Little teaser

I have been majorly slow updating my blog with pics of out new little nest... They are coming! Here is a preview

The yummiest granola you will ever eat!

With fall just around the corner, I'm starting to get into baking mode! I LOVE me some homemade granola, and I think this is the tastiest I've ever tried! The original recipe case for twice the sugar, honey, oil, etc. And I have found that it really doesnt need all of it! So here is the recipe I have come up with:
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 to 1 cup.chopped nuts ( I love pecans and almonds)
1/4 cup golden flax seed ( optional but is super healthy and I think its yummy)
6 to 7 heaping cups of oats
Combine everything in a bowl and divide evenly onto two baking sheets. Bake at 300 degrees for about 25 minutes, stirring every ten minutes, until golden brown. Keep stirring after its come.out of the oven as it cools so that it doesn't harden into one big clump.
This is so yummy we eat it as dessert!

Job Charts

My sister in law created these darling job charts to help her and her kids stay organized during the summer. I know this post is late, as summer is ending and school is starting, but I think they could be adapted to help organize and fit the busy schedules of the back to school season.

She laminated everything and the top row is jobs that are the same every day. For jobs that change each day, she made separate tags, so she could switch them for different kids/different days, etc. She used command strips and small hooks to hang them.

She set the timer each morning and if the kids got all their jobs done by noon, they would get a star. Once they filled three rows with stars, they got a date with mom or dad.

I love this idea, and I especially love that the reward is not a toy or a surprise, but some quality one on one time with mom or dad. The kids looked SO forward to their dates!

We made it!

Whew. We made it. Our third move in about 14 months. I cannot believe it! We are busy busy busy around here getting unpacked, organized, and making this place feel like home. I will post pictures when everything is done. We are happy to be close to family again! In the meantime, I will share a few things I've been doing with my mom this week: canning salsa, making jam, and freezing meat. Super duper exciting!

Homemade salsa

Lots of cooking going on in this kitchen... I have way too much to do to get organized from the move, but there is so much great produce right now, and it can't be wasted! So my mom and I spent a day making homemade salsa. (I will post the recipe soon)

Another thing I love to do with garden tomatoes is blanch them, peel them, and freeze them in quart size ziplocs. Then in the winter you can pull them out to add to stews, chili, etc. and it is like eating them straight from the garden! SO much better than canned.

Strawberry season

It's strawberry season!! Hooray! Our local grocery store is having an AMAZING deal on strawberries, so my mom and I snatched some up and made freezer jam. I have always been scared to make jam, until I realized how ridiculously easy freezer jam is. And to make things even easier, we found instant pectin. Have you ever used it? All you do is puree the fruit, and in a separate bowl, combine the sugar and pectin (dry) then stir in the fruit until well mixed. Are you kidding? It took like ten minutes. For real. I can never buy store jam again.

We froze some extra strawberries to add to green smoothies. Delish!

Cookin up meat

I don't know about you, but I really dislike cooking meat, so I like to get it done all at once. So I buy ground hamburger or turkey in bulk, and I have a meat cooking day. I brown it with onions and bag it in individual cup portions. I also cook some with taco seasoning (for tacos, taco soup, taco salads, etc.) So today was meat cooking day...



Anyone else do this?