Slow-Cooker Lemon-Garlic Chicken

Image from the kitchn

Win! Win! Win!  Recently, while spending far too much time on Pinterest (I love it!!), I discovered an intriguing recipe for lemon-garlic chicken made in the crockpot.  I bookmarked it and kept it in the back of my mind, I knew it wouldn't be long before I would want to try it.  Today was the day.

See?  Tuesdays.  Chaos!

Tuesdays are a crazy day for me.  Always.  I work.  J&J have piano and I make dinner for two families.  I love the arrangement, I'm grateful for the arrangement, but lately 3:00 on a Tuesday finds me going a bit crazy with chaos and I've been searching for recipes that will be both delicious and bring a bit of peace.  I need things that are gluten-free, preferably that can be made ahead.  This recipe fits the bill perfectly. 

Jacob actually requested seconds, and Jacob is not a protein eater.  It is very rare for Jacob to eat one serving of protein, it's truly practically unheard of for him to ask for seconds.  Not only that, he also asked me if I'll be sure to make it again--soon!

The recipe's a bit fussy at the beginning, not a problem for me as I usually have more time at the beginning of the day, plus it's the so-called fussiness that brings in the flavor. 

Slow Cooker Lemon-Garlic Chicken
Mix a teaspoon or so of kosher salt with a tablespoon of olive oil.  Add in some thyme, the recipe calls for fresh, next time I won't bother with that expense.  For something that cooks this long and slow it's a waste.  I'll go with a teaspoon of dry thyme.  Add in 3 cloves of garlic, crushed.  Stir together and go to town with your chicken, put it under the skin, massage it into the skin, everywhere.  (Just use as much chicken as you need for your family, if you don't have enough mix, make more!)

Now, warm a tablespoon or so of olive oil in a skillet.  I use my magical cast iron.  Brown the chicken well.  Don't rush.  This imparts a lot of flavor to the finished dish.  Let it get good and crispy with the skin rendering it's fat.

Place the chicken in a slow cooker.

 Mix together 3T of fresh lemon juice (save the lemon rinds, you'll need them!), 2 T soy sauce, and 1/4 cup chicken broth or 1/4 cup water and a teaspoon or so of Better than Bouillon. 

Now, here's another big flavor boost, take that lemon-soy mixture and pour it into the skillet you browned the chicken in and stir up all those yummy bits from the bottom of the skillet.  (Bonus!  It makes the pan easy to clean too!)

 Pour it into the slow cooker over the chicken.  Add half a head or so of garlic cloves, peeled.  Throw in the lemon rinds.  If you're using fresh thyme (and don't, really, it is a waste in a slow cooker), throw some more sprigs in too.

Cook on high for 4 hours (or low for 6-8.  Potato, potahto).  When done, I transferred the chicken and garlic to an oven-safe dish and popped it into a hot oven (400 degrees, I pan-roasted new potatoes to serve with the chicken--halved new potatoes, olive oil, kosher salt, pepper in the cast-iron skillet for an hour and a half or so--heaven!!)

Anyway, pop it into a hot oven and cook 15 minutes or so, until the chicken is a lovely golden color.  This last step is completely optional, I don't think it's necessary, but I did it and I enjoyed what it brought to the final product.

Serve. 

That's it.  I told you, easy-peasy and delicious.  It really doesn't get better than that.

Two slow cookers, dinner for two families.  Easy, yummy, delicious and time to clean up the kitchen long before dinner.  Definitely a dish we'll make again and again.

Stone Soup and a Really, Really Yummy Country Bread

Okay, this isn't really stone soup, but oh my goodness is it close.  Really close.  Literally making a delicious soup out of what I once considered garbage.  I cringe when I think of all the years I carelessly pitched the turkey carcass, good-bye and good riddance.  Now, it's vying for my favorite food of Thankgiving.

We're still trying to think of a name for this soup.  Mark loves Cream of Carcass. Me?  Not so much.  Still, no matter what we call it, we all love it.  Five people that enjoy the same homemade soup, in this family is definitely a win!

 Now, I will admit this is not simply a soup made from garbage, a lot of really good stuff goes into it.  Still, the biggest flavor boost comes from the turkey carcass and for years, that was garbage.  Then, one day, I stumbled on Follow Your Bliss' Turkey Soup and I've been making a modified version ever since.  Give it a try, I bet you'll love it.

[Sorry this is probably too late for a lot of you, I'll try to remember to repost next year.  Still, a lot of people have turkey for Christmas, save your carcass!  You can also use chicken bones, just keep a bag of them in the freezer till you've got a lot!]

For me, this soup is a 'use what you got' kind of thing.  I took my turkey carcass, broken in pieces to make it easy to fit in the pot (use a big pot, I made the dreaded mistake of having to move to a bigger pot, necessitating washing two pots.  *sigh*)

Add in a couple of carrots broken in pieces, a stalk or two of celery, a couple of small onions, halved.  I happened to have some lemon thyme on hand, so I threw that in along with a bay leaf.  Add some peppercorns (or ground pepper), some salt, 4 quarts of water, and let it go.

Yesterday was one of those days where I barely left the house, so I let mine simmer a good long time.  It can take it.  After it simmers (a really, really slow simmer) a while, take the bones out, take the meat off the bone and reserve, throw the bones back in and cook and cook and cook.

Sometimes I cook it two hours total, sometimes I cook it 4, 6 or even 8.  Whatever fits.

When you're done, strain it well.  (Don't forget to save all that luscious broth you've made, yes, I have started to strain it without a pot underneath.)

I strain mine a couple of times through a fine mesh strainer.  I like a nice clear broth.


When you've got your stock to the point you want it, reserve it while you saute a couple of chopped up carrots, some chopped celery, chopped onion, whatever sounds good, in a couple of tablespoons of butter.  (Warning:  this is not a low-cal product, but boy is it good!)

When your veggies are crisp-tender, add a couple of tablespoons of flour.  Saute that a couple of minutes, stirring constantly, to take out the 'raw flour' taste.  Slowly stir your broth/stock back in.  Next, add about 3/4 of a cup of wild rice and your turkey meat.  Let is simmer 45 minutes or so, or until your rice is cooked to your liking.

Now, and you could skip this part, but it truly is what elevates this soup, add in 2 cups of half and half and warm through.  Yuuuummmy!

 Your (stone) soup is ready.  Delicious.  Yes, it takes a while, but it's almost all hands-off.  It's perfect for when your just going to be home puttering, doing laundry, whatever.  It needs your presence but not much hand-holding.

Sorry there's not really a money shot, last night was a dance night and by the time we get home it's stories and bed, no time for taking pictures.  I did snag a picture of the leftovers this morning for you, straight out of the camera and straight out of the fridge!


With the soup, I made what could be the best bread I've ever made.  So exciting!  I was even more excited because this bread is leavened almost exclusively with sourdough starter, there's only a pinch of yeast in it.  I've been cultivating my starter for months and months, but I've never been truly confident that it would work, the recipes I've used it in use plenty of yeast as back-up.  Not really what I wanted, but I was too intimidated to go for a true sourdough recipe.  Now, I won't look back.  Again, no money shot, but here's a pic of what's leftover this morning.  I'd like to point out this recipe makes two loaves, and this is what's left.  Not much.  It was that good.

Even before dinner we all could not stop eating this bread.  The two little girls I watch love homemade bread fresh from the oven and they helped scarf some up too. 

This recipe is easy-peasy, if you've been wanting a terrific country bread, give it a try.  It's from the book Flour by Joanne Chang.  Definitely on my Christmas list!  There's a recipe for starter in the book, I simply used my fed starter.


Country Bread
1 1/2 cups (360 grams) water, at body temp
2 cups (280 grams) AP flour, plus 2-3 T for baking
2 cups (300 grams) bread flour
12 ounces (300 grams) bread sponge (sourdough starter)
pinch of active dry yeast (I used a pinch of instant yeast)
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. sugar
cornmeal for the baking sheet (I didn't have any, so I used parchment paper)

In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (there are hand instructions in the book), mix together the water, 2 cups of AP flour and bread flour on low for about a minute.  Cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap and let sit about 10 minutes.  This is an autolyse.

On medium-low speed, add the starter, yeast, salt and sugar to the autolyse and mix 3-4 minutes until it's all incorporated.  The dough should be somewhat sticky but smooth and feel like an 'earlobe'.  (My starter is much wetter than in the book, I had to add a bit more flour to get there--the book indicates you add flour if you need it stiffer, water to make it looser.)

Lightly oil a large bowl.  Transfer dough to oiled bowl, turn to coat with oil.  Lightly cover with oiled plastic wrap or a lint-free towel.  Set aside in a warm environment (78-82 degrees is ideal, I put it in my oven with the light on), for 2-3 hours.  The dough will rise a little bit (the book indicates not a lot, mine did decently), and it will feel a little loose, relaxed and somewhat sticky.

Flour your hands and work surface and turn dough out.  Divide in two, shape into a ball (instructions, if needed, are in the book), (at this point you can cover shaped loaves and store in fridge overnight.  Remove the next day and proceed, I simply proceeded.)

Sprinkle cornmeal on a baking sheet to keep from sticking (I put them on parchment), and place on sheet, spacing at least 3 inches apart.  Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap completely and let sit at room temp 2-3 hours, or until loosened up and "relaxed".  (No idea what that means.) 

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 500 degrees.  Make sure you allow enough time for oven to come to temp.  (I put my stone in the oven as well, and preheated for an hour.)

Sprinkle tops of loaves with 2-3 T of AP flour.  Slash loaves with a knife and place on baking sheet in the oven.  I transferred the loaves, on the parchment, to my stone.  Place a rimmed baking sheet or shallow pan filled with about 2 cups of water on the oven rack below the bread.  The steam creates a moist environment for the bread.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until dark golden brown and done.  (Mine were starting to seriously burn at 25 minutes.  No clue why.  My oven could run hot, it could have been the stone.  No clue.  Next time I will start checking at 18-20 minutes.)

Transfer loaves to wire racks and let cool at least an hour before serving.  Once they've cooled completely store in a paper bag.  Plastic will ruin the nice chewy texture.  Keeps at room temp 2-3 days (so they say, ours won't last that long).  Can also be frozen, wrapped well in plastic wrap.

Give these a try, they truly are very easy and made for a wonderful comfort-meal dinner, especially welcoming on a cold, rainy day.

Thanksgiving Meal Plan

Yes, I know not two hours ago I said I'd be taking a break...what can I say, a woman's prerogative and all that.  I want to take a minute to document what I'm making for Thanksgiving this year.  It's nice to have a record so when I look back down the road I can remember what I did and where the recipe came from.

This year, on Thanksgiving, we're having:

While we watch the Macy's Parade:
Quick breads:  Cranberry-Orange Bread, Lemon Poppy-Seed Muffins, and Maple Pecan Sweet Potato Muffins.  The two muffins are both from the book Great Coffe Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More by Carole Walter.

I'm also probably going to make little mini-quiches, because I love them.  :)

Later on, as we move on to football, I'll put out a few cheeses, a salami, a meat stick, and some fruit.

Finally, The Meal. 

Roast Turkey (brined) w/gravy
Stuffed Turkey breast (maybe this one, but I'm going to add sausage and use sourdough)
Pepperidge Farm Stuffing (in a regular & vegetarian style)
Pioneer Woman's cranberry sauce
Mashed Potatoes
The Holy Grail of Sweet Potatoes
Crockpot Green Beans cooked with ham hocks
Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta
Sweet Potato Rolls
Cornbread

Squash Casserole
Orange Jello Salad
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Vanilla and Cinnamon Ice Cream and Whipped Cream

After all that, I expect us all to be in a food coma for hours. 

Hope your Thanksgiving feels blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!  I am going to do my best to adhere to a break.  This is going to be a hectic, crazy, wonderful week and, while I've loads to do, I am also determined to enjoy every minute of it.  I'm also going to endeavor to live every minute of it.  Therefore, something has to give.  Multiple somethings, most likely, but one of the big ones is going to be being online and/or blogging.  Hopefully, you won't see me around for a week or so.

Where will I be?  Well...I've tons of cleaning I'm hoping to do, some last minute grocery shopping, putting our family room back together, picking Rebekah up from school, working, baking, cooking, hosting Thanksgiving, seeing a movie, spending time with family, including my wonderful kids, grandkids and parents, not to mention my terrific hubby...you get the point.  It's probably going to look a lot like the wonderful chaos a lot of you will have going on, I hope so anyway.

I'll be back to recap it all when I pause to catch my breath, most likely in a week or so. 

Take care.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and wherever you are, whatever you do, I hope you're able to feel truly blessed.

Friday's Favorite Five Nov. 18

One of the things I enjoy most about participating in Susanne's Friday's Fave Five is that I think about it all week long.  Little things and big things that happen during the week make me pause and think.  That's a good thing.

Busy morning, it's finally Friday and I've boatloads to do as I've been excelling in my personal super-power lately--procrastinating.  Yesterday it really hit me that Holy! Cow! Thanksgiving's right around the corner and I had better. get. busy!!

Five things that made me especially happy this week:

1. My cast iron skillet.  I love it.  I absolutely adore my All-Clad and there truly is nothing like it.  There are several pans I'm planning on buying some day, but for many things you just can't beat a cast iron skillet.  Last night's pork chops browned up absolutely beautifully in it, I use my big one so often I never put it away, it resides on the top of my stove almost all the time.

1.      Bonus!!  After cooking your pork chops, transfer them to a plate and tent with foil.  Pour ½ cup of orange juice into the pan and stir up all the crunchy bits from the bottom to deglaze.  Stir in 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, ½-1tsp. crushed rosemary, and 1T brown sugar.  Simmer a couple of minutes until the sauce reduces and is syrupy.  Wonderful!                                       

2. My own personal pest-management company.  I may not have been experienced enough when my hubby asked me to marry him to look down the road at the trials and tribulations life would bring, but when they rear their little furry heads and wiggle their whiskers and drive me crazy with their ceaseless chewing, it's awesome to be able to say, "honey, there's a mouse in the house, would you please get rid of it?", and know that he will.  *shudder*  No baiting or disposing of things for me.
3. Fall.  We have had an absolutely beautiful fall.  Mild temps, sunshiny days filled with billowy clouds, cozy, rainy days, it's been awesome!
4. My children's eating habits.  Two nights ago they honest-to-goodness fought over finishing the green beans--as in they each wanted more than they thought they would get.  Last night it was cauliflower, they were clamoring to grab the "best" carmalized pieces.  As I was prepping dinner last night I was slicing up a pear to put in with the cauliflower (browned butter + cauliflower + pear + sage = really, really good) Jacob came up and started snatching pieces.  Jacob, my child who previously I could not have gotten to even taste a pear if I had paid him, was inhaling it.  Then, he asked for one in his lunch today.  Woohoo!  Also, Jacob prefers whole grain bread, the more seeds and stuff, the more fiber-y, the better.  My eating habits may not always be what they should, I promise you will never catch me lingering over dinner with my head in the vegetable bowl, but at least I've managed to raise little people that will never think of vegetables and healthy foods as punishment.
5. New carpet in the family room.  Super-thick, super-soft, super new.  :)  Now, and really we should have seen this coming, we Mark will be doing an impromptu, super-quick, paint job to completely freshen up the room.  I ordered a vinyl rubbings set about family that I had seen on Pinterest 
and, though I know it most likely will not be completely done before

Thanksgiving, I think the room's going to be wonderfully inviting when we are done.

 

**Oh my goodness!  Blogger's killing me today with wonky fonts.  Sorry.  I've tried to fix it, but it's just not feeling it.  Sorry.

 Have a wonderful weekend!

Help! Cleaning Question

I posted this one on Facebook too, I'm desperate y'all.  I'm cleaning for Thanksgiving (I know! I'm shocked too!), and our furniture is, well, dirty.  I'm talking arms of chairs, banisters, railings, etc.  Wood.  What do you do?  Furniture polish is not doing it.  I have no idea how to get this stuff clean.

Anyone??

Help!

Please. 

There could be a piece of pie in it for you.  ;)

Family Values

Jacob:  Mom, can I talk to you, I have a problem.

Me:  Sure, honey, what's up?  (Expecting anything at all...you just never know what's going to follow.)

Jacob:  That new boy at school.  He's making me uncomfortable, he's pretty fast.  I don't even know his last initial and he's already inviting me to spend the night...I mean, I don't even know him.  I'm afraid though if I tell him he's moving too fast and I want him to slow down it will hurt his feelings.

Me:  Yeah, you're right, it's too fast and it might hurt his feelings to say that.  You can always blame things on me, just tell him there's no way your mom will let you do that.  That you're not even going to be allowed to play at his house until I know more about him and know him better.  Don't worry sweetheart, it's true, there's no way I would let that happen.

Jacob:  Thanks.  I mean, I've never even spent the night at _______'s house, and we're really good friends.  I need to get to know him better, much better.

Me:  Yup, no problem.  It's not going to happen.

Jacob:  Thanks, Mom

It's so nice when your kids know your values, respect your values, depend  on your values.  Hopefully this little boy will turn out to be a great kid and a good friend.  At this point however, all we know is that he's being raised in a home with very different rules and values (not just illustrated by this conversation, there are other things), and slow's definitely going to be the name of the game.  It was a nice reminder how much my kids count on Mark and I to have their back.

Help! Hunger Games WWYD Edition

So, one of the tricky parts of parenting academically advanced kids is that they're often light years ahead of their chronological age. For example, Jacob has the math reasoning abilities of an 11th grader and the reading level of an 11th/12th grader. It makes things tricky. Yes, we've been down this road before, but either I've blocked it out and moved on or, more likely, literature is just different now.  At least the literature he's interested in.

He'd like to read The Hunger Games and I Am Number 4. I'm having a difficult time knowing what to do. I've never read either, honestly they're not my thing and I'd rather not read them, but it makes it difficult to evaluate the appropriateness of them. It'd be much easier to have him stick with books that are age appropriate, and he does read a fair amount of those (he's super-excited to get Diary of a Wimpy Kid tomorrow), but he craves higher reading level material with more in-depth story development.

Any advice? Familiarity? Opinions?

I'm fairly certain, from what I've seen on Common Sense Media that there's no sex to worry about, (he is 11!), but of course that's not all there is to be concerned about. I worry about the subject matter being too upsetting, I worry about the violence, though, he loves the 39 Clues and  the Percy Jackson series and those have more than their share.  I've never been big on censoring what our kids read, we've tried to leave it at what fits their comfort level, but for some reason in this case, I'm struggling with that.

Help!  What do you think?

(Julianna's right around the corner of this issue, but I'm apt to be more familiar with the material or more willing to read it myself first. I really don't have a lot of interest in the genres that grab Jacob.)

Monday, Monday

We just had a terrific weekend, I'd like to propose that 3-day weekends be the rule, not the exception.  So restorative for the soul.

Friday, after I worked half a day, I took J&J to see Jack & Jill.  Do. Not. Bother.  Wow!  Seriously bad movie.  Thankfully, about halfway through it, the fog cleared and I realized Jacob wasn't enjoying it, Julianna wasn't enjoying it, I certainly wasn't enjoying it, what were we doing there?  I asked Jacob and Julianna if they wanted to leave, they did, so we did.  It didn't feel good to waste the time and money on a bad movie, but it did feel good to make a better choice.  Jacob had had an appt. Friday morning, we went to lunch, left the movie, and hit the library.  We were all looking forward to having Matt & Lil spend the night Friday night, but unfortunately, Lily got sick at the last minute.  We were sad, but able to turn it into a good 'make the best of things' learning situation and we headed out to a local outdoor mall and window shopped and had dinner.  We had a lovely time and the kids learned that even when plans go astray, things can still work out in a good way.  An important lesson for us all.

Saturday, Lily was still sick.  Jason generously offered to still babysit Jacob and Julianna so we could keep our plans to go see the show Rebekah was directing, but we decided instead to all go see Rebekah.  We had such a great time.  She's a terrific kid.  Instead of doing the same-old, same-old on our trips to Athens, we decided to head to W Va, and see where we could find to go to lunch there.  Even with a wrong turn and going 60 miles out of our way, we had a fabulous time.  I love our family.  It's hard to believe the quarter's almost over and she'll be home in a week!

Sunday brought Sunday School and program practice and way too many errands.  Julianna also had her first 3 1/2 hour Nutcracker rehearsal.  Looong day for her, that's for sure!  It's funny how if I laid out the day for you, two trips to a toy store, a trip to a Teacher store, a trip to an Art & Education store, 2 different grocery stores, a trip to a specialty store, stop at Panera, out for "dunch", a Cub Scout committee meeting and an oil change, the day would probably sound tedious and long.  Fortunately, we all had fun and it was just, well, good.  It's funny to me what a difference the iPhone makes.  Jacob had to go with me to one of the grocery stores last night and to pick up Julianna.  That could have been no fun at all for him, instead, he had a ball, listening to all kinds of songs, he even had quite a conversation with the man at the meat counter over the awesomeness of American Pie.  When he woke up this morning he told me how much fun he had last night listening to all the different music.  My iPhone works its way into our lives more and more every day.

If you're local, check out Piada.  Yesterday we were looking for something reasonably priced, quick, different, and good.  Fortunately, Piada met every criteria.  It's from the founders of Chipotle, and it is to italian "street food" what Chipotle is to mexican food.  You choose from pasta, a wrap, or a salad.  Then, you go down the line and choose your protein, sauce/dressing, veggie add-ons, etc.  Jacob had pasta with Alfredo, artichokes, and crispy chicken (think Parmesan).  He liked it, though the Alfredo was too rich for as much as they had on it.  Julianna, much less adventuresome, had pasta with Pomodoro sauce (deemed too "spicy" though I did not notice that), grilled chicken, and stole a lot of Mark's zucchini and yellow squash.  I had a wrap with angel hair in it (I know!  I couldn't imagine it either, but the girl at the counter recommended it and it was really good), the pomodoro sauce from Julianna's pasta that was too much for her, creamy parmesan dressing, steak, feta, mozzarella and parmesan, spinach, artichokes, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, squash, mushrooms--are you hearing this?  Plenty of fresh veggies, where else do you get at a fast food restaurant?  We all enjoyed it.  Best of all, the bill for the four of us, even with getting a couple of breadsticks for those who wanted them, to share, was under $24.00.  We'll definitely be going back.

Well, that's the wrap up.  I've got a lot percolating in my head I'm hoping to post in the next week or so.  I hope you had a good weekend too.  As I sad, weekends are definitely restorative to my soul and I'm very aware what a blessing that is.

Friday's Favorite Five

I'm so incredibly tired tonight.  Mentally tired.  Spiritually tired.  Completely spent.  It's hard, with so much evil in the world to keep moving forward.  The Penn State scandal just sickens me, literally.  I do not understand any of it.  I will not waste my time trying to figure out how a man sexually assaults little boys, I know that is inexplicable, but I do not understand how so many men ignored it and failed those boys.  How do they look in the mirror every day?  Seriously?  How do you witness a 10 year old boy being raped and leave?  Not call the police?  How?  How do you hear about that and not call the police?  How do you not punch the guys lights out?  I do not understand.

A woman in our neighborhood had a close "friend" with stage 4 cancer.  Months to live.  She "generously" organized a fund raiser and a fund to help the family with medical expenses.  Then, she helped herself to $11,000 of the fund.  How do you do that?  I do not understand.  I am so sorry for the woman with cancer and the money that may have made things that much easier for her family, but I'm also terribly sorry for the woman who took the money's 4 children.  What will kids be like to them at school?  The story is all over the local news.

So many things I do not understand.

But, because I can not stay in bed all my days with my blankets pulled up over my head, no matter how tempting it may seem some days, I'm forcing myself to find 5 Favorite Things.  I need to focus on the positive, it's really the only choice we have, isn't it?

1. Jason & Lori close by.  It's hard to put into words what a blessing this is.  How it feels like you've done something really right when your child, and your child's wife, would willingly choose to live literally around the corner.  Jacob and Julianna walk to school almost every day with Matthew.  I was driving home from conferences tonight, saw Jason outside, and was able to stop and chat for a bit.  Such. a. blessing.
2. Speaking of conferences, I had 4 today.  Four times I got to hear how well my children are doing, what a delight they are, how well things are going in every way.  They're smart, they get along well with others, they have good work ethics, they're polite and respectful.  I am so lucky.
3. Thanksgiving.  It's coming fast.  We're hosting and everyone's coming.  We are so blessed.  I spend lots of time almost every day perusing recipes, making lists, planning.  I love Thanksgiving.  I love cooking it, I love having family here, I love how much my kids look forward to it, I love that Rebekah will be home for it, and I love the Thanksgiving Day parade.  I love that dinner will cook all day, with people popping in and out of the kitchen, nibbling, helping.  I love that after dinner there will be a huge mess and everyone will jump in and help and talk and share.  It will be wonderful.
4. My washer and dryer.  Can you imagine not owning a washer and dryer?  I realize there's an inherent arrogance in even asking the question.  I am so lucky.  I do so much laundry every week.  Crazy amounts of laundry.  My life is infinitely easier that my laundry room is steps away and doesn't involve getting in a car, or worse, walking long distances.  I love the brand-name laundry detergents I use in way too generous quantities.  I love Downy fabric softener that I use in every load.  I love dressing my family in clean, soft, sweet smelling clothes that help make them feel good about themselves and sends a message to the world that someone cares about them.  
5. Falling back.  I love this time change.  I even love that it gets dark early, though I'll admit on dance nights I wish it wasn't quite so dark, quite so early.  I love that my kids go to bed earlier, happily, and that everyone finds it easier to get up in the morning.  It won't last long, we will adjust, but for now, it's wonderful.

Well, I do feel somewhat better.  It's always good to stop and look at the bright side.  Check out Susanne's at Living to Tell the Story for more Friday Favorite Five's.

Quick! Question Thankgsiving WWYD Edition

So, we're hosting Thanksgiving.  We always do, we love to.  We all look forward to it, if not all year, at least months in advance, perusing recipes, making decisions, thinking, thinking, thinking how to make as close to perfect of a Thanksgiving meal as we can.

This year the big conundrum is trying to decide what turkey to get.

Our choices:
A.  Supermarket turkey--Riverside, Butterball, Honeysuckle White, etc.

• Advantages:  cheap (relatively), decent taste, can get a really big one!
• Disadvantages:  can't be brined, raised in not great conditions, possible use of antibiotics, must thaw for days and days and there's always the "is it thawed or isn't it" dance, not to mention numerous turkey baths on Thanksgiving morning after it doesn't thaw in a week!

B.  Amish turkey from local, somewhat-specialty, store:

• Advantages:  can be brined, perhaps a step up from supermarket turkey, can get big one, perhaps not as big, will not need thawed, no antibiotics, fresh
• Disadvantages:  not free-range, grain fed, more expensive than cheap turkey, paying more for same thing, albeit not frozen??

C.  Free-range, vegetarian fed, primo turkey

• Advantages:  taste(?), can be brined, raised in as good of conditions as a Thanksgiving turkey is going to get, no antibiotics or growth hormones, pure, unadulterated turkey, fresh
• Disadvantages:  Cost!  Two and a half times supermarket turkey!  would be a small(ish) turkey!

We are foodies around here, this meal is important to us, we want it to be good.  Memorable.  Yummy.  We don't do big, fancy parties, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah are the two times we really try to shine.  For some people, turkey's turkey, yawn, why are you talking about this; but for us, it's a big decision.  Yes, there will be a ton of food, and there's certainly no guarantee it will be good, but we want to do everything we can to make it a meal worthy of the celebration.

What do you think?  Does it really matter?  Will an expensive, primo turkey really have the potential to taste better?  Is it worth it?

Tell me!

Uncomfortable

I'll warn you up front, this post is not going to be eloquent.  I'm pretty much going to give it one shot, and what sticks, sticks.  It's too personal, too close, I'm not visiting this topic for long.  I wish I could close it off in my mind as easily.

I turn The Today Show on in the mornings.  If you're not in the US, that's a news/morning program.  This morning, I went to put it on, saw Jacob sitting there, and opted not to.  He looked at me quizzically.  I told him there was going to be a story on there that was really ugly that I did not want him exposed to.  He was curious, obviously, he's a bright kid and he follows current events as much as he can, but he accepted my position without argument.

Still, it stayed with me all day.  I kept chewing on my response.  I couldn't get it out of my head.

So, tonight, I did what I should have done this morning.  Mark and I sat Jacob and Julianna down and I told them I hadn't handled things well this morning.  I explained that an adult had touched children inappropriately, thus hurting the child.  That just as bad, other adults knew that there was this adult who hurt children and did nothing.  We talked about it.  All of it.  How wrong it is, but sadly we live in, they live in, a world where adults hurt children.  That Mark and I will always do our absolute best to protect them, but that sadly it may not be enough.  That if an adult touches them inappropriately it is never their fault.  That they need to tell.  That unfortunately, adults that do these things almost always know the children, the children trust them, they abuse that trust.  It was an extremely uncomfortable conversation, for them, for us, but an extremely important one.

Adults who hurt kids almost always get away with it because no one tells.  People are embarrassed, ashamed, and those feelings enable abusers to get away with it.  People don't even talk about it in abstract.

Not us.

I may not be able to protect my kids from everything, though I will always try my hardest, but if, God forbid, they are ever hurt by someone else, it is not going to be because I was too embarrassed or scared to warn them.

I really urge you to talk about it in your families too.

No Shopping Meal Plan

Okay, full disclosure, it's probably impossible for me to not shop at all in any given week.  I know I will need to replenish milk, I may need to buy some bread for school lunches, and I'm going to need a handful of items to pull this off.  But definitely not a full shopping/regular week.  Hopefully less than $25.00, which would be awesome.  Almost as important as the dollar savings however, is the fact that I need to use stuff up.  Do you do that??  I buy things, then for one reason or another they don't get used...maybe we were too busy, unexpected leftovers, just didn't sound good after all, etc., etc.  Then, next time, instead of using up, I buy different things and before you know it, we're overflowing.  I really need to cook from the freezer/fridge/pantry and use things up! 


Thursday:  Baked Potato Soup, apples, corn muffins  (There's leftover baked potato filling from when I made potato skins this week.  I've got some leftover bacon, sour cream and whole milk.  I may have to fudge a bit on amounts, but I *think* I can pull this together into a pretty good rendition of the soup.)

Friday:  Sloppy Joes, oven-fries or Tater Tots if there's enough in the bag, apples, carrots & celery

Saturday:  Pancakes for breakfast; out, someone else's treat, for lunch; potluck for dinner

Sunday lunch:  ??  Kids have an outing at church, not sure what Mark and I will do.
Sunday dinner:  Chicken finger wraps, pretzel sticks

Monday:  Salmon patties, buttered noodles, creamed peas

Tuesday:  Cashew/Peanut Chicken, Rice, Veggies

Wednesday:  Broccoli Cheese Soup (Broccoli leftover from Julianna's bday feast.), Oatmeal bread

Thursday:  Chicken Parmesan from freezer

Check out Organizing Junkie's for more meal plans.

Willow House

Ack!  Did you know there are less than 60 days until Christmas and Hanukkah??  Way less!  Do you hear that?  It's the sound of me panicking, just a little bit.  One of the hardest things for me is finding the time, energy, and time to go shopping for the holidays.  Time is definitely a precious commodity around here, that's why I've learned to do as much shopping as possible online.  It just makes everything easier.  I can honestly accomplish in 15 minutes online what would take hours at the mall.  I love it!

Recently, Sylvia Witcoff, a Willow House representative, sent me a beautiful, truly beautiful, Eclipse Serving Platter.  Everyone who comes into my home and sees this platter, compliments me on it.  It really is that beautiful.  It's heavy, definitely not cheaply made, the glaze is gorgeous, everything about it screams quality and I am very impressed.  Not easy to do, by the way, I am tremendously (and notoriously) picky.

Holy Moly, do not look at the dust.  See?  I really do need to save time shopping and spend time doing other things...like cleaning...obviously.  *blushing*

Willow House's company mission is said to revolve around "generosity, hospitality and bringing warmth and beauty into homes, and to help foster these feelings in others".  Doesn't that just sound lovely?  It's a company that's run by individual consultants, so when you place an order or host an in-home party or a catalog party, you are truly helping someone.  I like that.  In this economy, I love that.  It's not some anonymous company that's benefiting, it's a real live, and in this case, very special, person.  Someone who's going to be there for you and offer great customer service, with a really good company behind them backing it up.  Willow House products offer a 30-day 100% money-back guarantee.  That's a safety net I appreciate when shopping by catalog or online.  Of course, if you're looking for a way to earn some extra money, this is a great time of year to do it, and Sylvia can help you with that too.

Willow House offers many beautiful products, I love the Hyacinth mixing bowls and measuring cups.  I can think of a few friends and family who would love to receive these.

I love the Star-Spangled Door Bucket as well.  How much fun would this be filled with seasonal flowers?

 There are many sale and outlet items that are really nice too, a fact my budget always appreciates.

Willow House also offers a beautiful jewelry line, Jewelry by Sara Blaine.  There are a lot of different styles and price ranges, making it easy to find something for practically anyone on your list.

I urge you to check out Sylvia's personal website, maybe do some shopping, and while you're there sign up for her newsletter to stay abreast of special promotions and news.  There's a link on the right side of her site.  You can also "like" Sylvia on Facebook--another easy way to keep track of what's happening.

Great quality products, terrific selection, reasonable prices, all available at your fingertips.  That's what I call a win-win-win!



I was provided an item to review, as always the opinions are my own.

Friday's Favorite Five

Once again, I'm definitely blessed with many things to choose from.  This week, in no particular order, five of my favorite things.

1. Kids' birthdays.  How special it is when you're young and it's your birthday?  Julianna was grateful for everything she received and it was obvious she felt very, very special.  I'm thankful she had that experience, and it definitely wasn't all about the gifts.  She loved the special birthday treat she took to school, she loved her presents, most of all she loved the happy birthday letter she received in the mail from a good friend who has moved away.  
2. My oldest went away on a business trip this week.  I love that he took the time to call me and was thinking of me even when he was away.  He's an awesome kid (can I still call him a kid??  Yes, I can.  I decided.) and I am so proud of our family's closeness.  He means the world to me.
3. My van in the garage.  Mark worked really hard last weekend to empty out enough room in the garage so I could have my van in it for the winter.  Heavenly.  When I'm loading kids in the van twice a day, it's nothing short of awesome to not have to be out in the elements. 

4. Top Chef Texas.  I love the Top Chef franchise.  I wish there was less swearing so I could feel comfortable having Jacob and Julianna watch it too because I know they would also love it, but it's such a relaxing hour of television for me and I look forward to it every week.

5. 13 ounces or less.  So, I've heard that you can mail anything for first class postage that's 13 ounces or less.  I'm not sure if that's true or not, but I'm looking forward to pushing the envelope (ha ha, get it?) and seeing if it's true.  This week I stuffed a little tiny stuffed animal into a baby food container, stuck an address label on it and some stamps and mailed it to Rebekah.  She got it!!!  So much fun.  Now, what else is 13 ounces or less???

I'm very thankful for all my blessings and hope you can find lots to smile about too.

Happy Halloween! 2011

Happy Halloween

(Cheat sheet:  Jacob was a caveman with Harry, of course.  Unfortunately, his costume lost a little in the translation when he had to wear a coat under it at the last minute.  Julianna was Nancy Drew.)

Mark was really excited to go for more complicated pumpkins this year.  He did the one on the top row, Jacob did most of the one on the bottom.  Pretty cool!

Check out more Wordless Wednesday and here.

Happy Birthday

Dear Julianna,
Where do I begin?  I can not believe it is your 9th birthday.  It certainly comes as no surprise as you have been counting down the days since sometime mid-August.  You are very excited about your birthday, an excitement that is reflective of you and your enthusiasm for life in general--especially holidays and special days.  You're a very happy person who gets a lot of pleasure out of life.  I am so very thankful that I am privileged enough to be able to witness your jeux de vivre.  I hope you are able to maintain your natural sunniness for your whole life.

This year, of course, you have continued  to grow, both physically as well as in many other ways.  You've grown 2 inches in the last 6 months alone.  I have been so excited to witness your love of reading as it's flourished.  You're discovering that you have a great love of reading and eagerly head to bed each night to lose yourself in some story or another.  That's one of my greatest joys to have passed on to you the love of books.  This year you've especially enjoyed broadening your love of mysteries, Nancy Drew has been a big favorite, a character you honored by dressing up as for Halloween.  You also continue to love the American Girl books, their stories captivate you, sometimes too much.  You now have a definite feel for the horror of the yellow fever epidemic in New Orleans and how awful it must have been to not have modern medicine at your disposal.  We're definitely both enjoying the mother-daughter book club at the library that we've found. It's fun to have an activity that we can do together. 


I know you crave more time with me.  I know you wish that I could be the kind of mommy you so desperately want me to be.  I'm sorry I can't be there for all the parties, volunteering in your classroom each week and there, wherever you want me, whenever you want me.  I know it's hard for you when the realities of my working disappoint you and I'm not sure you realize how sorry I am about that.  At the same time, I know you love having playmates to play with after school and enjoy the babies and seeing them grow.  There's a ying-yang to everything sweetheart.

Ballet is definitely still a true love.  You enjoy your 2 classes a week and work very hard.  If someone asks you what you like to do, dance will always be at the top of your list.  You'd love to have a ballet barre, I promise we're thinking about it, it's very hard to figure out where  it could go/how it could work in our house.  Currently, you're hard at work learning your part in the Nutcracker--an angel.  Although it makes me giggle a bit everytime someone refers to you as an angel, I will admit it's a pretty fitting moniker, albeit an angel with a passionate personality.  Woe to any of us that make you mad, you're fiery and emotional, but your tempers cool quickly and you don't hold grudges.

You've also discovered a love of music.  For your birthday you're hoping for an Ipod, we hope you'll be happy with a shuffle as your first one.  I am definitely not ready to lose you to the isolation of headphones, so you'll also be receiving an adorable panda speaker so you can plug in your shuffle and not unplug from our world as well.  I'd bet Taylor Swift, The Band Perry and Sugarland will be among the first songs on your shuffle.  Of course, Dynamite and Firework will be there too, they're also among your favorites right now.

Liv dolls and American girls are about the only toys you consistently play with right now, you've never been a big toy-player, but that's all right.  I think it's a bit easier for you as you start to grow into your other interests.  I know for Christmas you're going to be hoping for practically anything and everything from Fashion Angels--make-up kits, fashion designers, you are definitely a girly girl that loves all those things.

Braces have particularly been hard for you the past couple of weeks.  I'm so thankful that you're finding your rhythm with them.  The new rubber bands, smaller and tighter than any rubber band should be, seemed particularly impossible two weeks ago, yet in your enviable style, you're winning the battle, even learning to put them on and take them off yourself now.  I admire so much the way you approach life with so much guts and determination.  It will take you far in whatever you choose to do.  You also are incredibly organized.  A lot of your security comes from knowing what's going to happen and when, I hope you're able to hang on to your natural organizational skills, yet also maintain a healthy respect for flexibility.  We can't always control everything and that's okay sweetheart.  Hopefully life will have much more good than bad in store for you and you'll be able to trust your world and your abilities to handle the curves you are thrown. 


Well, I could go on and on.  I love you very much, admire the person you are as well as the person you're becoming and I am oh so thankful to God that he chose me to have the awesome role of being your mother.  I'm off to bake the chocolate cake you requested.  We're also having salmon, red skin mashed potatoes, and yellow squash casserole, the meal you wanted for your birthday dinner.


I hope the coming year continues to bring special things for you.  I hope I am blessed enough to continue sharing it with you.  I love you bunches my little junie b.

Mommy