Novel November

The week before Son #2 entered High School for his Freshman year, he felt like he needed to join something to keep him social.  We thought school clubs would be good, but as we were leaving from the Orientation for the clubs, there was a bunch of tables set up at the entrance of the school.

We realized that these were teams trying to recruit new students for the various sports.

We looked around and saw that no one was at the Cross Country table. 

The Coach and Team Captains were enthusiastic to find a possible recruit. I mean really excited!

I guess last year there were only about 10 on the team. 

Son #2 really liked the positive spirit coming from this team, so he joined.

This humble group recruited and their team was a whopping 22!

Even though, Son #2 was the only Freshman Boy, this was a wonderful experience for him.

Here he is at the end of "Eagle's First Flight".

Waiting for his first official meet.

At the end of Cousin B's meet.  

This was great to share some of this experience with this cousin who will be graduating this year.

At the finish line at a different meet

This was his time at his second meet at the same location.

Within a 1 month period, he shaved off 4 minutes.  WooHoo!

Hard Working Dad and Son #2 were signed up to participate in "Run to Feed the Hungry" on Thanksgiving day, however, both came down with a stomach illness. So to not waste the entry, Very Involved Mom put on Son #2's shirt and took his spot.  Went with Aunt R and had a great time.

Favorite part:  the Ukelele Band

At the High School Athletics Award Night, each coach was to choose awards for Most Valuable Player and a Coach's Award.  The Cross Country coach shared how the player she was honoring for the Men's Team Coach's Award on his first hard practice ran up and down the Pennsylvania Ave hills 9 times.  When he finished, she asked, "How you feel?"  Student, "Tired."  Coach, "Did you take a break?"  Student, "No, I didn't know I was allowed."  She also shared how much he had improved even though he'd never run before and while all others on the team had conditioned over the summer, but he didn't.  She told that many people (parents and race facilitators) all mentioned that this student is always positive and always comes into the finish line with a smile on his face.

That student.... was..... our own SON #2.

He's looking forward to running next year!

Jumpin' July

We went to the drive-in to see the double feature of Monsters' University and Iron Man 3. About 3/4 of the way through the first movie, our car battery died (that was how we were listening to the movie)!  We tried to use the battery recharger from the drive-in, but our battery was completely DEAD!  So, we called the tow truck.  We realized that the tow truck could only hold 3 people.  We needed 4 more spaces.... so we called Uncle L who happened to still be awake at midnight.  By the time our rides came to get our family and our van, it was about 12:45 AM and we got to see (and partly hear) a little over half of Iron Man 3.  

Such is the "Byrd Luck", but we learned our lesson.... 

BRING a BATTERY OPERATED BOOMBOX to  the DRIVE IN!!!

On Independence Day, we celebrated with a the CP Ward walk, flag ceremony, pancake breakfast and bike parade.  We then went to our local town parade that lasted... about... 20 minutes with only about 10 groups.  Sad... but at least there's an effort, right?!

In the evening, we had a BBQ and fireworks at Uncle L and Auntie C's home.

They were fabulous hosts!  We had a great time!

Grandpa and Grandma B came to visit.  We had fun with a water shooter and cotton candy maker. While they were here, Grandpa B assisted Hard Working Dad and My Three Sons with pulling apart our backyard patio.  

These grandparents love to shop at some of our unique thrift stores around town.  Grandpa B purchased a photo for $25 called "Dogwood Blossoms" (not an original print but one of Ansel Adam's apprentices' printed it from the original negative).  It sold on Ebay for $295!  So Cool!!!

 {photo taken by Warren Coulam}

Finally, we are so grateful for the dedication and service of our local church/scout leaders.  We knew that Son #1 would have an experience of a lifetime if he went on the High Adventure which was a 200 mile bike ride from Sacramento to San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. Including training a grand total of 700 miles!

{photo taken by Warren Coulam}

With various challenges (illness, multiple flat tires, etc.), we wondered if he would make the trip.  But thankfully, for a loving and encouraging scout leader, Son #1 decided to go and truly had wonderful and inspiring stories to share when he got home.

What a great adventure!!!

{photo taken by Warren Coulam}

New Recipes 14, 15, 16, 17 & 18!!!!

No-Bake Rice Krispies Peanut Butter Granola Bars (Lower-Fat)

Son #1 said that these granola bars were the BEST he'd ever had!
Definitely a recipe we plan to do again.

The only changes that we made to the recipe:
More Rice Krispies
used honey
1/4 cup peanut butter & 1/4 cup butter
chopped peanuts


Although, the ENTIRE flock enjoyed these Granola Bars, Mom and Dad especially like these next nuggets of yumminess.

Chocolate No-Bake Energy Bites

(sorry no pictures)
Instead of the sesame seeds, we used popped Amaranth.

Millet Hot Breakfast Delight

In my efforts to include more fiber in my diet, I've been excited about trying new grains. With Whole Foods, Elliott's Natural Foods & the Local Food Co-op not very far away from us, this goal has been getting easier with their Bulk Foods Sections.


I've also wanted this year of 2012 to make a new salad every month.

Here are the links to my first 2 salads of the year:

Mango Quinoa Salad
LOVED THIS SALAD!!
We made this salad for a family party at our home in honor of Grandma & Grandpa B coming home from their LDS Mission to Kenya, Africa.
The party and salad were a success!

Bean Breakfast Salad
We have a massive amount of Great Northern Beans!
This recipe was a uniquely delicious way of adding those beans to our menu for a few days.
(I had to alter this recipe a bit. No Raspberries, but more Strawberries. Used Whole Rye instead of Spelt. Total Omega Swirl was a whopping $26.99, so I bought Flax Oil and added the zest & juice of an orange.)


Lastly, for Christmas Son #2 and I made donuts.
Nothing healthy about these gems!
BUT OH SO SCRUMPTIOUS!

18 New Recipes TRIED!
GOAL COMPLETE!!!!
(10 new salads in the near future)

40th Year Goals... 5 Full Months to Go!

I still have another five months until I turn 41, so there is still time to complete my 40 goals.

Here are a few of the goals I've accomplished so far in these past 12 months:

2 Days at Education Week (Went to 4!)

3 Movies at the Theater

7 Outings with the Children

8 Book Club Books to Read

15 Declutter Bags
(Donate or Throw Away)

16 Book Club Meetings
(I belong to 2 book clubs.)

17 Hours of Practicing Piano/Organ/Guitar

19 May 2011: Annual Physical

22 Blog Posts

33 Birthday Wishes on Facebook

36 Vegetables Produced from our Garden
(Thanks to our 6 tomato plants, 2 strawberry plants and our thriving basil plants.)

40th Birthday Dinner at Sizzler
(Thanks Mom for taking me out with the kids!)


I'm excited to work on the rest of my goals!

~Very Involved Mom

While Dad Was Away

While Hard Working Dad was in Africa, the leaves were changing on our street. HW Dad had our camera, so all of the photos in this blog post were taken with my cellphone. However, I was thinking, "We don't need to travel to the East Coast to see the beautiful Autumn leaves changing. It's happening in our own backyard!" So spectacular!

(Notice the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.)


When we went to pick up HW Dad at the airport in San Fransisco, I decided the kids and I needed to have a special activity to do, too. I decided to go to the Exploritorium. I think we could have easily spent the whole day there, but we were able to squeeze in an amazing 3 hours of exploration and fun! I've personlly never driven to SF. I've always managed to be a passenger. Somehow I made it with the help of the GPS and Son #1 as navigator.

(This is Son #3 playing with a huge bubble maker.)

(Sunset on the bay marina. Beautiful!)

In addition to being an enjoyable day in the Bay Area,
this also completes my goal of doing 7 outings with the children.

Not a Food Blog: New Recipes 11, 12 & 13

I've been trying a lot of new recipes lately. And it's been fun doing it! Some have truly been winners and others... I will not be saving the recipes.

My 11th New Recipe Tried is an altered version of one of my favorite after school treats when I was growing up. My mom would buy some canned coconut milk and make us Haupia ... maybe once or twice a year. I loved it! I loved when my parents would make Hawaiian food for us. I grew up eating rice pretty much every dinner but occasionally, we'd have fried rice & SPAM for breakfast. Every New Year's Day, my dad would make poi, Laulau, his special stew, long rice, Portuguese sausage drenched in soy sauce and sometimes Lomi salmon. Mom would make Haupia during the year, and I knew that it must be a special day.

Anyway, even though I loved this coconut pudding, I'm thinking that not everyone does. So when Hard Working Dad put together a missionary-themed ward activity and they needed desserts from around the world, I volunteered to make a twist on my beloved Haupia. I found the recipe, Haupia Squares. I think it was a success. Most of the pan was empty when we brought it home. But like I said, some people may have tasted it and said, "This is disgusting!" (Some people just don't like coconut). I thought however, that it was delicious!




My 12th New Recipe Tried: French Bread. My entire family thought this was probably the best bread recipe that I have ever made! It was truly scrumptious!



The 13th New Recipe Tried: Flax Bread. Maybe I followed the directions to this recipe incorrectly, but this bread did not taste quite right. It was just too heavy for me. I ate the entire sandwich that you see in the above photo. However, I will not be making this recipe again.

13 New Recipes Tried, 5 left to go!

New Recipes, 8, 9 & 10!!

I've decided to get more fiber into my diet and try to make a true effort at exercising. I'll be honest, though, I have LITTLE to NO motivation to exercise! However, once I start doing any type of exercise, I love it and feel GREAT after the workout. (That should be motivation enough, but it's not.) But trying to eat more fiber has been interesting.

The 8th New Recipe Tried comes from a magazine Living Without: Gluten-Free Black Bean Burgers. I actually really liked this recipe. As you can see from the picture above, my burger's bun is not gluten free. However, one burger has 8 grams of fiber! According to the American Dietetic Association, adults should have between 20-35 grams daily. The only ingredient that I couldn't find was the nutritional yeast.





My 9th New Recipe Tried is homemade juice! For Family Home Evening, I had the entire family watch this great documentary called Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead about 2 men who make a journey to better health. In homeschool, we were discussing various body systems. We ended our unit on the Digestive System by watching this film that taught ALL of us about our bodies and how to be healthy by basically (unbeknownst to them) following the Word of Wisdom. In the film, the men start with a juice fast and later learn ways to just eat better. So I started juicing, too. The above photo was just pretty but tasted very GREEN! The photo just below actually tasted a bit better, though doesn't look as colorful as the first.

And these were the fruits and vegetables I used for the juice in the second picture.

So for my 10th New Recipe Tried, I decide to do something somewhat off the healthy chart. However, I still tried to implement the MORE fiber rule by putting half white, half wheat flour to make baked donuts. No picture here, though. The kids were watching me make, then watching the donuts rise and bake before, during and after the morning session of General Conference. They got eaten up far too fast once they were dusted with a bit a sugar! Even the child who HATES bread ate these yummy treats!

Though this quote comes from a financial expert, I think it applies here as I try to figure out the healthy habit goals:

If the truth were complex, we'd have figured it out long ago. The fact that it's simple is what has us stumped.

~Joe Dominguez
from the book, Your Money or Your Life

10 New Recipes Tried.... 8 Left to Try!

Edification at BYU Education Week 2011!

Here are some of the witnessed facts and snippets of wisdom I was able to see and hear during my relaxing, tiring, bonding.... just plain fabulous 40th birthday gift weekend!

Saturday:
My sister-in-law #1 is a brave soul to come hang out with my brood for a WHOLE week!

Sunday:
Appreciate your ancestors and love the family that you inherit.
Excited to hang out with my Sister #1 and my Sister #2 throughout the week.

Monday:
My sister-in-law #3 is a great mom to two beautiful children.
She also makes a yummy chicken salad sandwich!
Utah has A LOT of road construction.

Tuesday:
Richards Building stairs can make you think, "If I can get up these stairs, I can do anything!"
These were the stairs to the main campus that Sister #1 and I took for 3 days.

8:30 Class:
"Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time' is to say 'I don't want to.'" Lao Tzu
-shared by Tom Taylor

9:50 Class:
"True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior..."
Elder Boyd K. Packer, CR, Oct. 86, 20.
-shared by Ronald Bartholomew

12:30 Class:
I only report to the Savior. -Merrilee Boyack

1:50 Class:
D & C 136:27- Thou shalt be diligent in preserving what thou hast, that thou mayest be a wise steward; for it is the free gift of the Lord thy God, and thou art this steward.
-shared by Bryan Sudweeks

3:10 Class:
Prayer + Scriptures = Increase of Personal Promptings/Revelation
-shared by Connie Sokol

4:30 Class:
Sometimes He will calm the sea, sometimes He will let the sea rage and calms His child.
- Kirk Wilkinson



5:30 :
BYU Football Season is starting soon!!!!

Remember to look for landmarks where you park your car,
especially when you are in a frenzy to get to your classes.

7:10 Class:
Cook on Monday a batch of grains (amaranth, buckwheat, millet, teff, kaniwah, quinoa)
and use it in recipes throughout the week.
-Chef Brad Petersen

8:30 Class:
A child who has less, loves more.
- from Marie Ricks class

Wednesday:
Richards Building stairs can make you feel both young and old!

8:30 Class:
When writing personal histories, think of "low hanging fruit"... start with the easiest story to tell.
-Tom Taylor

9:50 Class:
Prayer is the act of becoming one with God. Choose to ask His will
and then submit or act accordingly. - Ronald Bartholomew

11:10 Class:
Natural Energy Enhancers- Improve sleep patterns, Moderate physical activity (30 minutes/day), Water consumption, Complex Carbohydrates - from Beverly Neville

12:30 Class:
Sprinkle Cayenne Pepper from $1 Store to get rid of ants.
Edible Landscaping Ideas- Strawberries as ground cover, chard w/ pansies, plant lettuce in the pattern of a river to add a different look to your garden
-shared by Karen Bastow

1:50 Class:
Decatastrophizing
Step 1- Build a Menu of Alternative Explanations
-Worst Case Scenario
-Best Case Scenario
-Most Likely Scenarios
Step 2- Assess Probability of Each Scenario
Step 3- Develop a Coping Strategy,
especially in the event of a highly probable worst case scenario

3:10 Class:
John Bytheway showing a clip from the 2008 Worldwide Leadership Training meeting. In the video clip, Sister Julie Beck shares how as a teenager, her family sang "Love at Home" at EVERY Family Home Evening. Here are her words from the panel discussion:

It was more a belief than a practice. But every week, Dad would say, "Now we'll sing our opening hymn, 'Love at Home.'" And when I was about 14 or 15, in that age when you question everything, I asked father, "Why do we have to sing this hymn every week? There are a lot of good hymns in the hymnbook we could sing." And he looked at me very sternly and he said, "When you have learned lesson 1, I will teach you lesson 2." And I don't know what lesson 2 was; we didn't ever get there, but I have to say that after the passage of many years, I look at my family, and we do love one another. We did, somehow, over years, learn to love each other because that was lesson 1 my parents wanted to teach. They didn't try to cover everything. They knew if they started with that, it would work.

This made me smile.

4:30 & 5:50 Class:
The Financial Path of Choice to Million Dollar Choices
-Scott Marsh

7:30-10:00 pm
Enjoyed the rest of the evening watching "Aida" performed by Scera (local community theatre) with Sister #2 and two of her children.

Thursday:
The Richards Building stairs are a great way to get exercise at the start your day!

8:30 Class:
Work in the Home Stages:
Stage 1: Fetch & carry companion
Stage 2: Go-fur companion
Stage 3: Apprentice companion
Stage 4: Supervisor
-shared by Lucy Beutler

9:50 Class:
Learned about the Roman, Greek and other various cultures who may have converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ during the time of Paul. Surprisingly enriching!
-Thomas Wayment

11:10 Class:
www.eatrightamerica.com
-shared by Beverly Neville

12:30 Class:
Learned how to grow potatoes and when to harvest other vegetables.
-Karen Bastow

1:50 Class:
A place to go to help manage finances. -Bryan Sudweeks
http://personfinance.byu.edu

3:10 Class:
Pat Graham's experiences with putting our current Primary Children's Songbook together. She was the master teacher as she taught us various children's songs in about 5 minutes each.

4:30 Class:
Learned how to make an Apple Box Reflector Oven!
Plan on doing this as a science project at home.
-Leslie Probert

5:50 Class:
How do we nurture?
-Question given by Don Wilson

7:10 Class:
"So often we only focus on the present, giving no thought to how powerful our current actions effect the future." -Chef Brad Petersen

8:30 Class:
Set Up the Optimal Home
-A Functional Home Library
-Learning Stations for Each Child
-The Invention Box
-Instructional Toys

Prepare Yourself to Teach
-Learn, then teach
-Be Interested to be Interesting
-Every experience=Adventure
-Keep it FUN

Prepare Children to Learn

Teach Lifetime Skills

A Climate of Excellence
-ideas shared by Marie Ricks

Friday:
Marriott Center has stairs, too!

8:30 Class:
Hugging the Monster (coping with anxiety)
1. Breathing
2. Grounding
3. Thought replacement
4. NOW! Hug the monster
-shared by Kevin Hinckley

9:50 Class:
The first color created was yellow according to President Thomas S. Monson???
-shared by Vickey Pahnke Taylor

11:10:
Q: What do I buy from the BYU Bookstore?
A: a BYU Rise Up T-shirt, Football sippy cup, Nerf football, military scriptures

12:30 Class
SILLINESS at the piano
-by Marvin Goldstein

1:25:
Yummy Pasta and Bread Stick at the CougarEat


3:10 Class:
Strategies for Handling Others' Anger
*Protect Self

*Use empathetic listening & responding

*Find some way to agree
Practice the Pahoran Principle

*Pray
-Ideas shared by Stephen Duncan

4:30 Class:
I lean towards a Blue Personality with a touch of Gold and Green.
-Shawnda Moss

5:50 Class:
Empathy to your Spouse
Step 1: Look what is going on in your spouse's life.
Step 2: Try to identify what your partner is feeling.
Step 3: Remember/Imagine a situation in your own life when you felt the same.
-shared by Don Wilson

7:10 Class:
Elder Richard G. Scott said, "It is through the repeated process of feeling impressions, recording them, and obeying them that one learns to depend on the direction of the Spirit more than on communication through the five senses."
(CES Symposium, Aug. 11, 1998)
-shared by Mark Beecher

8:30 Class:
Purging:
Dark Plastic Bags: Not Useful, Not Needed=Throw Away
White Plastic Bags: Useful, Not Needed=Donate to charity
Box: Useful, Needed=Keep 1/2 then donate the other 1/2
-Marie Ricks

10:00:
Last few hours to hang out with my far-away sisters.

Saturday:
Place all 3 oz. liquid hygiene items in one 1-quart ziploc bags when packing for airline flight.

Home Sweet Home

A bit of an information overload.

I told Hard-Working Dad that I've got enough material to give at least one full year of Family Home Evenings! I'm so grateful for him allowing me to have this week to learn ways to help me be a better wife, mother, daughter, teacher, friend and child of God. He took off the entire week to be with our children. He's the bestest friend and the most wonderful helpmeet for me.

I'm also so grateful for the time I got to spend with my older sisters. All of my siblings are my dearest friends on earth. They make life a little bit easier to meet the challenges that we all seem to face. I hope to be able to go to Education Week in the future. And hopefully, I'll be able to take the husband and maybe even some of the kids. That would be fun, too!

~Very Involved Mom

Next 3 New Recipes Tried

I technically made 2 variations of the same cake recipe for last month's Ladies' Book Club.

I am not on a vegan diet however because I need to eat dairy free foods, I often find vegan recipes that fit perfectly.

The first recipe variation was a banana cake. I made a frosting for this cake from dairy free butter, powdered sugar, and hazelnut milk. Then I topped with chopped walnuts.

The second recipe variation was a chocolate cake with chocolate chips. This did not need frosting. The link below will take you to the recipe and give a few more variations. This is a great cake!

Vegan Cake

Okay, so the next new recipe I tried was actually on the back of a Trader Joe's Organic Red Quinoa box. A woman (she and her husband are usually always one of the top 3 chili recipe winners at our ward chili cookoff) in our ward had made a similar salad at last month's Relief Society BBQ. Everyone there RAVED about this salad! I'm hoping this is the same recipe... I think it's pretty close even if it isn't. I made this for a family get-together last Thursday and again, everyone who tried it RAVED about this salad.

Black Bean, Roasted Corn & Avocado Salad on a Bed of Red Quinoa

1 cup Red Quinoa (I used regular), cook with broth
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1-15 oz. can black beans, drained & rinsed
2 cups roasted corn kernels (I used canned)
1 avocado, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
3/4 cup Cilantro Salad Dressing
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
Zest of 1 lime (I also used the juice of the lime)
sea salt & pepper

Cook quinoa with broth according to package directions. While quinoa is cooking, combine beans, corn, avocado, tomatoes and onion. Top with salad dressing and toss gently. Add salt, pepper and lime zest (and juice) to taste. Add 1/2 of cilantro and gently toss once more. Set aside.

When quinoa is cooked, toss olive oil; add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool. When ready to serve, spread quinoa on a large serving platter and top with corn and bean mixture. Garnish with remaining cilantro.

Serves 6 as a side dish. (I think this made a lot more than 6 servings.)

So, that's now 7 New Recipes that I've tried this year... 11 left to go!

Side Note about my 40th Year Goals:
My #2 Goal was to attend 2 Days at BYU Education Week. As a student at BYU, I worked for the catering services there and would usually be the one passing out yogurts, bagels, sandwiches, etc. to the attendees during that week. The women and sometimes youth and men always looked so energized during those breaks. Occasionally, they would mention some snippet of knowledge they had gained in their classes. I've always wanted to attend. For my 40th birthday, Hard Working Husband bought me tickets to go not for just 2 days but the Tuesday-Friday tickets. I'M SUPER EXCITED!!! I'm especially thrilled to be seeing Chef Brad at one of the classes as well during that week. WooHoo!!!

~ Very Involved Mom

End of Another School Year - Changes Ahead

This time of year is always a bittersweet time for me.
I'm so excited to see the wonderful strides these great children have made
and then, I think they are growing up way too fast!
Where does the time go?

I remember when Son #1 arrived at this school 9 years ago! We could have moved him many different times, but I'm glad that we never did. He's learned to focus on his studies and was able to excel here. He received a medal for High Achievement in Overall Academics and English. The trophy was for the 8th grade student having Outstanding Achievement in Math. He will be entering high school starting with Geometry.

He's also started Frosh Football Conditioning at his high school. He already knows quite a few other young men from his previous school, church, and community soccer. It's tough, but he seems to be enjoying it. (I see a lot of volunteering and bleacher-seating/cheering in the future.)

I have a child in high school!

Son #2 has accomplished HUGE feats this year. It was a challenge making a transition from elementary to middle school. But he was able to consistently have a high GPA the entire year. His time at this highly college-oriented school has brought him up to above grade level in many areas. I am truly grateful to his patient teachers and counselors both in the 5th and 6th grades.

Son #2 is so imaginative! Since the age of 3, he's been a creative storyteller and I'm glad he was able to show that in many of his classes: English, Art, History. I love his thought process and wish sometimes I could be as direct with my own thinking.

Now for Son #3. I don't know if you remember your 4th grade year, but I actually remember quite a bit. I remember working on some fun and challenging projects. I also remember learning cursive and division. Son #3 had all of this this year. He had a great time learning about the Santa Cruz Mission and constructing the model all by himself. He's a builder! He may have the best handwriting in the entire family and he's great at math.

This year, he also had the opportunity to be in the school Spelling Bee. Parents got front row seating. Son #3 made it through to the 4th round and came in 3rd Place.

I know he's had a difficult time with some of the aspects of this school. It has been night and day from the Montessori approach of learning to this "College for Certain" mentality. However, I'm grateful for wonderful teachers who were able teach him self-disciplining strategies and help him to challenge his mind.

On August 15th, we begin a new phase for our family.

One child is starting high school and will be attending early morning seminary.
Two other children will be starting on the adventure of homeschooling.

We are looking forward with excitement and a lot of faith!

~Very-Involved Mom

Learning from a Great Blog

Hard Working Dad and Son #1 visit a beautiful 90 year old woman once a month. She's a wonderful woman and she looks amazing! A couple of months ago, she mentioned that her son started a blog and that we should check it out. We have, and we love it! We have been using some of the ideas from his blog to make healthier eating choices. He shares ways in which we can fully obey the commandment known as the Word of Wisdom. I invite you to check it out too!

Word of Wisdom Living

3 New Recipes Tried!

Tried three more new recipes to meet my "18 New Recipes" goal for the year.

The first is shown in the photo, "Cheese Popover Puffs". If you look closely, the "puffs" look a little different in each of the muffin tins. The tin to the top-right of the photo shows the original recipe. The tin to the bottom-left shows my altered version with non dairy options. Here are the recipes:

Cheese Popover Puffs (original recipe)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all except cheese. Beat at medium speed of an electric blender until smooth. Stir in cheese. Heat a well greased muffin pan at 425 degrees for 3 minutes or until very hot. Spoon in batter, filling 2/3 full. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, reduce heat, bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately. Makes about 8 popovers.

Cheese Popover Puffs (Non Dairy Version)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Almond Milk
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon non dairy buttery spread
1/4 cup shredded rice cheese

Same instructions as above

I liked my Non Dairy Version! Everyone else in the family tried 1 of each version. HW Dad liked both. The children preferred the original version, but thought the non-dairy was okay.

The next new recipe was a Disaster! Why? Perhaps because some recipes just don't go as well with non dairy changes OR maybe because I used a vanilla flavored potato milk instead of an original flavored almond/rice milk. Either way... The Best Baked Corn was gross with my changes. I'm sure the original recipe is delicious?

The last of the three new recipes was a gift to my great husband who works almost non stop to provide for his family and to help those around him. I made pork chops for him. I think I can count on 1 hand how many times I have made pork chops in our 18 years of marriage. It's not that I don't love the flavor of it, but I physically have adverse affects on too much pork in my diet. However, HW Dad loves pork and there was a great price at the supermarket last week. So to show my love this Valentine Season, I made a Rachael Ray recipe "Pork Chops with Golden Apple Sauce" for him. (Think Brady Bunch with Peter's impression of Humphrey Bogart. Anyone else remember that?)

Of course, knowing me, I always have to alter my recipes, right? But this time only because I didn't have all of the ingredients. For the apples, I used 2 golden delicious, 1 pommes, and 1 honeycrisp. I didn't have raisins, so I used dried cranberries. I didn't have apple juice, so I used cran-pomegranate juice. We all thought the pork chops were yummo and 4 out of 5 of the family thought the applesauce was great with the chops!

14 New Recipes Left to Go!

New Recipe: 17 left to try

One of my goals (Very Involved Mom) is to try 18 New Recipes. Here is #1:

Bacon, Spinach and Cream Potatoes
by Rachael Ray

Altered it slightly. I only used 1 box of spinach. Instead of cream, I used Trader Joes' Original Almond Milk. (I must eat Dairy Free foods due to eczema. It has been quite challenging for the past year and a half!!! Do you know how many dishes and desserts that we eat in this house that have some type of dairy in it? If I sneak anything with cow's milk or cheese in it, within a few hours, I'm itching like crazy!)

Also, just noticed on the recipe that there was nutmeg on the list. Oops! Forgot to add that... no problem... I'll add it to my leftovers.

This was DELICIOUS!! The adults in the family will definitely be making this again!