State Cross Country

Blossom #1 went to state in cross country again this year!

We hoped that the whole team would qualify for state, but just blossom #1 and one of her teammates qualified.  

Making sure her hair was just right for the race.

Doing her best!

Finishing fourth out of 175 girls!

Both girls finished in the top 25 and are All-State!

 Blossom #1 got a little attention from the media and was named Prep  Athlete of the Week in our area!

Sitting with the girls from their team that came to cheer for them!

Good job, we're proud of you!

Mom

Blossom Photo Shoot

Here are a few of my favorite pictures that were taken on August 31st!



 

Have a wonderful day!
Karin



The First Day of School!

Today is our first day of school.  You can tell by the expression on Blossom #2's face that he's not too thrilled about going to school or that his dad asked him to put on a different shirt than he planned on wearing... save the bright orange Cross Country shirt for Thursday when there's a meet!

Two Blossoms off to high school and



two blossoms at home for school!

Have a smart day!

Karin

The Grand Finale Update!

Three of the blossoms entered 4-H projects in the county fair.  Blossom #1 earned Grand Prize for her Scandinavian baked goods!

While at the fair Blossom #4 fell in love with this puppy!  She promised not to ask for a horse, anymore, if we bought the puppy... sounded like a pretty good deal.  So, we've been training this puppy, named Fritz, and I've also mended Blossom #4's dress!  :)

Blossoms #3 and #4 have been playing soccer since the beginning of August.  They love it!

It looks as though I'm not the second tallest in our family now.  Blossom #2 is in heaven about this and loves when I call him Shorty!

Have a great day!

Karin

And, A Little More!

We spent a lot of time at the pool and

watching Blossom #3 play baseball!

Fun stuff!

Karin

More To My Update!

Blossom #1 planted and has weeded a garden for the local food shelf as a community service project.

Blossom #1 had an incredible Track season.  She went to state for the 3200 race and set new records for her school, her Conference and her Section! 

Blossoms #3 and #4 were in heaven when their cousins came to our place for a week of Cousins Camp!

Have a great day!

Karin



What I've Been Up To - Continued!

Blossom #2 spent May recovering from a stress fracture in his foot.

Blossom #4 needed reading glasses for school.

Blossom #2 graduated from 8th grade!

Stay cool - it's a hot one!

Karin

What I've Been Up To - One!

In April, we celebrated Blossom #1's Sixteenth Birthday!

Have a nice day!

Karin



I'm Back!

I'll be back with an update of the past 6 months.

I hope you've had a nice summer!

Karin

Blogger: Country Blossoms - Create post

Biscuits and Chicken Gravy

I forgot to mention in my last post, why I cook so much chicken and make so much gravy at one time.  There are 2 reasons, first of all, Blossom #3 loves to eat chicken drumsticks, so I freeze the leftover drumsticks on parchment paper and then put them in a freezer bag for when Blossom #3 needs a little protein.  The second reason, Biscuits and Chicken Gravy is probably this family's favorite meal, so I need extra chicken and gravy to make this meal.

If you have too much leftover chicken, which I did, freeze it for pesto chicken sandwiches or an easy casserole.

I didn't have too much gravy though!

Here's how to make the gravy:

Put the leftover gravy in your large sauce pan.  Heat it up on low.

When the gravy is warm, add as much chicken as you like and 1 bag of peas and carrots.  Make sure you simmer this long enough to heat the meat and vegetables up.

The biscuits should be made prior to making the gravy, because you can see how quickly the gravy comes together.  (You did the hard work when you made the chicken dinner!)

I have tried many biscuit recipes and this is the one that Mr. Blossom likes the best.

Here's the Angel Biscuit recipe from http://www.thatsmyhome.com/

2 pkg. yeast (I do 4 1/2 teaspoons)

1 T. warm water (I use 2 T.)

2 T. sugar

5 C. sifted flour

3 t. baking powder rounded

1 1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda rounded

1 C. shortening or oleo (I use butter)

2 C. buttermilk

Dissolve yeast in water and sugar.  Sift flour, baking powder, salt and soda into a large bowl.  Cut in shortening.  Add buttermilk to yeast mixture.  Add buttermilk and yeast to flour.  Mix together well.  (I use a fork.)

Turn dough out onto a floured surface.  Knead 2 or 3 times.

Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut biscuits.  Let set 45 minutes to 1 hour to rise.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes.

Note:  Dough may be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator until needed.

Serve the biscuits and gravy with a salad.

Have a great day!

Karin

Chicken Dinner

I know I'm not a food photographer, so this dinner actually tastes a lot better than it looks.  And, the best part, everyone loves it!

This is one of my flavor-ite friends!

Sprinkle the Italian dressing on your clean chicken.

Cover the baking dish with foil and

bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours.

When I cook, I cook.  So, I actually had 3 dishes of

chicken to bake. 

When the chicken is just about done baking, start making your gravy.  Here's how:

Melt 1 stick butter in a large pan on low.

Add 1 cup chicken broth.

In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 cups milk

with 8 tablespoons flour.

Add the flour/milk mixture to the pan.

Whisk to blend with butter and broth. 

When your chicken is done baking, add the juice to the gravy. 

Since I had 3 baking dishes, I just moved the chicken from

pan to pan.  Whisk in the chicken juice.  Also, if you want to, add 1 teaspoon chicken flavor (I used Williams-Sonoma's Chicken Demi Glace), salt and pepper.  If the gravy gets too thick, add more broth.  If it's too thin, add a little flour.  Gravy tends to thicken as it cools, so you could also just turn the heat off and let it cool a bit.

The mashed potato recipe is with my meatball recipe.

The corn was grown in our garden.

Enjoy!

Karin

Getting Rid of Hiccups!

This is how we get rid of hiccups and it works every time!  Fill a glass with water.  Put a table knife in the glass and then drink as much of the water as possible without stopping.  Blossom #3 is demonstrating in the picture. 

We learned this trick from a family friend, a doctor, a LONG time ago.  I can't believe more people don't know about it!

Have a great week-end!

Karin

In The Bag!

f

My friend told me about a story she read.  It went something like this:  If a group of people were to be gathered together, asked to write down their biggest problem on a piece of paper, put it in a bag and then they could pick out someone else's problem to have instead, most people would keep their own problem. 

"Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle."

Plato

Have a kind day!

Karin

Winter Formal With Friends

Last week-end Blossom #1 went to the winter formal dance with friends.  It is difficult finding appropriate dresses for her, but we had a little luck online at Herberger's.

Even after having it taken in, she still swam it.  But, it looked nice enough for this event.

Her friend's mom took them to have some professional pictures taken before the dance.  That was so sweet of her to do and there's nothing better to do when you're all dressed up!

I suppose they could have danced, but they made a no dancing pack before they attended the dance!?!  Whatever!

Have a dressed up day!

Karin