I got to try out some new recipes this summer, as I searched for ways to incorporate our garden harvest into our meals. Here are some examples:
How to Cook a Pumpkin:
(Apparently, all pumpkins are edible, some just taste better than others due to texture. If you want to try cooking your own, you can research which are the best to buy or just use whatever you have and see how it tastes. Ours turned out great!)
1) Cut the pumpkin in half, and scoop out the seeds and pulp.
2) Place flesh side down into a baking dish or pan, and surround with water up to 1/2 inch depth.
3) Bake at 450 degrees for 45-60 minutes, until you can easily pierce the skin with a fork.
4) Scoop out the cooked flesh, and puree in a blender or food processor. Refrigerate puree or freeze for later use!
Crustless Pumpkin Pie:
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups cooked pumpkin
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tbsp cornstarch
1) Mix sugar, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and salt.
2) Add pumpkin and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
3) Separately, beat eggs, then add to the mixture.
4) Add milk and cornstarch and mix.
5) Pour into a greased dish, with or without pastry shell.
6) Sprinkle nutmeg on top.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 or 325 according to your oven for about 45 minutes. Knife in the center should come out clean.
Chocolate Pumpkin Cake:
1 pkg chocolate cake mix
2 cups cooked pumpkin
2 eggs
2 tbsp vegetable oil (or applesauce)
1 container of cream cheese frosting
In large bowl combine the cake mix, pumpkin, egg and oil at medium speed. Pour into a greased 13X9 in dish and spread evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Let cool, then top with frosting!
Homemade Calzones:
(A fun and YUMMY way to use our garden tomatoes!)
1 pkg thin crust refrigerated pizza dough
1/2 lb cooked ground beef
diced tomatoes
shredded mozzarella cheese
Italian seasoning to taste
1) Spread thin crust dough over a baking sheet as if preparing rectangular pizza, and cut into 6 smaller rectangular pieces of dough. (Cut once down the middle, short-ways. Then cut three times the length of the dough, long-ways.)
2) Evenly distribute ground beef amongst 6 pieces of dough. Spoon ground beef onto one end of the dough piece (Not in the middle. Dough will be folded over later.)
3) Top with shredded cheese and freshly diced tomatoes. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
4) Fold dough over and use fingers to press top and bottom pieces of dough to seal.
Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes 6 personal-sized calzones!
Vegetable Beef Soup:
(I usually brown 1 lb of ground beef at a time, so this dish is a perfect follow-up to the Calzones later in the week, as it uses 1/2 lb ground beef.)
1 can diced Italian-styled tomatoes
1 can creamed corn
1 can Veg-all mixed vegetables, drained
1 can beef broth
1/2 lb cooked ground beef
Combine all ingredients and simmer on the stove until heated through! About 6 servings.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Our Golden Summer
I don't have much of an excuse for taking such an extended blog hiatus, except that with all the busyness that comes from having so many people in one household, I was, well, busy! We weren't really busy in the traditionally understood sense that you would associate with summer. The kids didn't attend any camps. We didn't take any exotic vacations to Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon or even the beach.
Not that we holed up in our house like hermits. We went to Discovery Place a few times which, with it's revamped exhibits, was a big hit with the kids. We went to the pool more times than any other year in my oldest child's existence put together! And, thankfully, while we don't have any swimmers yet, they at least became comfortable with the water and enjoyed playing in it. HUGE progress. Declan and Keller went fishing for the first time (thanks Uncle Casey!) and even caught one or two!
I got to squeeze in two viewings of the Twilight Saga: Eclipse, and I unashamedly wore my Team Edward apparel at the first. I suppose I can't say for certain those feelings were shared by those who attended with me. Perhaps that's why my sisters MET us there and didn't join us until we were already seated in the dark theater. Hmmm...I have to give big points to my husband Mike, though, for seeing the movie BOTH times (when I think he REALLY wanted to see Clash of the Titans in 3D instead) and for listening to the soundtrack all summer whenever we've been in the car together. (I tried to demonstrate my appreciation by renting CoT for him on it's first day in video...)
We also worked in the garden. (Ok, by "we" I mean Mike and the kids. I did other helpful stuff, like clean and cook the harvest.) They picked all kinds of yummy bounty, salad tomatoes, cucumbers, blackberries, raspberries, pumpkins and string beans! The yield DID have some particularly delicious results, as I learned to cook pumpkin, using the puree to make breads, pies and cakes! It was definitely better than anything from the can, and we even had enough berries for a cobbler!
We also occupied our days with some of the less thrilling parts of family life, like potty-training McCrea, which meant, unfortunately for the rest of the kids, that we did spend a couple weeks virtually home bound. They probably FELT like hermits towards the end! Baby Kennedy is now almost six months and has quickly become a pro with solids and spoon, already up to two full feedings of cereal a day!
AND we adopted a dog this month! She's a short-haired black and tan miniature dachshund, about the same age as Kennedy, named Peanut. She has fit right into the family and is getting along with the kids great! Just yesterday she was barking on the porch, and Keller suggested, "Maybe she wants to play with a shovel?" (He really meant it in the nicest way!) She sleeps through the night (which is fantastic, because I really didn't need another "baby" right now.) =) However, she is NOT completely house-trained, so some days I feel a bit like a stalker as I follow her around the house. My "training" days did not end with the close of summer...
Of all the events, big and small, that characterized our summer, I have a feeling the thing my children will most fondly remember when they look back upon this time years from now...was their introduction to...STAR WARS. It is a phenomenon that I cannot understand, and yet, they love it. Some of the funniest quotes of the summer have come from my mesmerized children as they have watched these movies for the first time. From Keller alone, we heard such gems as "Is Chewie a bear?" (Yes. Yes, he is.), "Will Luke regrow his hand?" (One can only hope.) and "Look, it's baby Yoda!" (No, he's just always that small.) Brynnley wants to be Princess Leia, and Declan always pretends to be Darth Vader in their reenactments. (Yes, there are reenactments!) I have tried to reason with them that Darth Vader is ACTUALLY the bad guy, but my rationale cannot trump the apparent "coolness" of the guy in the big black iron lung. (Who doesn't love that helmet, right?) At first, it seemed we might have a fight on our hands as both Declan AND Keller wanted to be Darth Vader for Halloween. I was prepared to point out that you cannot have two Sith apprentices at the same time. (It's ridiculous the kind of tidbits I've picked up in spite of my best efforts to ignore the whole production.) I was fully aware this may result in a duel, but lately Keller has taken to portraying Han Solo during their outdoor expeditions. Problem solved, perhaps? (I don't blame either of them though, both Vader and Han are better than Luke.) Last, unbeknownst to him, they have decreed that McCrea is R2D2, and I think he can pull it off.
So our summer has been filled with light saber fights and ridiculously intricate questions about the motivations of Emperor Palpatine and the physics behind the Jedi feats, to which my husband generally ends up replying, "It's the Force!" They constantly hum the Emperial March, in and out of unison. Even their Lego creations are Walkers and Robots rather than good old cars and buildings! All in all, it was a good summer. Nothing openly special about it. But, to them, I'm sure, it will be remembered that way. It will be their Golden summer. =)
Not that we holed up in our house like hermits. We went to Discovery Place a few times which, with it's revamped exhibits, was a big hit with the kids. We went to the pool more times than any other year in my oldest child's existence put together! And, thankfully, while we don't have any swimmers yet, they at least became comfortable with the water and enjoyed playing in it. HUGE progress. Declan and Keller went fishing for the first time (thanks Uncle Casey!) and even caught one or two!
I got to squeeze in two viewings of the Twilight Saga: Eclipse, and I unashamedly wore my Team Edward apparel at the first. I suppose I can't say for certain those feelings were shared by those who attended with me. Perhaps that's why my sisters MET us there and didn't join us until we were already seated in the dark theater. Hmmm...I have to give big points to my husband Mike, though, for seeing the movie BOTH times (when I think he REALLY wanted to see Clash of the Titans in 3D instead) and for listening to the soundtrack all summer whenever we've been in the car together. (I tried to demonstrate my appreciation by renting CoT for him on it's first day in video...)
We also worked in the garden. (Ok, by "we" I mean Mike and the kids. I did other helpful stuff, like clean and cook the harvest.) They picked all kinds of yummy bounty, salad tomatoes, cucumbers, blackberries, raspberries, pumpkins and string beans! The yield DID have some particularly delicious results, as I learned to cook pumpkin, using the puree to make breads, pies and cakes! It was definitely better than anything from the can, and we even had enough berries for a cobbler!
We also occupied our days with some of the less thrilling parts of family life, like potty-training McCrea, which meant, unfortunately for the rest of the kids, that we did spend a couple weeks virtually home bound. They probably FELT like hermits towards the end! Baby Kennedy is now almost six months and has quickly become a pro with solids and spoon, already up to two full feedings of cereal a day!
AND we adopted a dog this month! She's a short-haired black and tan miniature dachshund, about the same age as Kennedy, named Peanut. She has fit right into the family and is getting along with the kids great! Just yesterday she was barking on the porch, and Keller suggested, "Maybe she wants to play with a shovel?" (He really meant it in the nicest way!) She sleeps through the night (which is fantastic, because I really didn't need another "baby" right now.) =) However, she is NOT completely house-trained, so some days I feel a bit like a stalker as I follow her around the house. My "training" days did not end with the close of summer...
Of all the events, big and small, that characterized our summer, I have a feeling the thing my children will most fondly remember when they look back upon this time years from now...was their introduction to...STAR WARS. It is a phenomenon that I cannot understand, and yet, they love it. Some of the funniest quotes of the summer have come from my mesmerized children as they have watched these movies for the first time. From Keller alone, we heard such gems as "Is Chewie a bear?" (Yes. Yes, he is.), "Will Luke regrow his hand?" (One can only hope.) and "Look, it's baby Yoda!" (No, he's just always that small.) Brynnley wants to be Princess Leia, and Declan always pretends to be Darth Vader in their reenactments. (Yes, there are reenactments!) I have tried to reason with them that Darth Vader is ACTUALLY the bad guy, but my rationale cannot trump the apparent "coolness" of the guy in the big black iron lung. (Who doesn't love that helmet, right?) At first, it seemed we might have a fight on our hands as both Declan AND Keller wanted to be Darth Vader for Halloween. I was prepared to point out that you cannot have two Sith apprentices at the same time. (It's ridiculous the kind of tidbits I've picked up in spite of my best efforts to ignore the whole production.) I was fully aware this may result in a duel, but lately Keller has taken to portraying Han Solo during their outdoor expeditions. Problem solved, perhaps? (I don't blame either of them though, both Vader and Han are better than Luke.) Last, unbeknownst to him, they have decreed that McCrea is R2D2, and I think he can pull it off.
So our summer has been filled with light saber fights and ridiculously intricate questions about the motivations of Emperor Palpatine and the physics behind the Jedi feats, to which my husband generally ends up replying, "It's the Force!" They constantly hum the Emperial March, in and out of unison. Even their Lego creations are Walkers and Robots rather than good old cars and buildings! All in all, it was a good summer. Nothing openly special about it. But, to them, I'm sure, it will be remembered that way. It will be their Golden summer. =)
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