Slow Cooking Thursday ~ Chunky Applesauce

This past week, Emahry & I made chunky applesauce in the crock pot. It's so easy, healthy, & delicious. We didn't even feel the need to add sugar, the apples were sweet enough on their own.

Start with a bunch of apples, cut and slice into thin chunks. For chunky applesauce, there's no need to peel the apples (that's the part I love).

Spray your crock pot with non-stick spray and fill with apple chunks. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Stir occasionally if you're home.

Now you have beautifully chunky applesauce (& a delicious smelling kitchen). Give a good stir before serving. We think this applesauce is best served warm or piping hot right from the crock pot.

Enjoy!

Here's a bonus: Emahry in her apron.

Check out more crock pot recipes at Dairy of a Stay at Home Mom.

Welcome To Our New Layout

I think we've finally decided on our new layout.
We believe this one contains the best of all worlds:

3 non-squished columns,
wide post column,
pretty background that isn't too busy (or girly),
& our new header.

I still haven't gotten the colors just right, but I can deal with that later.
Please, let us know what you think of the new design.

Did you notice our followers' list at the top of the left column? Please, join in and follow our blog. Thanks!

New Layout ~ What Do You Think?

I need honest opinions about this new layout. Does it look good or was the old one better? What would you change?

Our Afternoon Adventure

I wasn't going to blog about this, but my husband said it might help someone. So I'm letting down my defenses to save someone from making the same mistake or at least to let you know that I in fact, do not have it all together.

The situation ~ I'm heading to the grocery store with both kids. I put Emahry in her seat & then lock the doors to go inside to get Jonathan.

Problem ~ Van doors lock, windows up, & keys sitting on the front seat.

Bigger Problem ~ Our 17 month old daughter, Emahry fastened into her car seat, ready to go.

Our hero ~ My wonderful husband, Tim.

His tool of choice ~ A wire clothes hanger.

Time it took to open the door ~ 15 minutes.

Lessons learned ~ One of the points of keyless entry is so you can lock your vehicle from the outside, therefore making it impossible to lock your keys in the car. The spare van key should not be kept in the van (duh!). You should always keep a few metal clothes hangers in the house. I had to get one from our neighbor. Boy, I'm glad she was home!

By the way, Emahry thought the whole experience was pretty fun. She kept blowing kisses & waving to us through the windows.

Please don't leave any comments telling me how I must be a horrible mother. Thanks!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Sibling Love

Emahry loves being a big sister to Baby Jonathan.

Check out more Wordless Wednesday posts at 5 Minutes For Mom and MomDot.

Our Kitchen Helper & Oatmeal Pancakes

This morning Emahry & I enjoyed making & eating oatmeal cinnamon pancakes. I love having Emahry help me in the kitchen & she really seems to enjoy it also. She likes to pour & stir, but of course, taste testing appears to be her favorite part. I am so thankful to be able to share these moments with her & to have the time with her to build these special memories.

I came across this pancake recipe in the comments section of my friend Kristin's blog. The recipe is for making the mix, which is great because you only have to add the wet ingredients when you want to make pancakes. This is our favorite pancake recipe because it has such a great flavor & the pancakes are so moist. I also love how easy and inexpensive the recipe is.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes

4 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup instant dry nonfat milk
3 Tablespoons baking powder
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
5 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Mix these ingredients together, I use my hands to make sure the brown sugar
is mixed in well. Store in a gallon sized freezer bag or airtight container.

Yield: 10 cups of pancake mix.

To make pancakes:
2 eggs
1/3 cup applesauce
2 cups of pancake mix
1 cup water

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Gradually beat in applesauce. Alternately add mix and water to mixture. Blend well. Preheat and oil griddle. Pour 1/3 cup batter per pancake. Cook until bubbles form around edges, flip and cook until done.

Yield: about 10 pancakes

Here's a photo, sorry the pancakes don't look the greatest, that's what happens when you don't have a griddle & have to cook them in a skillet instead, they're still delicious.

This post is part of Tackle It Tuesday, Kitchen Tip Tuesday, Tightwad Tuesday, Tips for Tuesday, & Gratituesday. Check out these blogs for more great posts.

Crock Pot Tacos

This meal is so easy that there really isn't a recipe for it. While the kids napped I browned turkey burger ad threw it in the crock pot with a bag of frozen veggies (pepper stir-fry would of been great, but we had lots of regular stir-fry veggies, so that's what we used), some taco seasoning, and a cup of water. (We could have done without the water because of all the liquid in the vegetables.) Then we turned the crock pot on high for a few hours. When it was time to eat all we had to do was cook the corn tortillas. We spinkled parmesan cheese on the tortillas, filled them, and rolled them up. It was a quick, easy, & delicious meal. The leftovers will also be great served over rice.

Our Little Man

Here are a couple quick shots of our tiny boy. He actually looks a lot bigger than when he was born. He's gained a pound in the last 3 weeks. When Tim took him to the doctor last Friday he was weighing in at 5 pounds 12 ounces and was already 19 1/2 inches long. Way to go Jonathan!

Picnik Photo Editor

I love taking and editing photos, so here's a quick review of a free online photo editor. You can upload, store, edit, save, & share for free. Find more information at http://www.picnik.com/.

Here are a few samples of the type of editing you can do.

Original snapshot of Emahry.
Crop + CinemaScope Effect + Blemish deleter (I took the rug burn off of the tip of her nose).

Crop + Focal Black & White + Matte Effect

Original of Jonathan & me.

Crop + Matte Effect + Rounded Corners

Crop + Pencil Sketch Effect

For the average person I think Picnik sure beats spending money on photo editing software. I'd love to hear what you think.

Living Simply Saturday ~ Decluttering & Organizing

Decluttering & organizing -- two things I did not get accomplished before our newest addition, Jonathan, decided to join us 4 weeks early. So the goal of this weekend is to go through everything in the kids' room, to purge every available space and to organize the things we need to keep. This may not seem like much, but between nursing two babies, this is quite a lofty goal. I will be posting photos of the results early in next week, partly to keep myself motivated & partly because I love looking at organized spaces. So, I'm off to conquer the clutter. Wish me luck.

Bacon Without Paper Towels

Our family has chosen not to purchase paper towels as a way to cut back on expenses and waste. We normally don't even miss paper towels except when we cook bacon. We've been on a bacon kick recently and I've been searching for a way to get rid of some of the grease before we put the bacon in our mouths.

I've read to let the bacon soak on brown paper bags, but we don't use these either, so that option doesn't work for us. We've finally found a solution that doesn't require us to thrown anything away when we're done. We simply place the bacon on a wire cooling rack when it is finished cooking. I also like to flip it once so both sides can drip. This method works relatively well. It doesn't get rid of all the grease, but a good amount drips off.

Just make sure you place the rack on top of a plate or cookie sheet, so you don't end up with a greasy counter-top.

Visit Tammy's Recipes for more kitchen tips.

Blessings in a Pyrex Dish

We've been so blessed by our local church body since the birth of our son Jonathan. I don't think I've cooked a single dinner since returning home. Oh, we've boiled some pasta here and there and we've done lots of reheating, but we've really been totally spoiled. It's so fun to be surprised at dinnertime & it's amazing how much better food tastes when you haven't had to make it yourself. We'll still be eating out of the fridge and freezer for a few days, but I'll be back to planning meals next week.

Check out Kristin's thoughts on meals after a baby and find lots of great meal plans at Organizing Junkie.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Tiny Feet

Our son, Jonathan's tiny feet.

He was born last Tuesday, 4 weeks early,

and weighed only 4 pounds, 14 ounces.

Read more about his birth here & view more photos here.