Chicken & Stewed Tomatoes

My girls and I enjoyed watching the Food Revolution and trying to make food from the show. We didn't have the right ingredients for a certain recipe; I don't even remember what it was exactly. But ours was yumo! I really like this recipe b/c you can very easily substitute an ingredient for something else.

My 8 year old had a great time cutting vegetables with me! I've got to do this more often!

Olive Oil
about 4 Chicken Breasts (boneless/skinless if possible)
3 Cloves of Garlic
Small Onion
1 Bell Pepper
Mushrooms
15-oz can Stewed Tomatoes
4-oz can Tomato Paste

1. Brown Chicken in olive (or grill) just a few minutes to give golden brown. Set aside

2. Saute garlic, onion, then pepper, & mushrooms.

3. Drain oil & put previous & rest of ingredients in a frying pan with lid. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes.

4. Serve over rice or noodles :)

From one heart to another

A friend gave me a bleeding heart plant last year and the sad thing is that I had thought that I had killed it. What a surprise to see this pretty coming up this year. I thanked my neighbor for the plant. My girls and I have never had a plant like this. We are enjoying seeing how the little hearts grow and change every day.

Wreath Upcycled

I found a new blog I love. She has a tutorial for this pretty wreath. If you have time check out her blog :)
Search: "Living with Lindsay" paper wreath

School is almost out for my girls,,, one more month.
This is my second year home schooling. I've learned so many things about being a mom. It's a huge blessing to be home with them. My oldest will be a senior in high school next school year; which means we'll be visiting colleges this summer. Where has the time gone? What are your plans for the summer?

Erasers

This eraser is super easy to make. We took 4 squares of felt that were about 4" X 4" and sewed them down the middle on the sewing machine and then we folded it in half. Lastly, with quilting thread we made some "X"'s. We use the white board alot for school and only have one store bought eraser. I thought we'd take the frugal way and make a few since we have plenty of felt :)

Here's my lil artist taking the real pictures :)

Eggs

I love farm eggs. Before I started getting eggs from a farm I didn't see the point. I couldn't have been more wrong. They look beautiful compared to store bought eggs outside and inside. A farm egg has a beautiful bright yellow color. It will make a store egg look sickly by comparison :)

Tea anyone?

Join me for some tea... :)

Seems like the world is right to have some snow. It's funny to hear people complain about it because it has been a few years since we had any accumulation.

I have correspondance on my mind. I heard from a few people through Christmas cards. And so January is usually when I write back to them. I think it is great when we can keep in touch, even if only once a year.

Winter in the Northeast

If anyone asked 20 years ago what a typical winter would be in the northeast, you would have been answered by lots of snow, at least that is how I remember it. But for the last 5 years we've had little snow here in Northeastern PA. Except for this year. Yay!! I've missed the snow. It's what I remember when I was a kid.

My childhood was filled with many ups and downs, lots of uncertainty; but the snow was always there every winter. I always loved going outside right after a snow storm. It was always so quiet and clean. The first movie Narnia reminds me of this... can you imagine if you walked into this wood and you pushed through the branches a little farther that you'd stumble upon a new world? Ok Maybe not :)

Story Time

This is a sequal to Sarah, Plain and Tall which is a good book for readers beginning chapter books. It has a Lexile Level of 560, is 58 pages long, and is intended for ages 8 to 10. Caleb's Story has a Lexile Level of 290, has 116 pages, and is intended for the same age group. If you've never heard of the Lexile Level and want to check it out you can click on it above.

The Lexile Measure is a reading test to measure a childs reading level. I have no idea what Lizzy's is exactly, but I have used the website to find books that are in the similar ball park of books that are challenging and fun. I use 2 other resources: One is the Charlotte Mason Twaddle Free List which is a list books that combine good morals and full body content. My other resource is to ask friends and their kids :)

In Caleb's Story you learn that Papa's father abandoned him when he was Caleb's age who is maybe 12. It is around the age my father abandoned me and my siblings and also around the time my mother remarried, which followed alot of abuse for my my siblings and I. In this story Caleb has a great relationship with his father. At a certain point Grandfather comes back to town and Papa has a hard time forgiving him. Here is the exert:

"My birthday is coming," I said.

"And I don't want books or tools or even a horse of my own for my birthday."

Papa looked up, surprised.

"You've always wanted a horse fo your own, Caleb."

Not this year," I said. "What I want this year is something different."

"Different?" repeated Papa.

I nodded.

"This year I want most of all for you to forgive Grandfather. I want you to forgive Grandfather so I can grow up and be just like you," I said.

Papa stared at me. He said nothing. He lay back on the bed, and, after a moment, I went away. I closed the door behind me.

(Caleb's Story, Patricia MacLachlan)

History Lesson

What a nice suprise! I've been praying about school in general. I want it to be fun and yet I want her to show her work. A few days ago I also received some advice from a friend on getting Lizzy to comprehend a little better. Today she really surprised me, not only with comprehension but with her art work. This was a great day for her :)

Cherry Coffee Cake

I've made this several times now for different people and it seems to be a hit. It is very easy to make, so don't fear that you've offered to bring snack for church and it's already late on Saturday night. This may be your ticket :) This recipe came from a can of Lucky Leaf Cherry Pie Filling. Happy baking.

 

Ingredients

• 1 (18 oz.) package yellow cake mix, divided
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (21 oz.) can Cherry Pie Filling
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

Stir together 1 1/2 cups cake mix, 2/3 cup water adn eggs. Spoon into a greased 13 X 9 inch baking pan. Top with pie filling. Cut butter into remaining cake mix. Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over pie filling. Bake at 350 degrees fro 25-30 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Combine powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon water. Drizzle over cake.

Makes 15 servings