soup's on

I'm a bit late to the party, but wanted to share my "go-to" soup recipe for Jodi's Soup Bowl. during the winter months, I make this at least once a week! I hope you try and enjoy it as much as we do!!

Ham & Cheese Chowder

3 cups water

4-6 medium potatoes, diced

1 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup diced onion

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup flour

1 quart milk

4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, cubed

2 cups cooked, cubed ham

Add potatoes, celery, onion, salt and pepper to boiling water. Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes tender. In a separate large saucepan, heat milk and melt butter in warm milk. When butter has melted, gradually whisk in flour. Stir constantly while cooking. Add cheese and stir until melted. Combine cheese mixture to veggie mixture. Add diced ham. Heat thoroughly. Serve with your favorite bread!

a little bran

in my kitchen, meal time is the challenge, and baking is the joy! I love making homemade treats and anxiously await the holiday baking season when I can keep the oven humming.

for the past eight weeks or so, I've been making Claudia's Raisin Bran Muffins, and I l o v e them!! (Claudia does an excellent job describing and giving the recipe, so I'll let her do that.) my only modification is that I make twelve standard size muffins using my #20 stainless steel scoop. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! many thanks Claudia!

remembering aimee

my cousin's roommate, aimee, was killed in car crash on thursday. she was a quarter mile from the elementary school where she taught. a young man came left of center and hit her car head on. she did not survive her injuries.

last year when I went down to visit Christy, I met aimee. she was a lovely young lady with a beautiful spirit. she had a smile on her face every time you saw her. saturday morning I awoke to the wonderful smell of her mother's granola recipe. aimee said she made this granola every weekend to eat during the week. it reminded her of her mother, who along with her dad lived overseas as missionaries. I came home with the recipe.

so this weekend, I've been thinking of aimee...her parents (who arrived after her death), her siblings, her friends, her students, and the people she touched...like me.

the recipe:

Granola by Aimee Powell

5 cups oats

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup wheat germ

2-3 tsp cinnamon

sprinkle of salt

2 tsp vanilla *

1/2 cup oil *

1/2 cup honey *

mix all ingredients together. heat * ingredients together in microwave for 1 minute. pour over mixture. pour into greased baking pan. bake at 350 for 30 minutes. stir after 15 minutes.

some might describe this as a sad story with a tragic ending, but the beautiful truth of salvation is that her story doesn't end. I know she's in heaven, and I look forward to seeing her again one day.

5 in 5

while mark and uncle tom were on their pilgrimage to The Prairie Home Companion show out in MN, aunt karen and I were able to get in some dedicated crafting time! she set up shop on the dining room table, and I found a comfortable spot on the kitchen counter. it's fun crafting with others. seeing how they do things vs. how you do things. I love to stand when I paper craft; she likes to sit; but we both love the process. and it was oh so good to crank out the projects and clean up an entire bench of crafting mess!
so now for the "5 in 5"- 5 finished projects in 5 posts!

first up-my Recipe Binder.
this recipe binder is a copy of lisa's recipe binder library. during one of my trips out to visit, she pulled out her recipe binders (notice the plural...indicates many!), and I was hooked on the idea. a single place with a single format for all the recipes you want at your fingertips! I'm sure she'll share her binder library with you, but for now my one binder finally has a fun, 'make me smile' decorated cover!

I started the cover creation by painting the chipboard title letters white.
then choose a favorite paper for the cover from my stash.
I cut the paper to fit into the front sleeve, adhered the title, and called it done.

at lisa's recommendation, I found the binders and page protectors at staples. I print my recipes out on white card stock and slide into protective sleeves.

and today, I pulled out this finished project (all but continuing to add great recipes) and made no bake cookies! it was oh so sweet!

thanks for sharing all your great ideas and recipes lisa!

monday monday

it was a busy monday around here today. a good busy. know what I mean?

tomorrow spencer is leeeaaving on jet plane to florida for a week with grandma and grandpa robb. he'll be there over his birthday, when he'll go to the Magic Kingdom for free with their Year of a Million Dreams promotion. this idea of him flying solo was good with me back when we made the reservations two months ago, now I'm getting a bit nervous. I know he'll be taken care of...both by his heavenly father and the flight staff...just a little nervous. (and since he's still awake after an hour and a half in bed, I'd say he's a bit anxious as well.) so in preparation for his trip, we ran a few errands before we zipped up the suitcase and backpack.

Target was on our list for a supply of sweet treats for the plane (just in case they don't serve anything spencer likes). while there, we HAD to drive through the school supply section. not for the boys, but for ME! I'll admit it, I get so excited when the seasonal section is cleared of summer furniture and the yellow bins are put in place for the Crayola to arrive. I get more excited about new crayons, markers, and notebooks than the boys.

I vividly remember coming home after the first day of school with the classroom supply list (when I went to school, the list wasn't shared with parents ahead of the start) and mom trucking my sister and I up to KMart to get every last eraser, crayon, and box of kleenex on the list. being a lover of all things organizational and handwritten, school supplies bring back fond schooltime memories for me.

then this afternoon, connor and I made banana bread together. yesterday I purchased 7 lbs. of bananas for $1.49 at the market! I always watch for the sale bags of cast off bananas. you know the kind... perfect for banana bread making as soon as you get home...no waiting necessary. my favorite recipe is from lisa. I hope you can read the ingredient list. the only other directions- mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. in a separate bowl, mix all wet ingredients together. combine the two and bake. I use my stoneware mini-loaf pan, which yields 8 mini loaves per batch. I cook at 325 for 40 minutes, but if you're using a traditional loaf pan, the recipe calls for a bake time of one hour. another eight loaves tomorrow and my freezer will be full of blessing loaves for the school year. blessing loaves? for just the perfect moment to bless someone in an unexpected way- the bus driver, the teacher, the friend, the neighbor. I love being prepared for that! thanks for always being willing to share your wonderful recipes, lisa.

and after my oldest is gone and in the air, I'll be starting a new christmas cross stitch project and book to keep me busy. not that I'll need something to keep my attention. connor is already planning our week for us- putt putt, special meals, pool time, and the list goes on...

I hope you're enjoying the special moments of summer!

summer begins!

summer has started! no matter what the date is in my franklin, summer begins after school is out. today was our first whole day of summer, and I was totally blessed with a wonderful day. no plans on the calendar, just a day at home with my boys. I started with an exercise walk that got my juices flowing. then after a quick house pick up off to the kitchen I went for lots of fun.

I started with chocolate chip cookies (spencer reminded me that the cookie jar was empty), added chocolate chip muffins (spencer reminded me that I forgot to make them last week), and finished with my most anticipated event- freezer jam!

I've seen so many of you making freezer jam, that I just had to try something new this year. during our anniversary weekend trip, mark blessed me with a late afternoon trip to a "you pick" strawberry patch. we so enjoyed the hour of picking! mark described our weekend so perfectly, so please go visit his blog.

I was prepped and ready to go last night.which made for a smooth process this afternoon. that and having the right pampered chef tools for the job. :)special thanks to erin {house on hill road} for describing her freezer jam process so precisely that even a first timer like me could make it a successful venture.

I followed her directions with these mods: I chose to use regular mouth 8 oz. jars. I used four quarts of berries with four boxes of pectin which yielded 23 jars of jam.

as I worked in the kitchen, spencer and connor played on the computers. they started side by side then ended one up and one down, so I pulled out the walkie talkies to ease their communication. the giggling, the jokes, the fun walkies bring...all made me smile.

the evening brought backyard baseball and photo fun.

these brothers share such a special bond. I am so, so blessed!

handmade mother's day treat

on mother's day spencer made me one of my most favorite treats- walnut cranberry bars! while I was at work on saturday, mark taught our budding chef how to make them, and he treated me to an entire batch! this is mark's recipe. I don't make these. I always make sure we have the ingredients and then make a request. when he has time, he blesses me with them. that he would think of doing this for me on mother's day made me so happy!! I hope you'll make them.

walnut cranberry bars

from: healthy appetite with Ellie Krieger

1 cup quick oats

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup wheat germ

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup applesauce

1/4 cup canola oil

1 egg

1 egg white

3/4 cup dried fruit (we use dried cranberries)

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup preserves (we use orange marmalade)

mix dry ingredients together. whisk wet ingredients together and add to dry. add fruit and nuts. put mixture in a 9x9 non-stick pan.

bake 30 minutes at 350.

glaze with heated preserves and slice into bars.

enjoy!

valentine's party prep

we made pretzel buttons for spencer's class instead of paper valentines. his request...because he's now in 5th grade! these are so easy and so delicious. here is the recipe.

we made over 160 of these! our only mod to the recipe- we found 2.5 minutes at 350 was the perfect time for melted (but not burned) kisses!

my personal tip: stock up on the kisses by purchasing them on clearance after valentine's day! they'll be fresh for months and you can add the easter m&m's for our next holiday! this is a "go to" recipe! enjoy.