Graham Cracker Shacks

Okay, there is one craft that I have a handle on... some may call them gingerbread houses, but I call them graham cracker shacks.  This is my third year making them and I'll show you how.

Melt sugar on low.

The melted sugar is your "glue" for putting the graham crackers together.  Don't worry about the lumps - just work around them.  If the sugar gets too thin, turn the heat off.  When the sugar gets to thick, turn the heat back on.

"Glue" 3 sets of 2 graham cracker halves together for each shack.  I lean them against something to get the 90 degree angle... this doesn't always work, and thus, shack versus house.

Once the sets have dried, "glue" two sets together for the sides.

Add the 3rd set for the roof.  To "glue", I just dip the crackers in the melted sugar.  WARNING:  The sugar is very hot, so do not let children do this part of the process.

 This year I made 20.  Enough for Blossom #4's second grade class to decorate, plus the school's first grade class as well.  I always have extras because it never fails that one of the kids will push too hard and crack their shack, or one gets bumped off the table.

I cover foam meat trays with aluminum foil to hold the shack.

 

Here's the frosting (mortar) recipe for decorating:

4 teaspoons meringue powder

4 tablespoons water

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Add water if too thick.

 

I made 4 times this much for 20 shacks.

 

Remember this for next year and have fun!

Karin

 

 

Dear God,

Thank you, God, for making me the perfect mother for my children.  It puts me at peace knowing that you designed me for my children and that the way I mother, naturally, is the mother you want me to be.

Sometimes I wish I were like other mothers that do fun crafts with their children and have meaningful activity bags for when they're on the go.   But, thankfully, you gave me children that are happy with paper and pencils, and pack of gum for on the go!  

Thank you, Lord.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Karin

 

A Birthday Celebration!

Blossom #2 turned 14!

We decorated his bedroom door.

He had a basketball game after school.

Grandpa and Grandma came to the game.

We drove home in a little snow storm and had Caseys pizza.

Blossom #2 did a scavenger hunt for 14 dollars.

We had presents and balloons.

Surprised him with a new bike!

And, had lemon cake for dessert.

I hope you have many celebrations!

Karin

Coming Clean About Santa!

Yesterday Blossom #4 wanted me to swear on the bible and stick a needle in my eye promise that I wasn't Santa.  What's a mom to do?!?  So, I did it, I told her the truth... that mom and dad give her the gifts from Santa.  I think that she was ready for the truth and, I have to say, that I kind of did it for selfish reasons... now I don't need to worry about her finding Santa wrapping paper in the garbage or how I label the gifts because she might recognize my handwriting, and, now, we get credit for all the fun stuff from Santa.  Whew - it's kind of a relief.  I kind of feel bad though, because after I told her the truth, she said she wished she didn't know.  So, I said, let's not tell dad that you know so it's kind of a trick on him now and she liked that idea!  

I read this yesterday:

(Sad to say I can't remember where I read it and it was only yesterday!)

First you believe in Santa.

Then you don't believe in Santa.

Next you become Santa.

Finally you look like Santa.

Have a very merry day!

Karin

French Peasant Bread

When I was a senior in college I traveled to Europe with my sister and a friend.  We were there for 5 weeks and visited as many countries as possible.  Most of the nights we stayed at youth hostels which served a breakfast of bread, butter, jam and hot cocoa.  This bread reminds me of the bread at the youth hostels - a good memory!

Mix 2 tablespoons yeast and 2 tablespoons sugar with 3 cups warm water. 

Let set for 5 minutes.

Sift in 4 cups white bread flour, 2 cups whole wheat flour, and 1 tablespoon sea salt - one cup at a time, mixing as you add.

This is what my dough mixer attachments look like.

This is what it will look like after all of the dry ingredients have been added.

Let rise for 10 minutes and then knead every 10 minutes for 1 hour.  This is the part that makes this bread a little more work.

The recipe says to knead with a wooden spoon, but I don't have one so I use a metal spoon or my hand.

After you are done kneading, pour the dough on a floured surface.

I knead the dough a little more so it's a little drier.

Cut the batch in 2.

This is hard to describe, but tuck the top under - as pictured on the left sample above.

Place on a baking sheet.  Cut 1/4 inch slits.

Bake at 400 degrees for 18 - 24 minutes.  For some reason, I need to bake it longer than 24 minutes to get the middle baked through.  This bread freezes well.  Enjoy! 

Recipe compliments of:

http://www.dreamywhites.com/

Have a fabulous day!

Karin

Be The Leading Lady Of Your Own Life!

I watch this movie every Christmas season.  I'm not sure why I like it so much, but it gets to me.  I think it may be that Iris' relationship with Jasper reminds me of a relationship I had with a guy from college.  And, when I got the GUMPTION to tell him not to call me anymore.  Or, it could be Iris' cozy English cottage that Amanda stays in while she's in England.  I'd love to live in a house like that.  One of my favorite lines from the movie is be the leading lady of your own life - I think I'm going to start living like that!   Whatever it is about this movie, I like it... I just wish it were a little bit more nice than naughty because I'd love for Blossom #1 to be able to watch it.

Have a great day!

Karin 

Pam's Cheesecake

I made this cheesecake for our scrapbooking week-end.  It was so yummy!  The recipe is from the blog whatever that is posted in my sidebar.  If I can make it, you can too!

Have a great day!

Karin

Philly Beef-Stuffed Sandwich

Here's what we had for lunch on the Saturday of our scrapbooking week-end.   A Philly Beef-Stuffed sandwich, pineapple that was a little too ripe, broccoli/cauliflower salad, kettle chips and olive dip.  The sandwich recipe is below. 

1 cup green pepper, chopped

3/4 cup onion, chopped

1 tablespoon, vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1 teaspoon dried oregano, divided

2 packages (10 oz.) pizza crust

8 ounces thinly sliced deli roast beef

8 ounces thinly sliced American cheese

1 egg white, slightly beaten

1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat oil over medium heat in frying pan.

Add garlic, pepper, onion and

1/2 teaspoon oregano to oil.  Cook until vegetables are tender. 

Unroll 1 pizza crust onto floured surface.

Roll out into a rectangle.  Cover with 1/2 of beef, cheese, and vegetable mixture to within 1/2 inch of edge. 

Starting with the longest size of the rectangle, roll up the dough. 

Press seams together to seal.  Repeat with remaining pizza crust and ingredients.  Place seam side down on baking pan.  Beat egg white and water together.  Brush mixture on dough.  Sprinkle with remaining oregano.  Bake 20 - 25 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

This is what it looks like when it comes out of the oven.

Have a great day!

Karin

Swifter Love!

A few years ago, I went over to a really nice lady's house.  She had yummy food and her house was decorated so nicely.  And then it happened... I noticed dust bunnies all over her ceiling - YUCK!  (Don't worry, it wasn't anyone that could possibly be reading this blog.)  So, from then on, I started to take a really good look - UP - when I do my cleaning.  It occurred to me, the other day, that my Swifter might work really well on the ceiling - and it did!  My friend Pam sold me on the Swifter years ago and now I love it even more!

Have a nice day!

Karin 

Scrap Happy!

Last week-end I went to Minneapolis for my bi-annual scrapbooking week-end with friends.  Most of us stay at my parent's condo - everyone, but Chris, because she lives nearby.  We all bring food to share and then go out to dinner on Saturday night. 

These pictures are from our spring get together, but it's all pretty much the same each time.   Pam's sister, Anne, usually joins us for dinner on Saturday night, but it was snowing this time, so she stayed home.  We were planning on going to The Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, but it had closed down so we ate at the new restaurant that was there - Kiernan's Pub.  It was good.

This is Lana.  She just had her fourth son in September.  What an incredible husband to let Lana join us and leave him with their 4 boys!  Lana has her own business selling jewelry.

This is Robin.  Robin is an outdoors women, so it's always good when the weather is bad for scrapbooking... she doesn't feel bad about being inside working on her albums.  Robin has 3 kids and is a school nurse.

This is me.  I love our scrapbooking week-ends because they make me keep my kid's albums up-to-date.   Plus, it's always so much fun being with these ladies!

This is Pam.  Our husbands used to work together and that's how we became friends.  Now that we live 5 hours apart, these scrapbooking week-ends help keep our friendship going.  Pam has 3 children, homeschools 2 of them and is a homeschool teacher in the public school system - imagine that!

This is my cousin Chris.  Chris works as a consultant in the accounting field and has her masters in Library Science.  She has a precious cat at home that is her sweetie.

Pam, Chris and I have been getting together for scrapbooking at my parent's condo for 9 years now.  It such a fun event to look forward to each spring and fall.  We eat good food, have a bunch of laughs and get a little work done too!

Have a great day!

Karin

She's Not Fat-i-gued!

In Aesop's fable The Tortoise and the Hare, we learn that hard work and perseverance bring reward. 

This story is about a girl (who, by-the-way, has a turtle collection that was started by her grandmother years ago) that has learned this lesson for herself.

Blossom #1 has worked very hard to become a better reader.  In first and second grades, she was in Reading Recovery and then Title I.  By 7th grade, she had improved a lot, but half way through 7th grade we decided to homeschool her, so she could get even better at reading.  She read and read and read, and has become a better reader.  Now in high school, she gets almost all As.

In 7th grade, Blossom #1  joined the Cross Country team.  Even though she was usually one of the last to finish, she LOVED it!  In 9th grade her running improved and she was voted Most Improved with the most impact for the team.

When the Cross Country season was over last year, Blossom #1 kept on running right through the winter.  She also started doing some upper body exercises, ran her summer miles, cut out all junk food and ran 5 road races.  And, this season, she qualified for the state competition and was the Most Valuable on the team.  She worked hard and she deserved it.  In the state competition, which her team also qualified for, she came in 25th and the team came in 6th.

 One day on the bus going to a Cross Country meet, Blossom #1 asked what "fatigue" means.  She mispronounced the word and it sounded like "fat-a-gue".  (I guess we still need to work on her reading skills.)  Anyway, her teammate pronounced the word properly to her, but it didn't end there... fat-i-gue and fat-i-gued became the team words that they had soooo much fun with.  And, Blossom #1 took all of the fun like a good sport!  Blossom # 1 is amazing and she's not fat-i-gued of running yet... she's running the Drumstick Dash on Thursday! 

Have a great day!

Karin



Swedish Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes

I'm 7/8 Norwegian and 1/8 Swedish.  And, I'm going to say, I certainly love Swedish meatballs much more than I do Lutefisk!  Even if you're not Swedish, you can still enjoy this meal!

Mix the meatball ingredients together and chill for 2 hours.  And, yes, I use my hands to mix the meatballs!  I scrub my hands clean before and after.

Form meat into balls and place on a jelly roll pan.  I spray the pan with Pam or use parchment paper so that the meatballs don't stick.  Bake for 45 minutes at 325 degrees.

Save the drippings for the gravy!



Here's what I do... I put the meatballs in a crock pot.

And, then, I pour the gravy over the meatballs.  At this point, I either put them in the refrigerator for the next day or I get them heating for later in the day.

While the meatballs are baking, I make the gravy.  I'm not going to show so many pictures of the gravy, but these are the 2 most important things:  a large skillet and the utensil for stirring the gravy pictured above.  The directions are below the recipe.

Meatballs:   2        Pounds Ground Beef
                    1        Pound Ground Pork Sausage
                    1        Cup Minced Onion 
                    2        Eggs
                    1        Cup Milk
                    1 1/2  Cups Bread Crumbs
                    2        Tablespoons Parsley
                    1        Teaspoon Salt
                    1/2     Teaspoon Pepper
                    1        Teaspoon Allspice
                    2        Teaspoons Worcestershire

Gravy:        1/2      Cup Flour
                   4         T. Butter
                   3         Cups Skim Milk
                   2         Cans Campbell's Healthy
                              Requests Cream of Mushroom
                  1 1/2   Cups Sour Cream
                           1         T. Better Than Beef Bouillon
                           1         t. Dill Weed
                  1         t. Salt
                  1/2      t. Pepper

Melt the butter in a large skillet on low.  Mix the flour and 2 cups of milk in a separate bowl.  Add the other cup of milk to the butter.  Now add the flour/milk mixture to the butter and milk.  Stir to blend.  Add remaining ingredients, plus the meatball drippings.  Stir until blended and as thick as you like.  Turn the heat up and add a little flour if you like your gravy thicker.  If you are going to eat soon, add meatballs to the gravy and let simmer until completely cooked.  If you are going to eat the next day, put meatballs in a crock pot and then pour the gravy on top.  I like to do this for a Sunday noon dinner.  Have the meatballs warming in the crock pot and the potatoes warming in the oven while we are at church.  Come home, heat up some vegetables and bread, and in no time have a wonderful meal!  **  For some reason, my gravy ingredients won't line up.  On my work space, it looks great, but then when I post the information,  it scrambles.    

Here's my favorite make ahead Mashed Potato recipe:

5    Pounds Potatoes
6    Ounces Cream Cheese (I use 1/3 less fat.)
1    Cup Sour Cream (I use light.)
2    Teaspoons Onion Salt
1    Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
2    Tablespoons Butter

Cook peeled potatoes in boiling, salted water until tender.  Drain and mash until smooth.  Add remaining ingredients and beat until light and fluffy.  Can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks.  To use, bake at 350 degrees until hot - about 45 minutes.  Or, if you'll be at church, heat on a lower temperature for a longer time.

I hope you enjoy this meal!

Karin