End of November Daybook

Outside my window: It's dark, windy, and rainy. I kinda like it :)

I am listening to: The wind rattle the windows and baby Margaux making sweet baby noises in my lap.

I am wearing: Green long sleeve shirt, grey sweats, purple slippers.

I am thankful for: Today. Family. Everything.

I am thinking about: The beginning of Advent and Christmas! Mostly all the cool stuff I get to make during the holiday season. Also, trying to find a happy balance between keeping the TRUE meaning of Christmas at the front of our minds and...well, toys.

I am reading: Grace Cafe: Serving up Recipes for Faithful Mothering by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle

From the Kitchen: Nada. Today we went to Mass, ate a big lunch out, and then went grocery shopping. Didn't get home til 4:30pm and we were all still full from lunch!

In the Learning House: We're taking the week off for Thanksgiving. Ahhh the joys of homeschooling :)

Living the Liturgical Year: We bought our Advent candles today.

I am Creating: Lots. Knitting a purple scarf for myself and crocheting bunches and bunches of little roses for Christmas Rosaries for the wee ones :) I also have several random unfinished projects going...as usual.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Turkey, turkey, turkey. Lots of it. Along with pie!

One of my favorite things: The quiet. amen.

Seasonal Yumminess

I like cooking with the seasons. It's often cheaper because you can find it all at local farmer's markets...and it just helps me get in the mood. I'm a subscriber to Mother Earth News magazine and these 3 recipes were all in their October/November issue. And they were all delicious! Plus they got extra brownie points with me because all three are chock full o' veggies...and my kids still chowed down!! Score!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 (11⁄2- to 2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup water1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
Pinch of nutmeg12 no-boil lasagna noodles
21⁄2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions:

Heat oil in a heavy, large skillet over medium heat. Add the cubed squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the skillet, cover and simmer over medium heat until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer the squash to a mixing bowl or food processor and mash. Season the squash purée to taste with more salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a low boil over medium- high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes. Add the nutmeg. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly butter a 13-by-9-by-2- inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Cover the bottom of pan with one layer of lasagna noodles. Spread half of the squash purée over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the cheese. Repeat layering once more, finishing with a layer of noodles covered only by white sauce.

Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove cover, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna and continue baking until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving. Serves 8.

Caldo Verde (Portuguese style Kale & Potato Soup)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 spicy sausage, sliced
6 medium boiling potatoes, peeled and diced
10 cups water
1 pound kale leaves, stalks removed, julienned very fine
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

In a sto

ckpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft and translucent. In a frying pan, cook the sausage, slice it and set aside for later. Add the potatoes to the stockpot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and lower the heat, simmering until the potatoes are almost done, about 15 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and crush some of the potatoes using a potato masher or wooden spoon to thicken the broth. Return the pot to the heat and bring to a boil. Add the greens and simmer for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, ladle into bowls, and garnish with sausage. Serves 8.

Carrot Apple Nut Muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
2 cups raw carrots (about 2 or 3 carrots)
1 large apple
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar (brown, white or a combination)
3/4 tsp baking soda
11⁄2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease muffin cups or insert liners, if using. Peel and finely grate the carrots and apple, setting aside for later.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon. Stir in the nuts. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, ginger and vanilla extract. Fold the wet ingredients and the grated carrot and apple into the flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Makes 9 standard-size muffins or 12 small ones.

Bon Appetit!

Baby News!!!

Margaux Alexandria has arrived!!!

Born October 23, 2010 at 10:37pm

weighing 8lbs 7oz, 20 inches long

(excuse the fuzzy cellphone picture!

I haven't had a chance to upload pics from the camera yet)

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him." 1 Samuel 1:27

Let's talk Holidays.

It's almost that time of year again!! I come from a pretty small family, but my husband has around 80-ish cousins and a whole lotta aunts and uncles. He's the youngest of four and so we also have a lot of nieces and nephews. For the sake of my sanity (and bank account), I start thinking about the holidays pretty early. Whenever possible, we do homemade/handmade gifts. I think it's great for the kids...but it's also good for the grown ups too. With a little planning ahead, it's really quite easy and can be a lot of fun!

Below are a list of ideas of fun and affordable handmade/homemade gifts...some of which the kids can even get in on!!

1. Know how to knit or crochet? Check out www.ravelry.com for tons of cute patterns...and they're free! That's the route we're taking this year. Adults are getting crocheted washcloths that can be used as rags, hot plates, dish cloths...whatever they need them for. Kids are getting matching hats and mittens.

2. Candles! I found some really easy instructions on how to make some pretty candles.

Glittery Snow Candles: http://www.mormonchic.com/crafty/glittery_snow_candles.asp

Potpourri Candles: http://www.mormonchic.com/crafty/potpourri-candles.asp

Cookie Cutter Candles (Kids can help with this one!): http://familyfun.go.com/christmas/homemade-christmas-gifts/christmas-gifts-kids-can-make/cookie-cutter-candles-801164/

3. Hot Cocoa Mix. Put this in a cute mug and you're good to go!

http://familyfun.go.com/christmas/homemade-christmas-gifts/gifts-from-the-kitchen/best-hot-cocoa-mix-684253/

4. Soap Balls! I remember doing this when I was little and it went over really well.

http://www.crafty-moms.com/oatmeal-soap-balls.shtml

5. Sock Puppets (for kids, of course)

http://www.abcteach.com/free/s/sockpuppet_m.pdf

6. No Sew Sachets (Kid friendly)

http://familyfun.go.com/christmas/homemade-christmas-gifts/christmas-gifts-kids-can-make/no-sew-sachets-669812/

7. Adorable Pin Cushions

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2008/09/pin-cushion.html

8. Awesome Storage Bins (some sewing skills required)

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2008/09/storage-cubes.html

Have some ideas to share? I'd love to hear what other families do for homemade Christmas gifts!

A woman of her word!

So, here I am, 9 months pregnant with Baby number 3. 38 weeks to be exact! It's a girl!! Margaux Alexandria. We had some complications (hence my absenteeism), but things have been smooth sailing for the last 8 weeks or so and I'm ready to jump back into the Humble Homemaker!

So, if I remember correctly, I owe you all some pictures! Laundry detergent making process pictures! My last batch lasted 6 months (wow!). Since then we've moved into a new home with our own washer & dryer and in light of that, we've started cloth diapering. So detergent isn't lasting quite as long these days since I'm doing diaper laundry as well...but it costs .87 cents per batch of detergent, so who cares?!

First, a review of the Recipe:

1/3 bar of Soap grated or finely chopped. I've used Fels Naptha and Kirk's Castile soap, both work great!

1/2 cup Washing (NOT BAKING!) Soday

1/2 cup Borax

A whole lotta water

Big bucket (I use a 5 g

allon bucket)

Similar sized storage container (I use a few old laundry detergent containers)

Directions!

1. Combine grated soap and 6 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Heat until soap melts.

2. Stir in 1/2 cup Washing Soda and 1/2 cup Borax. Stir until dissolved.

After the soap, washing soda, and borax have dissolved, your mixture should look like this:

3. Add 4 cups HOT water to your bucket.

4. Pour in 1 gallon + 6 cups water (doesn't have to be hot) and your soap mixture. Let this sit in the bucket overnight and you're done! Use 1/2 cup detergent for top load washing machines and 1/4 cup detergent for front loaders.

A word on texture: A few friends & family have tried this recipe. Almost every single one of them called me saying that they must of done something wrong because their detergent looked like coagulated animal fat. Yes, this detergent has a weird texture...it gets chunky. Usually if you just shake it up a bit, it'll be fine. This doesn't have any impact on the functionality of the detergent, don't worry! If you're like my borderline OCD husband and REALLY can't stand the chunks, an emersion blender works fine to smooth it all out :).

Looking forward to many more posts!

Neglect!

Forgive me. I've been rather neglectful of this blog. Life, you know. News: We're Pregnant! Other News: Bed Rest- for now anyway. I promise I haven't forgotten about the blogosphere and I will have new things to write about...SOON!

Oh, and I still haven't had to make anymore laundry detergent. Yep, I've gone 4 months on 80-something cents of detergent. You'll just have to wait a little bit longer for those pictures! Seriously though...try it!

Another Disposable Fix

Since I started making my Homemade Disposable Baby Wipes ...I've started thinking about other possibilities for homemade disposable items around my house. The first thing that came to got me oh so excited. Meet my best friend:

Isn't she a beaut? Having 2 toddlers around the house (boys, nonetheless) makes for a lots of messes. After every single meal, no matter how unmessy I try to make it, my dining room floor is blotched and sprinkled with whatever was supposed to go in the boy's tummies. I found myself sweeping and mopping multiple times a day. Some people would suggest just doing a quick spot sweep/mop after meals and doing a good job of it after the day is over. This works for some people but I needed to find an alternative. And so the heavens opened up and out came this baby. The Swiffer Vac. She mops AND vacuums!!!!!!!!! Can you sense my excitement?? My floors have never been so clean :)

So the only problem with SwifferVac is the wet cloths that you use for the mop part. They work great...don't get me wrong. But Geesh! They're expensive! Even the store brand was $8.64 for 24 cloths! Since I use this thing 2-3 times a day, that was only going to last me a little over a week. I felt like it was worth it though, so I indulged.

Not anymore! By using the same concept as the Baby Wipes I'm now making my OWN refills. I've been using these for about a week now and barely notice a difference. Here's the Recipe!

Homemade SwifferVac Refills:

- 1 roll Bounty Papertowel (Bounty is the only brand strong enough for the job! Oh and make sure you don't get the kind that are perferated into thirds...you'll need 1 full sheet and the perferations will just make it tear easier while you're mopping)

-3 Cups Water

-1/2 Cup your favorite floor cleaner (I'm a Pine Sol gal)

Combine the water and cleaner. Place the WHOLE roll of paper towel into a large bowl & pour water mixture over it. Wait about 30 minutes and the cardboard center should be soft enough to pull right out. Use 1 paper towel the same as you would a typical refil cloth. I went to the dollar store and bought a storage container for these...just make sure it's long enough, about 13 inches.

As always, the price breakdown:

Store brand refills: $8.64 for 24= .36 each

Miller Brand Refills:

Bounty Papertowel: $1.41 for 54 sheets= .03

PineSol: $1 for 28oz= .03 (using 4oz for cleaning solution)= .12

Total: .15 each!

Happy Savings!