A fun filled birthday weekend....

~Happy 9th birthday to my special, one and only son! Happy Birthday, Ronnie!~

What a whirlwind the past few days has been! Lots of preparing to host 2 birthday parties in 2 days here....don't know what I would ever do without my oldest daughters...they are such a help and so accomplished in the kitchen, too! (you should taste their cupcakes!)

We hosted family last night for Ronnie's birthday....lots of fun and visiting going on...Ronnie is a Pittsburgh Penguins hockey fan and my cousin got him a hat and an official winter classic puck...cool!

I love this picture! Ronnie and our cousin, Maggie share the same birthday! When I was expecting Ronnie, my cousin, Kim was anxiously waiting for the go-ahead to get Maggie from China and brought her home a few short weeks before Ronnie was born...so we were expecting together....what a blessing family is!

This morning, Ronnie woke up very early on his birthday to brave the cold and snow for his basketball game....here is the team picture with his buddies.

After the game, we brought home 5 of his best friends for a party....lots of food, Star Wars and Legos going on...and a fun pyramid, too!

While I was the commander from the 'mother ship'...these were my Jedi....they saved the universe and rid the galaxy of evil this afternoon!

Our tired, but happy birthday boy! Happy 9th Birthday, my son! We love you!

~Sue~

One Small Change...

I am joining in with the folks over at One Small Change again. I know it has been a while...and many changes have been occuring in our family...but I wanted to mention one small change we're doing for 'winter'.

We've been homeschooling for 12 years now, with another 11 to go and over the years my husband's job situation has changed many times, and the Lord has taught me to trust in Him...and to be prepared and a good steward of what He has given us...so, all of this to say our change is....'purging'....scaling down, getting rid of excess.

We have been going thru the house...filling up boxes of books to donate, recycling books/magazines...donating clothing and household items that haven't been used and finding creative ways to store what we do use and have it accessible. This has been so freeing, on the one hand and opened up so much space. But, I also have the dilemna of wanting to save certain books and curriculum that we've collected to use in the future with my youngest two children. It is very hard, at and 9 to know what curriculum will work with them best in middle school or highschool and yet...I already own it, and want to use it with them. Problem is how much do I keep and where do I store it?

But I feel like I am being a much better steward by donating our excess to people who could use it....to better utilizing our space to make it more open and hospitable....what would be one small change that you could do in your lives? ~Sue~

Yarn Along...

Joining with Ginny over at Small Things for her weekly Yarn Along...posting what we are working on with our shared love of fiber and our love of reading...please, go on over and check some wonderful reading and fiber art! ~This week, I've started a hat to match a scarf I finished using Paton's chocolate wool and simply softs 'toast'....I've found working with 2 strands of yarn are trickier for me, but as that is what I did for the scarf, I want the hat to match. Underneath, I have a shawl that should be finished soon...as soon as I have a little more time to sit and knit! LOL I've been working hard at purging our home of 'excess'...excess everything! Not a lot of knitting going on, but I try and do at least a few rows a day. I've been reading a lot of books by Ruth Bell Graham at night and have been challanged and inspired by her writings....In the above book, Legacy of a Pack Rat...these are various writings of hers thru the years....mostly journal entries and her thoughts thru the years...wonderful reading! So concludes my 'Yarn Along' for this week! I'm looking forward to getting some good reading ideas and yarn inspirations over at Small Things! ~Sue~

A Tale of Two Chickens....

~Sorry...no pictures...but I have 2 "fall-back" recipes using chicken that have become true family favorites and today will share the 'recipes'. I'm so sorry, but I am one of those people who rarely follow a recipe...and most often simply adapt it to what I have on hand and my families preferences.....so without further ado....Our standard favorite "Brown Sugar Chicken". I adapted this from Stephanie's website crockpot365.blogspot.com. Here are 2 ways I've prepared this for my family.

First, I've used everything from boneless chicken breasts to bone-in legs/thighs...doesn't matter, just use what you like. I prefer the bone-in because of the rich taste it adds and the nutritional value of the bonebroth. Just put your chicken in the crockpot on high (I always put it on high to get it started) then add lots of chopped garlic and salt/pepper (if I have it, I drizzle a little sesame oil over the chicken and garlic) then stir up in a bowl approx. 1 cup soda pop (I've used everything from sprite, gingerale or pepsi, doesn't seem to affect the taste) 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1/2 cup or more of soy sauce and 1 cup brown sugar...mix it all together and pour over chicken. Turn crockpot on low and cook 5-6 hours. If you use the bone-in chicken...I like to take it off the bone and use a little cornstarch to thicken the sauce. I serve this with jasmine rice and steamed or stirfried cabbage/carrots/onions. That's it! Now, I've also made this in the pressure cooker, putting a rack on top of my chicken and steaming the veggies....this worked VERY well! Hope that is clear...like I said, I tend to not measure and just throw things together. LOL

Our new favorite chicken recipe was done on the stove...Orange Chicken. I took parts of many recipes that I've read and used what I had to make this delicious dish. Again...I served this with jasmine rice and steamed broccoli. Ok....here is what I did:

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks, season with seasoned salt and garlic powder and brown in butter/olive oil blend....brown well, then turn and brown on all sides. (this doesn't take long) Take chicken out and place on plate.....then add 1 cup water and scrape up all the brown bits, deglazing the pan...add lots of chopped garlic and saute, then add 3 tablespoons of unsweetened orange juice concentrate, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup soy sauce....stir until well mixed, adding chicken back in and adding a little water as needed, simmer until chicken is very tender. (this all took about 1/2 hour) That's it! This was a huge hit...especially with my younger children.

~I tend to make a lot with chicken and venison, because that is what I have...we also eat at least one meatless meal a week...along with lots of eggs, yogurt and cheese for protein along with our kefire smoothies.

A local grocery store had a sale last week on bone-in chicken leg quarters, a 10 lb bag for only 39 CENTS a pound! Amazing price! So....I got 40 pounds! (thanks to my dad and step-mom storing 2 bags for me in their freezer) For a while, I determined that we wouldn't eat anything that wasn't organic and all natural, but unfortunately, our finances for people would not allow that...and I now have peace that God is in control of our health...as He is in everything. And, that eating healthy, cooking from scratch and not following the 'standard American diet' (or SAD) is much better for us, even if not everything is organic.

Have a blessed day! ~Sue~

Menu plan Monday....

Trying very hard to get used to my husband getting paid every 2 weeks instead of every week...finding I'm running out of a few things like milk, cheese, apples...my goal is to ONLY go shopping once every two weeks....thank goodness for my extra refrigerator and freezer! Here is our menu for this cold, snowy week in Pittsburgh! ~Sue~

Monday:

Breakfast: homemade granola, and yogurt
Lunch: gluten free steak and mushroom pizza, veggies
Dinner: split pea soup and chebe bread

Tuesday:

B-pumpkin raisin bread
L-ethiopian veg't stew (from cookbook 'Extending the Table') & Ingera bread
D- roast chicken legs quarters, sweet potatoes, corn

Wednesday:

B-cheesy scrambled eggs, gf toast
L- black bean soup and gf cheese puffs
D-crockpot chicken parmesean, gf pasta, salad

Thursday:

B- oatmeal, and smoothie
L- chicken & rice egg drop soup
D- venison meatloaf, gravy mashed potatoes, green beans

Friday:

B-crepes with homemade jam
L-homemade hummus with veggies and gf flatbread
D-(pressure cooker) Borscht soup and gf caraway salt sticks

(my son's 9th birthday family party...lots of cake and icecream!)

Saturday: My son's 9th birthday...he picks the menu!

B-cocoa crispie cereal and bananas (early basketball game)
L- hotdogs, french fries, veggies...more cake and icecream for party
D-pork ribs, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes...and homemade chocolate custard for his birthday dessert!

Sunday:

B-pumpkin raisin bread
L-crockpot "Good Sunday" soup (chicken soup with veggies and chunks of cheese)
D- barbeque chicken, wild rice, salad

~For more menu plans every Monday check out orgjunkie.com

This moment...

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Joining with Amanda over at http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/ this moment.

My oldest quizzing my youngest on her spelling words....she got them all right! LOL I love homeschooling! ~Sue~

Thrifty Thursdays....

I love this idea! Today is Thrifty Thursday over at Saved By Love Creations blog...and since I so enjoy the creativity and challenge of simple, beautiful frugality, I thought I would join in this weekly blog hop.

Since I am using my pressure cookers 3 times today, that is what immediately came to mind for thrifty cooking today!

For lunch, I pressure cooked potato soup...made more nutritious by leaving the skins on for fiber and nutrients, homemade chicken broth, lots of garlic...and done in 40 minutes. Tender chunks of potatoes....and using much less energy by using the stove for a fraction of the time.

For dinner tonight, I will cook brown basmati rice in one pressure cooker and pepper steak with tons of mushrooms and peppers, onions and garlic in another. Being able to use inexpensive cuts of meat and have them just melt in your mouth and stretch to feed our family is such a blessing to us!

There are many books on pressure cooking out there, especially by my favorite pressure cooking expert, Lorna Sass. Also, in the new issue of Hobby Farm Home magazine that I mentioned yesterday, they have a huge article on pressure cooking....from the history of it, to safety issue and delicious recipes. Just another way to be creatively thrifty! ~Sue~

Yarn Along...

I am joining Ginny over at SmallThings blog for the weekly Yarn Along! Oh, how I LOVE yarn...the feel, the colors the different textures. I also love reading and books just as much! After 12 years of homeschooling...I've collected so many books that the challenge is finding adequate storage for all of them!

This is a picture of the afghan that I FINALLY finished for my niece's wedding gift. This was such a soft yarn to work with. I first learned to crochet and last winter during our 36+ inches of snow and 2 little ones with whooping cough, I taught myself to knit...and am now addicted. Will post next week a couple of finished projects along with one almost finished shawl and one started hat. (I have found that crocheting is so much faster for me...but ends up being very painful with my RA and Fibro...knitting is so much kinder and gentler to me)

The picture above also shows one of my youngest daughters favorite books at the moment, "The Spinner's Gift"...what a warm, beautiful book!

I am reading my 2 favorite magazines....curled up in my comfy queen anne chair with the beautiful, warm wool sweater that my husband blessed me with for Christmas. I just discovered Hobby Farm Home and love it! The above issue has features on making homemade yogurt , and cooking with the pressure cooker, which I have been loving lately and will be using tomorrow.

Maryjane's Farm magazine has been a favorite of mine for years and the new issue just arrived in the mail today! Wonderful reading for a cold winter's day!

For more inspiring "yarn alongs", go visit Ginny's blog at the link above. What is inspiring you in the afterglow of the holiday season? ~Sue~