finally beginning to slow down, now that I am adjusting to life with no children during the day. So I slowly pushed my cart all over the store and slowly made decisions about what to purchase. It was great. I bought a cart full and then left, bought a medium coffee from McDonalds and ate a banana on the way home.

I brought in the groceries and put things away. Then, I made a quiche and some sausages for lunch whenever the two big boys downstairs decide to get up for the day (Jacob and Michael).

I scrubbed out the bathroom garbage can with bleach and soap water, and used Stainless Steel cleaning spray on my appliances and the trash can in the dining room. I walked down to the coop to let out the hens and give them treats, gathered two eggs and gave one to Parker (he gets one a day), said hello to Samantha cat who stretched up on my leg for some petting, clawing me in the process. It is already approaching 60 degrees which is wonderful for this part of the country, a fine beginning to a New England spring.

Since it’s been about a week since the last egg recipe, I thought I would share another that I made last night for the first time. It was well received by everyone in the family ages 10 and up. (Seth and Sarah did not like it as much). I found the recipe at the taste of home website and adjusted it according to my desires…..

This recipe uses 8 eggs.

H a m b u r g e r D i n n e r Q u i c h e

1 pound ground beef
1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt (omit for lower sodium diet)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

In a large skillet, cook the beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Meanwhile, line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Bake at 450° for 5 minutes. Remove foil; bake for 5 minutes more. Set aside.
Drain beef; place in a large bowl. Add the eggs, sour cream, milk, onion, cornstarch, salt, pepper and 1 cup cheese. Pour into crust. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
If necessary, cover the edges of crust with foil to prevent overbrowning. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Serve with salsa and sour cream.

“this is good!”

“smells just like hamburger helper!”

PS, The quiche I made this morning was egg and cheese using another 8 eggs.

PSS, you are loved. don’t forget.

cream cheese sheet cake

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Shanda

cake

eggs contain the highest quality protein you can buy
egg yolks are one of the few foods that are a naturally good source of Vitamin D

~ thinkegg.com

I thought I would start a category here on the blog of recipes which use five or more eggs. This will make a good resource for anyone out there who has a flock of chickens and is trying to use up eggs. I’ve been keeping hens for years now and last spring I went a little overboard with ordering new chicks. We have a flock of 20+ hens which each industriously lay one egg a day. These fresh, beautiful eggs are like little treasures and I love to use them up in the kitchen. (I’m wanna be just like Bubba in Forrest Gump, only I’ll be spouting off egg facts and recipes instead of shrimp…..”goals”….) 🙂

**********

I made this cake last night for the first time and it was delicious. I like sheet cakes as they are thinner than a typical cake, and more like a soft bar cookie easy to eat “out of hand”.

This is a good recipe to use if you are going to a potluck, as it makes 30 servings.

Cream Cheese Sheet Cake

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons butter, softened
2 packages (3 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
2- 1/4 cup sugar
6 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/4 cups cake flour

frosting:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add flour; stir until well blended.

Pour into a greased 15 in by 10 in by 1 inch baking pan. Bake at 325 for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

For frosting, in a small sauce pan, combine sugar and milk; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover and cook for 3 minutes (do not stir). Stir in butter and chocolate chips until melted. Remove from the heat; cool slightly. Stir, then frost the top of the cake.

the scary vegetable peeler

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Shanda

No lie every time I peel things with this nasty peeler I cut myself! The injuries are not usually this bad though. Truth be told, today’s injury wasn’t quite this bad, either. (I used David’s fake blood to make the picture more dramatic.) However, it is true that every time I use the peeler I peel not only a potato but also a knuckle or a finger or a fingernail. Today I slam-dunked the thing into the trash and good riddance!

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In other news, today Sarah took me to Kindergarten with her!

a super super bowl gathering

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Shanda

God granted us some much needed encouragement this morning. On Thursday, I had to pick Sarah up from school because she had a fever. I took her to the pediatrician and the preliminary test they did showed yet another UTI. A never-ending UTI was what alerted us to her kidney stones. My heart sank as we went to fill a prescription for antibiotics and all weekend, even though we had fun, in the back of my mind I was starting to obsess again about UTI, kidney stones, water intake, low sodium diet, and citrus fruits.

Fast forward to just an hour ago. The doctor’s office called with the final lab results which were NEGATIVE for a UTI. Soooooooooo grateful!

She’s getting over the fever and a bad cough but otherwise she is fine, and by the way she doesn’t really wear glasses. The ones in the picture are just for fun from Claires so she could be “just like Grace”. Her dad read her a Narnia story book on Sunday morning and we spent the rest of the day getting ready for a super Super Bowl gathering of friends and relations.

MENU:

Pizza ordered out (three party sized) meat, mushroom, and plain cheese
Tossed Salad brought by Isaac and Cassandra
Cocktail meatballs made and brought by Louis, one of the wrestling boys
Homemade cupcakes brought by Dom which were made by his Mom
Caroline’s Taco Dip
Caroline’s chocolate chip Blondies
Homemade chicken wings using this recipe
Barefoot Contessa’s outrageous brownies (sure to give anyone a chocolate coma)
chips and dip and salsa
crackers and cheese
fruit tray
veggie tray

They were watching a youtube video….Caleb and Grace (young love)…Dave, Caleb, and Sarah

Rich and Zak greeted one another with a handshake

Zach, Michael, Ethan, Jacob, and Dom

The basement full of kids

Portrait of all of us—25

Me and my brother Isaac

Me and my mate

Emily wasn’t in the group photo because she was at work (young love pic #2)

Ethan and Tessa (young love #3)

Ethan wasn’t mad, I think this is his “I’m tough and cool” face.

Parker the dog snuggled with the company as much as possible.

*****

The children had a snow day on Friday and guess what? They are home again today for another one. The snow just started and the flakes are numerous but small. The sky is solid white and each time I look out the window the snow is blowing in a different direction (usually straight down or to the right). It’s a cold, dry snow and supposed to last all day. Ethan made a fire in the fireplace, Grace and Sarah are having sister time, Caleb and Seth have been playing but just turned on a show “If you give a Mouse a Cookie”. Jacob went and got Emily before the snow started and they just made eggs for breakfast. Rich went to work but we’ve been texting each other.

*****

It is thus, in little days — that our years come to us. We have but the one small fragment to fill and beautify at a time.

The year is a book, and for each day — one fair white page is opened before us.

And we are artists, whose duty it is to put something beautiful on the page.

Or we are poets, and are to write some lovely thought, some radiant sentence, on each leaf as it lies open before us.

“That we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” 1 Timothy 2:2

~JR Miller

day of snow

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Shanda

The first thing we all did this morning was check to see if there was a snow day and YES we had no school for the first time this winter. The ground was already covered with fresh white snow.

Ethan shoveled the driveway.

Yesterday we had carpet guys come and start work replacing our carpet upstairs. They did half of the job and then had to come out today to do the rest while a multitude of snowflakes fell outside. It was cozy inside with all the children and the workers. I got busy in the kitchen.

I made two pans of apple crisp and a pot of clam chowder for lunch and invited them to eat with us. One of the guys said my chowder was better than his wife’s. He said he wouldn’t tell her though.

Grace took a nap on the couch despite all the hammering and noise.

Emily and Tessa came and Emily taught us how to make cake in a mug.

~New carpet~

(When the guys tried to leave they were stuck in the snowy driveway for a while)

There are piles of stuff still waiting to be put back away. But I wanted to take a break and say hello to my bloggy friends. It’s been a busy, lively day. Happy Friday!

~you are loved~

“Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.” Victor Hugo

old bananas, etc

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Shanda

I am eating this right now. It is so good…….

So last night I overfilled my goulash casserole and it dripped all over the bottom of the oven as it baked and filled the kitchen with smoke. As a result, I can’t make my lemon banana bread this morning until the oven self cleaner is done. It’s 34 degrees outside, the sun is shining brilliantly, my house is once again smelling of smoke as the oven cleans. I have windows and doors open to keep the smoke alarm from going off.

This morning the first thing she said to me was, “Can I put a puzzle together?” And then she asked me, “Are the Northern Lights REAL?” After questioning, I learned that she saw a picture of them in Kindergarten. The puzzle is of Alaskan animals and the Northern Lights can be seen in Alaska so I was floored by the entire conversation which occurred much too early in the morning (6:30am).

We bought this small piece of furniture this weekend from the guy down the road. He refinishes pieces and we really like him and his shop. It’s very rustic and down to earth. This small chest of drawers, very narrow but made of hard wood, has two shallow drawers and one deep drawer. From now on the mail and papers get stuffed into it rather than piled on the counter. The pile was driving me nuts.

I’m freezing..hold on…I gotta turn the fan off and shut the door….

We also bought this chest. The top opens and shuts without a latch which makes it easy to use and also no children or cats can get trapped inside of it. I’m using it to hold all the wrestling things and any back packs and bags that I can fit into it, in this way the spot near the door doesn’t have QUITE the pile of stuff it normally does in the evening. If I put a blanket on top of the chest Gentleman Gray will curl up and sleep on it too; it’s also a cat bed.

I went to the grocery store before I picked up David from newspaper club yesterday so I could get a few things for goulash dinner. And guess what? I discovered a new-to-my-grocery-store flavor of FAGE yogurt! It’s sooooooooo good!

ALSO this is very exciting…..Panera bread in the grocery store!!!!!! I discovered it yesterday by the hot soup station. I LOVE their tomato basil and I bought the white for the kids and as you can see, it’s almost gone already.

This is what I’m going to bake as soon as the oven is done cleaning itself. I said in a few posts back that I wanted to depend more on my cookbooks than the internet and when I realized this morning that I had old bananas, I went and sat on the floor by my cookbook shelf to search for a recipe……and it looks great. I found eggs in the coop this morning that I will use, too.

B A N A N A L E M O N B R E A D

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups mashed banana
6 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking soda
3 Tablespoons grated lemon peel

Grease 2 loaf pans or one bundt pan. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Blend in the eggs, bananas, and juice. Stir in the dry ingredients. Add the grated lemon peel. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

Of course, I don’t know how it will turn out. If it’s a flop I’ll come back online later and cross out the recipe.

Lastly, we (mostly Jacob and myself) have been currently working on a room in the basement and I wanted to show you our style of decorating. It’s not so much decorating than filling up……and we love it.

Our inspiration? “The Burrow” from the Harry Potter movies….here is a picture:

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Now, our room will not be the same because of the very unromantic drop ceiling but that’s beside the point. What we love is “clutter”, pillows, blankets, comfy lived in couches and chairs, rugs, books everywhere, all kinds of stuff hanging on the walls, just a very eclectic humble and cozy room…..

So far, this is what we’ve accomplished out of practically nothing (cast offs, things from the thrift store, stuff from our own storage that I had put away).

And by the way, this is only part of our basement. There is also a section which is a bedroom for three of the boys, an exercise room with a treadmill, and a storage room. This part is Jacob’s bedroom/PS4 video game room. When teenagers come over this is where they end up. Because it is the basement we threw caution to the wind and cheerfully hung things up everywhere (the walls were bare a month ago). And we aren’t done! Jacob is having just as much fun as I am with this space. It’s been a fun project for us.

Obviously not a very good photo of the curtains, but they are very cool vintage Star Wars curtains that I bought at Iroquois Antiques “back home” several years ago. David wants me to leave them to him in my will.

The wooden shelf to the far right of the photo next to the TV is Jacob’s rock collection.

The desk was already down there but they moved the two bookcases down, along with the blue chair and the rug. Michael and Jacob bought the coffee table from walmart but they are looking for another one, possibly a round wooden one.

(this is also Michael’s room when he stays the weekends with Jacob)

I bought the clock at Target. Army guys are solid medal from a tag sale. Cross stitched army guy also from tag sale. Art work from Emily to Jacob.

Old quilts covering our shabby old very very comfortable couch.

The black frame is from the Family dollar. The gold frame is from Goodwill…I love that it had seven spaces for my seven children.

“It’s not much, but it’s home” ~Harry Potter

*****

“Comfort is born out of use, therefore the comfortable houses seem to be the ones that have been lived in.”

“Clutter=finding solace and a little beauty in the things we cherish in our everyday lives at home and at work”

“I want my house to be comfortable, not perfect”

all quotes from a wonderful book titled A PERFECTLY KEPT HOUSE IS THE SIGN OF A MISSPENT LIFE. Not a life/decorating style for everyone, but I personally like it so much and it speaks my language for what an ideal home looks and feels like.

candy man

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Shanda

Who can take a sunrise
Sprinkle it in dew
Cover it in chocolate
and a miracle or two?

The candyman
The candyman can
The candyman can ’cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good……..

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What’s he up to now?

David is all interested in candy making these days! He’s quite a fun kid, I love the way he has such an interest in doing things. He gets inspired by youtube videos, books, and tv shows. Then he quietly sets to work, following directions carefully and never cleaning up after himself.

He’s been asking me: “Did you get any more corn syrup?”

He made hard candy three times, his first batch was eaten by the dog.

He also made taffy. I had a piece and it tasted like watermelon.

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This was his second batch of hard candy. He poured it out onto a greased cookie sheet and after it was cool and hard he pounded it with the back of a spoon to make serving sized pieces (serving sizes for large people and/or elephants). I wonder if he’s making candy or dentist bills? I keep telling him to go easy on the consumption of all the candy and to make sure he brushes his teeth. But other than that, I don’t discourage him because maybe he’ll be a famous candy maker someday.

Taffy and hard candy! I’ve never gotten the courage to make those things!

I bought him flavors for his candy and he also picked out some lego candy molds.

The candy is so hard that it will take you half the day to finish just one piece!

the story of a birthday, with recipes

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Shanda

On the morning of December 31, Jacob woke up and smiled. It was his nineteenth birthday and he was looking forward to being home all day long as the center of attention, with lots of family and friends saying Happy Birthday over and over, and generally making merriment in his honor. As the first of seven children, he always felt his very best in a crowd.

His sweet girlfriend was the first to arrive. The day was sunny and pretty.

Emily and Jacob spent time together until she had to go to work.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, I was very busy making meatballs out of 10 pounds of hamburger.

M E A T B A L L S

I have opinions about meatballs. The ones found in the frozen food section of the grocery store are miles away from being as tasty as homemade. The only ones I have found pre-made that I will pay good money for are a brand that costco sells in the refrigerator section. They are sold in bags of sauce and they are very good. But I haven’t been able to find them lately and also they are a bit more expensive than homemade.

I didn’t like making meatballs until I thought to myself, “I DO like making cookies and they are the same exact concept”. Big bowl, dump in ingredients, mix, and form into balls on cookie sheets. Bake at 350. EASY!

Here is a basic recipe, but the sky is the limit with meatballs. Simple is best.

4 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
4 slices fresh bread, town into bread crumbs
1/2 finely minced onion
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup tomato juice

Mix together, form into balls, bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until done.

At this point you may cool them and freeze for later, or use them in your favorite recipe.

For Jacob’s party I put them in a crock pot, poured sauce over and turned the dial to “warm”. I prepared buttered noodles and kept them in casserole dishes in the empty oven to store until dinner.

A note about sauce. I do buy prepared sauce and keep it in the pantry but lately I’ve been cutting the saltiness of it by adding a big (28 oz) can of plain whole tomatoes to the pot. To me this has a fresher taste and is more “tomatoey” rather than “processed spaghetti sauce”. A plain, simple, but high quality sauce is nice for simmering meatballs because the meatballs flavor the sauce deliciously.

The house began to fill with teenagers. Jacob is blessed to have great friends in his life and also a birthday that falls on a great party day—New Year’s Eve—and for the last few years the day has turned into an all night celebration for them (not me. I hate staying up late.)

With Ethan and a couple other boys on the wrestling team, we try to have lots of fresh fruit and veggies in the fridge at all times. And it’s good for all of us to eat them.

Caleb’s mom won the “best dip” award (no prize, just the title) by sending along a a couple bags of waffle fries for us to bake and then serve with this dip:

1 tub of sour cream
diced chives (a couple handfuls)
a pack of bacon cooked and diced
a cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Mix together and chill for at least an hour and then top with a little more chives and bacon. Serve with waffle fries.

amazing…so so good

Our old couch is now down in the basement along with a TV and the game systems. So this year it became the kid’s favorite hang out place. I just had to control my curiosity and not go down to see what they were doing constantly.

Just once in a while. And it’s always interesting. Who would have expected seeing Ethan with a tower of dog biscuits on his head?

This is the face of someone whose heart was saying all day long, “How can my darling baby boy be 19 years old?”

Rich is always trying to get kids to do sit ups and push ups with him.

TIME TO EAT! but first a birthday blessing……

directly followed by a little bit of wrestling

not sorry Tessa….you’re beautiful even with your tongue sticking out….

LOVE LOVE LOVE these SMILES!

Emily came back as soon as she was done with work. She couldn’t wait to dive into the meatballs because I had only let her have one of them that morning.

even more wrestling

They were watching a football game together. (Caleb is a huge football fan).

Eventually it was presents and cake time.

This was Seth about to almost put his dog in the flames. *sigh* thank goodness Emily was there to intercept. Blowing out the candles couldn’t happen fast enough, in my opinion. I think Parker the dog was nervous, too. He helps me keep things under control.

Moist Chocolate Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup baking cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup canola oil
1 cup brewed coffee, room temperature
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the oil, coffee and milk; beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; beat 2 minutes longer.

Pour into a greased 9 by 13, or for a layer cake, two greased and floured 9 inch round baking pans. Bake at 325 for 25-30 minus or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely before frosting.

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

1 cup butter, softened
8 cups confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 to 3/4 cup milk

Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of completely cooled cake (note: this is plenty of frosting to top two 9 by thirteen cakes kept in the pans, which is what I did for the party).

(I doubled this recipe for two 9 by thirteens)

recipe source: taste of home baking classics cookbook

Thank you to Emily and Ethan and his girlfriend Tessa for serving out the cake and ice cream.

Jacob had a wonderful birthday and it was fun to see him enjoy himself. One of my favorite things about him is his ready laugh.

That’s frosting on those pants.

By the next morning, after a night of doing who knows what, the teens were all watching Sesame Street of all things. We ate breakfast prepared by Emily at about 8:30 and then people began to either 1) leave or 2) crash all over the couches to sleep.

Jacob had a lot of changes in the last year and we look forward to seeing him continue growing and learning throughout this next one, too. His last year of being a teenager.

Time flies. And we are having fun.