Yes I am alive and kicking

Well friends I realized that I have not posted anything since last summer. I am terrible!! So much has been going on and I will post soon to bring everyone up to date. Check back soon to find out whats' new and interesting in my world and also some great new recipes.

Where has the time gone???

Wow, I was amazed when I logged onto my blog and realized that I have not posted ANYTHING since April. How terrible am I? Well I can say there has been a lot going on in the world of Mom, Mom, Mom, What is for dinner. I know everyone is waiting on the edge of their seats to hear about all the exciting stuff thats' been going on so.....
Now I must warn you my life might not be as exciting as others but I think it is pretty great.

When the school end came to a close I was faced with 70 days... 70 long days with children who think they are the only kids in the world that are bored. If I had a dime for every time I heard "Mom I'm bored there is nothing to do..." Well I would be rich and that would be another story. I listened to a very wise man who said when my kids used that line we would hand them a cleaning towel and tell them to dust the baseboards. Huh I wonder if that would work?? Its' worth a shot. Not only would I not hear those famous words again but my baseboards would be clean. I set it into motion and the first time my son said he was bored I looked at him, smiled, and walked to the linen closet. He looked as if wow, my mom is going to give me something great... Until I pulled out the old cloth baby diaper (no they were not used for the kids.... I wouldn't know how to fold one into a diaper if I tried but they make great cleaning rags.) Well the sudden interested took a different route. I told him well if you're bored clean the baseboards. Suddenly an amazing thing happen. The world opened up and became an open adventure. He was off running to play cars, or Wii, or something and well my baseboards still haven't been dusted. Maybe I should get bored...

Actually this summer has been pretty great. My boys are very active in Cub and Boy Scouts and my daughter is active in well being a girly girl. While the boys are off camping and hiking, my daughter is sneaking nail polish to have a nail salon. My toes have never looked prettier. We have had sleep overs, play dates, and swim days, to occupy our time.

So as this summer is coming to a close and school is 10 days away!!! (I am not counting or anything but I can if you want) I am faced with the idea; what am I going to do when school starts? My daughter starts school this year and I am faced with 4 hours each day that I will have no children. Sit and eat bon bons while watching soap operas? No.... Sleep until I have to pick up the kids? No.... Hey I got it, I should start school too. So thats' what I am going to do. I am going to go back to school to get my BS in Healthcare Administration. So as my family starts this school year, the kids are not the only ones who need to dust off the brain cells and hit the books.

I am making a personal goal to blog every week. It could be a recipe, a funny story, or ramblings from a tired mom. So hang on, enjoy the ride, and every now and then leave a comment so I know I am not the only human being in the world wide web reading this.

Have a great rest of the summer and I can't wait for my new journey to start.
Until next time....

Microwave Popcorn on a budget

My kids LOVE popcorn.... they would go through boxes of microwave popcorn if I would let them. So in order to save my budget I found a way to enjoy microwave popcorn homemade.

1/2 cup unpopped corn kernals
1 tsp. oil
salt to taste
brown paper lunch bag

Mix oil and popcorn in a bowl. Season with salt. Pour popcorn in bag and fold over 2 times. Microwave for 3 minutes or until popping slows to a few seconds. Pour into bowl and enjoy....

Homemade Caramel Popcorn..... Easy and yummy

So we normally only let the kids have "dessert night" on Saturday but tonight I wanted to try something new. I found an amazing recipe for caramel or kettle corn.... Pop some up in a jiffy tonight!!

1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup brown or white sugar
1/2 cup unpopped corn kernels

In a large pot heat oil. When oil is hot enough (I put 3 kernels in the oil when I begin and when they pop, the oil is ready) add sugar and popcorn. Constantly shake pot so the sugar does not burn. Once the popping slows to 3 seconds between pops take the pop off the heat and shake until no more popping is heard. Pour into a bowl and cool. Stir to break up and clumps. ENJOY!!!

If you use brown sugar the popcorn will taste like caramel corn.
If you use white sugar the popcorn will taste like kettle corn.

Mom Take the Night Off....

So the other night my wonderful son Tyler wanted to make dinner. With a cookbook in hand he made his grocery list. I took him to the store and he picked everything out by himself.... When we got home he got started on a AMAZING DINNER.....

Marinade:
1/4c Olive Oil
3 Large garlic cloves, minced
3/4t Salt
1/2t Pepper

Meat:
1 3/4lbs boneless pork chops cut into chunks

Fruit and Vegetables:\
1 Pineapple cored and cut into chunks
1 medium red bell pepper cut into chunks
1 medium yellow bell pepper cut into chunks
2T olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 Large red onion cut into wedges

Lemon or Lime for serving

Combine oil, garlic, pepper, and salt in a large bowl (or ziplock bag)
Add pork and toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour up to 24 hours
Preheat grill for 15 minutes
Toss the vegetables in the 2T olive oil, salt and pepper
Skewer the meat on their own skewers and the fruit and vegetables on their own. This way the meat will cook properly and not overcook the fruit and vegetables

Grill pork kebabs until temp. reaches 160 degrees.
Grill fruit and vegetables until tender crisp.

Place and serve with lemon or lime wedges.

This was a fantastic meal. Tyler did an amazing job!!! I got to take the night off of cooking and watched my young man open his heart, mind, and taste buds to a new meal....

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

So last week was Dr. Seuss's birthday. In honor of this wonderful man our home has an annual Green Eggs and Ham dinner.... So break out your food coloring and lets party....

Shoulder Ham cut into slices
Eggs
Blue Food Coloring
Green Food Coloring
Butter

Mix some water and green food coloring in a shallow dish. Place your ham slices into the mixture and soak the ham to turn it green.

Green Scramble Eggs - Scramble eggs in a bowl. Mix some blue food coloring to the eggs and mix.  Cook as normal.

Fried Green Eggs - Carefully separate the whites and yokes. Color the whites with green food coloring. Melt butter in a small pan and carefully lay the whites in the pan. Carefully place the yokes in the whites and cook as normal.

Fry the ham in the pan until warm.

Plate and enjoy....

Sam I am, Sam I am, I DO like Green Eggs and Ham.....

The gravy did it....

So tonight when it was time to figure out dinner I was stumped. I had some left over noodles, some ham on the bone, and no imagination!!!! So I pulled out a trusty cookbook and set out to find something to feed my family.

Ham, Noodle, Casserole - no to cheesy
Ham, peas, noodles - No didn't have Alfredo sauce
Ham with red eye gravy - Hmmmm that just might work

So here is the recipe for something I have never tried but am willing to try it again....

Country Ham Steaks (I used sliced ham off the bone)
1/2 stick of butter
1/2c brown sugar
1c of STRONG coffee

Melt butter in pan and fry ham steaks
Put on plate and keep warm
In pan with ham drippings add brown sugar
Stir until sugar dissolves
Add coffee and simmer for 5 minutes
Add some pepper to taste and your done....

Wow pretty simple I thought... It is a thin gravy but not bad.... Still awake and typing

Hope you enjoy!! Tomorrow will be the recipe for green eggs and ham in honor Dr. Seuss's Birthday...