Annie

Lauren's big performance has finally come. She surprised me this year by wanting to participate in the extra-curricular 3rd grade choir. Then she surprised me by telling me she wanted to audition for a solo part. And then she surprised me again by getting one of the 6 solo parts in the show. And why does this all surprise me so much? Because every time we have a singing opportunity she insists on not participating. I really thought she just didn't like to sing. But, I guess she does like to sing, but only on her terms.
Of course, she did a fabulous job which didn't surprise me at all.
I just love that girl.

Career Day

It was career day at school this last week. No doctors, veterinarians, architects, or scientists here. No, we want to grow up to be super models and pop stars. Like, duh. . .
Notice Lauren calling her agent. She's got the biz figured OUT.
Also notice Ellie's up-do. She insisted, even though I was trying to give her a Taylor Swift, long curls look. It turned out cute anyway.

Navy Bean Soup

Okay, this is my last bean post. But, I couldn't neglect this one. It's a perfect Sunday meal.

On Saturday night soak 1 pkg of navy beans or 2 cups from your food storage white beans.
On Sunday morning drain the water. Add new water (about 6 C.) and boil for about 45 min. while you're getting ready for church. Then pour them into the crock pot with some cut up carrots, celery, cubed ham, onions (or about 1/3 C. from your food storage). Add some salt, pepper, garlic powder, Greek seasoning and a TBS. of salsa for good measure. (Or just use whatever seasonings you like best.) Set on high and when you get home from church this will be ready and wonderful.
I have seriously picky eaters and when we have this everyone eats and asks for more. It makes us all very happy. This makes a pretty big batch, but don't worry, it doesn't take long to eat it all.

Lentil Brownies

These actually turn out more like Texas Sheet Cake. It's not health food, but if you're gonna eat 'em anyway, might as well be getting the nutrients of the beans in.

1/2 C. butter
1 C. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/4 C. lentils cooked and pureed
1 C. flour
2-3 T. cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. pecans
optional--1 C. mini marshmallows (I add these if I have some that are getting old)

Blend butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs and lentil puree. Mix well.
In a separate bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Gradually blend into egg mixture. Lastly, add the pecans and marshmallows.
Pour into a greased 8" or 9" square pan and bake at 350 for 30-35 min.

Frosting

1/4 C. butter
1/8 C. cocoa
1/8 C milk (add 1 T. if needed)
2 C. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine cocoa, butter, and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat with electric mixer until smooth.

Pinto Bean Bread

This bread turns out so moist with a great texture. Low-fat, high protein bread.

2 C. lukewarm milk (soymilk or powdered milk work great)
2 pkgs. yeast
2 C. pureed beans (pinto, white, black-eyed peas, whatever)
2 T. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 T. shortening, melted
5-6 C. flour

Combine the milk, beans, sugar, salt, shortening, and 1 T. of the flour

Stir in the yeast and wait for it to bubble.
If it has not bubbled in 5 min, get new yeast.

Stir in 5-6 C. flour to make a kneadable dough.
Knead 5-10 minutes, until satiny.

Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease dough.
Cover loosely with a clean, damp cloth and let rise till double.

Punch down; let rise again. (You can leave out this step, but the bread will be more dense. I don't recommend it.)

Punch down; shape into 2 loaves.

Place in greased loaf pans.

Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Frito Lay Bean Dip

This is my favorite thing to do with cannery refried beans. It's great.

15 oz. can of refried beans OR make 1 1/2 - 2 C. refried beans from your food storage
4 jalepeno slices
1 T. jalepeno brine
1/2 tsp. salt (I usually omit this. I don't think it needs it.)
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Puree ingredients on high until smooth. Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving. . . (if you can wait that long. I never do.)

Black-eyed Pea Cornbread

1 C. cornmeal
1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 C. vegetable or corn oil (I use way less than this-- usually about 1/4 C. -I've never missed the extra)
1 C. buttermilk (or powdered milk from your food storage)
1 med. onion, chopped (or reconstituted from your food storage. I just throw about 1/3 C. into the mixture and add about 1/2 C. water
2 jalepeno peppers, chopped (If you like it spicier, add one more)
3/4 C. drained corn
1 lb (or so) browned sausage, or leftover taco meat
1/2 lb. grated cheddar cheese (I use less than this. I just throw a handful in.)
1 C. cooked black-eyed peas

Add ingredients in the order listed. Mix a bit as you go. Cook in 9x9" greased pan at 350 for 45 min. or until golden browned on top.

Bean Salsa

1 15 oz. can black-eyed peas (or about 1 1/2 C. cooked from dry)
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed (or about 1 1/2 C. cooked from dry)
1 15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 C. chopped onion (or reconstituted from your food storage)
1/2 C. chopped green bell pepper
1 4 oz. can diced jalepeno peppers
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained (or freshly diced)
1 C. Italian-style salad dressing (I never use this much. The sample I brought had about 1/2 C.)
1/2 tsp. garlic salt.

Combine all ingredients. Add fresh cilantro if desired.

I use this as much more than just a chip dip. I put it on salads as THE dressing. I put it on scrambled eggs, or serve with cornbread as a side. (Cornbread recipe to follow)

White Chicken Chili

2- 15 oz. cans Great Northern white beans, drained OR about 3 C. cooked white beans
4 C. chopped, cooked chicken breasts OR 2 cans of chicken including the broth
1- 7 oz can chopped mild green chilies
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 C. grated Monterey Jack cheese (about 12 oz) (I use way less than this.)
2 T. olive oil
1 large onion OR about 1/3 C. dried onion and 1 C. water
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. ground cumin
6 C. chicken stock
sour cream for garnish if you like

Cook and chop chicken. (I usually use canned for convenience.) Heat oil in heavy pot. Add onions and saute about 5 min. Stir in garlic, chilies, cumin, oregano, and cayenne; saute about 5 min. Add beans and stock; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered. Stir occasionally about 2 hours. Add chicken and 1 C. cheese to chili and stir until cheese is melted and chicken is hot. (I usually just throw the chicken in with the rest. I've never noticed it to be a problem). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top bowls with cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips if desired.

P.S. I have never met anyone who didn't love this.

It's BEAN week

The next few posts are for the benefit of anyone who came to the bean class and wanted the notes. I thought this might be the best way of getting the info to those who wanted it instead of sending emails out to everyone who doesn't. If you are a friend or family member who thinks you are going to learn something interesting about our current lives, sorry. You may be interested in knowing that we're eating more beans than usual this week. But feel free to read about beans if you would like to.

Bean cooking tips:
1. Make sure beans are fully cooked before adding acidic foods like tomatoes, chili sauce, lemon juice, vinegar, or ketsup. This will slow down the cooking process.
2. Salt toughens beans so wait until the very end to add salt.
3. Add a few drops of oil (1/4 tsp or so) to the boiling pot. This will reduce the foaming.
4. Drain the soaking water before you begin the cooking process. This will reduce the "gasiness" of the beans.
5. If you add about 1/8 tsp. baking soda per cup of dry beans while they cook it will reduce cook time by about one-fourth.
6. Boil gently and stir very little. You really don't need to watch them much.
7. Make a big bunch at a time. Freeze some whole to add to recipes later and puree some to add to recipes later. Mark the bag with the amount. I usually freeze 1 cup portions. Then I can thaw as much as I need for the recipe I'm using.
8. Use the pureed beans in place of butter or oil in any baked good. If it calls for 1/2 C. butter, just use 1/2 C. puree.
9. Use in place of or to supplement ground beef in casseroles, tacos, burritos, etc. The beans will absorb the flavors just like the meat would.


If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comment section. I will answer.
Next up are my favorite bean recipes. These are the ones I really do use the most often. But don't feel limited. I don't. I use tons of bean recipes.

Rainbow Day

This is the coolest, clearest, double rainbow I have ever seen. I don't think the picture really captures it. The little ones are so happy. They are pretty sure they will either be turning into fairies soon, or will be seeing some. Love it. :0)

Fairy Cake

Here are better pictures of the cake. I couldn't get them to load before for some reason.

Typo???

Texting convo w/Richard who is out of town on business.

S: What are you doing today?
R: Well, I found out I just need to do a sinner tonight.
S: ???????




R: *dinner*


One of the more comical typos. :)

Easter Weekend

We opted for a little get-away this year--a road trip to Tennessee. I had never been to Tennessee before and I have to say that it was beautiful! Spring must be the best time of year there. The weather was fabulous, the flowers were blooming, everything was green and the temperature was perfect.
First stop was Memphis. I have wanted to see Graceland for a long time. I'm not a huge fan, but of course I like Elvis. He's an icon and his life is fascinating. However, I think the glory days of Graceland are over. It was so tourist-y and the house just looked old and worn. I was kinda feeling bad for the "king". I also thought it was going to be huge, but it really wasn't. I'm sure it was big for those days, but I know people who live in homes that size now and they aren't even celebrities. He had a pool, but it wasn't even very big. In a way it made me like him more. It made him seem a little more like a real (possibly humble?) person who lived in a real house with his parents and other relatives. His airplanes though, made him seem like a rock star. Very cool for those days. Totally 70's. One thing we both thought was kinda funny was his TCB logo. Apparently, Priscilla did the artwork (she drew the lightning bolt). It seemed very amateurish and he had it on everything. But again, it made me kinda like him more.
Memphis itself was a bit scary, old and rundown. We have a friend who is from there and she warned us. She says the city government is so corrupt that there will probably never be good days in Memphis again. She says it is a main stop for drug trafficking. It's sad to see a city go so completely downhill like that.
Next stop, Nashville. We got in town just in time for the Easter egg hunt at the (I can't remember the name of it) mansion. The grounds were beautiful. But, we were there about 10 minutes into the 4-hour long event and wouldn't you know ALL the eggs were gone. :( So we had to be content playing with the chicks and ducks. That was fun. Then off to the Parthenon. This was Emma's main stop. She loves Greek mythology and was really looking forward to this stop. Again, a beautiful park with the Parthenon right in the center. But, it was closed that day so she couldn't see the Athena statue on the inside. Bummer.
Then on to the Country Music Hall of Fame. I enjoyed seeing a country music presentation there and wandering the museum for a while. Hey, if you are interested in Hank Williams at all, this would be a great time to go to the museum. They have this huge display on him. I now know more about Hank than I ever will need to, I'm sure. My favorite part was the dresses. Everything from Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Reba McIntyre, and Carrie Underwood (that giant flowing thing she wore a couple years ago at the CMA awards--glorious to behold). Kids HATED this part of the day. Really. . .hated this whole thing. Oh, well.
We wandered downtown Nashville for a while that night. It was kinda cool because lots of people who are trying to break into the "biz" were out on the street performing. We saw some pretty talented people/kids.
Our last stop was Opryland. No show for us though. Uhhh. . . I would have had to sell a child to get in. I had no idea shows were so expensive there.
So, that was it. It was a nice little excursion that the kids pretty-much hated. But hey, at least the Easter bunny found us.
P.S.--I missed every bit of conference, so we'll be reading the next ensign very carefully. pooh!

Ellie's 7th Birthday

Well, the big Fairy Party is finally over and we can now return to life as we know it. It was actually a fun party to plan and put together, but it ended up being a lot of work. Here's what we did.
As the kids arrived I had Maddie sitting at the fairy transformation booth where they could get fairy (lip) gloss, fairy dust (body glitter), and nail stickers.
Then they went to the table to decorate their goody bags.
These were just time fillers to wait for everyone to arrive.
When all were present we started making our fairy skirts.
I had strips of tulle and sheer fabrics and taught them how to "tie" them to their elastic. They did a great job actually. I was quite pleased.
Then we had a fairy freeze dance to Tinkerbell soundtrack songs. Maddie was the DJ. She found the perfect music. Thank you, Maddie.

Then it was picture time. I had everyone pose against our fairy garden backdrop which was designed and painted by our family. Everyone helped, but I ended up doing most of the painting. This was the item that I started wondering why I thought it was going to be a good idea. Just FYI, if you are ever going to do a fairy party, go ahead and buy the fairy backdrop from WalMart for $18.00 and forget about this.

Time for outdoor games. Luckily the weather was PERFECT! I couldn't have asked for a nicer day. I told them a story about watching stars the night before and seeing a couple of stars fly right across our yard and something was falling to the ground. I finally figured out that it must have been the tooth fairy and the gem fairy, because it looked like coins and jewels that were falling. The kids were totally eating this up. I just love how their imaginations can make these things seem real. So, they took their bags to go look for "fairy treasure" (candy coins and jolly ranchers). They decided that it must have been candy fairies that I saw, because they only found candy. I loved it.
The next game we played was Fairy Freeze Tag. One girl had a yellow (fly) wand and another had a blue (freeze) wand. If the blue wand got you, you were frozen, if the yellow wand got you, you could "fly". We just took turns getting the wands (about 2 minutes each). They loved this too.
Then we played Fairy Godmother, May I. I was the Fairy Godmother. I'm sure you can figure this one out.
Time to eat. On the menu was:
Fairy Fizz- pink lemonade with 7-up
Fairy Wands- pretzels dipped in pink candy coating and sparkle sugar
Fairy Bread- bread and butter, cut in shapes sprinkled with sparkle sugar
Fruit Bouquet
Jelly Bean Jewels
and Taquitos (because it was dinner time and they needed something real to eat.)
Then Cake time. Ellie had very specific requests for the cake. It had to be 3 tiered, rainbow swirl, with fairies. So, that's exactly what she got. It was a fun cake to make. Maddie said it was the best cake I ever made-looks and taste! Wow, I don't get compliments like that on my cakes very often. Yay for me!!
Ellie opened presents, we gathered all our take-homes, and then went outside with a bottle of bubbles to wait for parents. It turned out great.