okay

The week is half over. Has anyone tried out their shredder?


Look how we've grown!

Experiment #2

This one was inspired by mom. She told me how to make it. Another one pot wonder. We're adding it to the menu.

I still had some of that ground turkey with carrots and zucchini in it.

1st layer:
Cook meat
add chopped onion
Let that cook till the onions are brown-ish.
2nd layer:
finely shredded zucchini. You could add a ton if you want to.
3rd layer:
chopped fresh tomatoes. cover the zucchini.
4th layer:
mozzerella cheese. cover the tomatoes.
lower heat and cover. let cook till you don't want to cook it anymore.
mom puts bacon bits in between cheese and tomatoes. I salted the zucchini and tomato layers. Oh. I added the cheese at the very end.We had corn on the cob with it.
We all really liked it. I was so happy to see the kids eating stuff they usually wine about eating. Best of all Taylor and Talia did the dishes.

Experiment

This might be qualified in the "old but new" category.

I added a little twist to my challenge. *Make dinner out of whatever free stuff was at church. (A lady at church as arranged with a bunch of whole food stores to get all the stuff they can't sell. It's usually a couple days away from the expiration date. Occasionally there is produce. I'm careful with that. But it's all good. and FREE!) I even brought my own paper bag today. I got 4 potatoes and a bunch of broccoli.

Slice potatoes with the thin blade.
Add:
Salt
chopped ham
sauteed onion
cream of mushroom soup
mix up

In bottom of 9x13 pan add steamed broccoli. Put potato mixture on top of broccoli.

Add finely shredded cheese to the top. I might even mix it in next time.
350 degrees for about 40 minutes. Doesn't look too pretty but it tastes all right.

challenge

Use that shredder/slicer and make something NEW.

The other night for dinner we had turkey meatballs with finely shredded carrots and zucchini in them. After they cooked in the pan for a little I added fresh chopped tomatoes. Let that cook down and then added a little bit of water because I wanted to cook my pasta in the same pan. I didn't have time to boil water. I used angel hair pasta and it was done in 3 minutes. Cucumbers on the side. It was great. Love one pot wonders.

Experiment. Have fun. And let us know what you created.

(Then I'll know what to cook for next week.)

Can't have a post with out a picture.

making a header for your blog

How to make a header. Open your photoshop. ( I am using photoshop elements 5.0.) Go to File-New-blank file. When it opens you want to make your width:12 inches. Height:3.5 inches. Resolution 300 pixels/inch. Press ok.
Your width and height can be different if you wanted a square instead of a rectangle, but typically a header is long and skinny.

Once you have your blank header open, you can get to work adding pictures, scrapbooking embelishments, font, etc. You can go to different sites to download free digital scrapbooking kits. You may have to register to get them, but its free. Some sites are:
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/list/?f=c_336&c=24
http://peppermintcreative.com/index.php?main_page=downloads
http://scrapartist.com (freebies)
At the bottom of this post I'll explain how to download and extract/unzip the files so you can use them.

While you're designing your header and you notice that you want the header to be a different size. You can crop it just like you would a picture, to the size you want. Once you have finished designing your header click save as. Name it, Choose Format: JPEG(JPG:*JPEG:*JPE). If you do not click JPEG you will not be able to upload it to blogger.

Now in your blog you click Customize, then go to edit header. You check the box that says, "Instead of title and description" and also the box that says "Shrink to fit". You browse for the folder that has your header. Then click save.

If you notice that your border around your header is off center. Go to customize-Edit HTML. Scroll down until you find Header-wrapper
In that paragraph you'll find a line that reads:
border:1px solid $bordercolor;
Delete that line. Click preview and if you like what you see, click Save Template.
Enjoy your new header.
_____________________________________________

How to Download and unzip/extract files.

When you find a digital kit that you want, you click to download it, and press save. Remember to look where you are saving the file and what it is named.

Click open when finished. Find where it says Extract files or Unzip files. Click it and before you unzip it type unzip after the name, so when you go back to find it you know which one has been unzipped.

To get the files onto your potoshop, go to: Get photos from files and folders. (On my photoshop it is the icon to the right of the print icon.) Once you find the folder you saved it in, highlight all the files you want and click get photos. From there you can use them just like you would a picture. (By right clicking on the picture and clicking: Go to to Full Edit)

I hope all of this made sense.

this is funny

Check out this blog. Seriously funny. http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

Any ideas for a lunch after Taylor's baptism? I don't want chicken salad with purple grapes on croissants. (Don't get me wrong. I really like the chicken salad. And the purple grapes are my favorite part.) and no Costco cake. You know the one with the icing and little bit of cake. Oh. I could eat Amy's cake again. Maybe I could learn to decorate cakes before then.

AND a picture just for fun. HA! Makes me giggle every time.
Wouldn't you just love to be in his head right at that moment. Okay, maybe not. That's private.

We really have to get Amy a computer so she can blog with us. Doesn't someone have an extra computer hanging around so she can get the inteRnet?

New Spotlight Section

The "Spotlight" section of this blog is a new idea. Each couple months we will spotlight a certain item to focus on.(food, seasonal items, children's clothing, etc...) This section is here to help you when you want something to work on, but aren't sure what. Please check out the Summer Spotlight. We look forward to seeing what you come up with. 

monkey bread

2 containers of biscuits
1/2 cup sugar
cinnamon
1/2 cup butter

Cut biscuits into quarters. Combine cinnamon and sugar in a container. Put biscuit quarters in cinnamon sugar mixture and shake. (The kids like that part.) Grease an 8x8 pan. Put sugared biscuit pieces in the pan. In a saucepan melt butter and add remaining cinnamon sugar. Do not boil. Pour butter mixture over biscuit pieces. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Turn over onto plate.

Kowin's Coconut Chewies

Originally this was a cookie recipe. They are not your typical chocolate chip cookie. More like a nutritious snack or breakfast bar.(the texture resembles a Cliff Bar) So... you get to choose the time of day you enjoy this tasty treat. 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Makes: 3 dozen

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl add...

     1 cup Sugar

  1/2 cup Agave

3/4 cup Applesauce

   1 Egg

-MIX WELL-

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp Rumford Aluminum Free Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

 2 tsp. Vanilla

 -MIX WELL-

   1/4 cup Rice Milk

1 cup Oatmeal

2 1/2 cups Coconut

3/4 cup Slivered Almonds

-MIX WELL-

2 1/2 to 3 cups Spelt Flour

-MIX FINAL TIME-

Bake for 12 minutes. Optional Mix-Ins: add your choice of dried cranberries, blueberries, apricots, cherries, etc... You can omit the oatmeal and add more coconut if you'd like. Have fun playing with your food!

In this recipe I used organic sugar. Why organic sugar? Organic sugar is not treated with herbicides or synthetic fertilizers. There are no added chemicals, bleaching agents, or colorings. 

Yummy Soft Pretzels

Ok I did a cooking class with my boys and the neighbor girls the other day. We learned how to make soft preztels. Just like the kind that they sell at the mall. They were so yummy that we ate them all too quickly to even take pictures. But they were such a hit I will be making them again and will include the pictures then.

Buttery Soft Pretzels
By Christa Rose

Prep Time: 2 hrs
Cook Time: 10 min
Yield: 1 dozen

Ingredients
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups warm water(110 F)
4 -4 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I did 2 c whole wheat flour and then the rest white flour)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping

Directions
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 c sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one to two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7-8 minutes. (I did all of this in my Bosch) Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a wram place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 450 F. In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water. When risen, turn dough onto lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
Bake in preheated oven for 7-8 mintues, until browned.

Enjoy plain or dipped in cheese sauce or a raspberry cream cheese. The kids shapes were quite unique but they tasted amazing!!!

TaDa!

I am officially announcing the opening of Gab Giggle & Grow. A place for all the Goodnow Girls to put their great ideas and experiments. A place to share their creative genius with each other and anyone else who might be interested. To keep it short I look forward to learning some and teaching some. 

*Note: If you are interested in learning something specific please let us know. I'm sure among the 7 of us someone will have an answer.