Boys and the Kitchen

I am so thankful to have boys that can cook! And don't blink when they are called on to make dinner.


Last year I had a menu where each of my boys had a day or two a week to make dinner, but this year my schedule and menu was such that I didn't really get this started again, so I have been cooking a lot by myself.

On Saturday this last week, though, I was very busy with programming some schoolwork into the computer, so I called on My Three Sons. They were told they were responsible for dinner; they could choose what they wanted - it just had to be done.

It was great to look into the kitchen and see them working as a team.



The dinner is one that is very easy to do and is so delicious that Dane had two huge platefuls, and admitted later that he felt ill because he ate so much. Ha. Serves him right. *grin*

This is a *Quick and Easy* recipe!

Spanish Rice

3 lb ground beef (or I use St. Ives ground round)
1 chopped onion
1/2 green pepper, chopped

2 cans beef broth
1 can water
1400 mls tomato sauce (I use two 680 ml cans)
2.5 cups water

2 Tbsp chili water
1 tsp garlic powder
2.5 cups uncooked regular white rice

1) Brown ground beef, onion, and green pepper til done.

2) Stir in rest of the ingredients. Bring to a slight boil while stirring constantly, and then reduce heat. Simmer for a while.

3) Stir in rice. Let cook for about 30 minutes on low. Cook longer if necessary.

SERVING: We serve it with shredded mozzarella cheese sprinkled on it, and a dollop of sour cream. Veggies or salad on the side. DELICIOUS. Can't make enough as it gets consumed fast!
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How Big Is Your Spaghetti Pot?

When I make spaghetti, I make spaghetti! I remember having a friend many years ago who would make spaghetti for each time she had it. I told her how my mother always made it by the batch. My friend figured it took her only a few minutes to make the recipe, so there was no need to do more than one batch at a time.

I am sharing this information with you because I want you to know that *anytime* you can make a batch of anything for the freezer you are saving yourself so much time. Think about it.

When you are going to make a dinner of spaghetti sauce you are going to get out the ingredients - 5 minutes, brown the meat and onions - 10 minutes, open the cans - 5 minutes, compile the ingredients and add the spices - 10 minutes, clean up your mess - 10 minutes. Total: 40 minutes.

When I make a batch up spaghetti and that includes one for that evening, plus three or four for the freezer it takes me: about 60 minutes to do it all. I simply brown more ground beef and open more cans. But I still have to only compile the recipe and clean the kitchen one time.

When my family was smaller I would make the same size batch as I do now, but at that time it stretched further, so I could easily put 8-10 batches of sauce in the freezer!! Do the math - that would save me 10 recipes x 40 minutes= 400 minutes. Instead I would spend 60 minutes.

Now that might not sound that astounding, but imagine if you have other recipes that could be put in the freezer? What about Sloppy Joe sauce? Or Chicken and Sauce recipes? When I had more small children and less older helpers I used to live on my freezer sauces and recipes. Now that I have older children to help with the cooking I can rely on less freezer and more fresh. So if you are a mum who has limited time, but you don't want to do a lot of freezer meals, you could simply do the spaghetti sauce, because that is a really easy to one to put away!

And think what you could do with the time you are not cooking? Relax, go for a walk, read to your children, blog, read a book, work on a craft. All in one hour a day!

Preparing the Sauce

A Full Batch of Sauce

Freezer Batch Spaghetti Sauce

6lb ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced

2 - 10 oz cans mushrooms
2 - 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
2 large pasta sauce cans (Heinz 2.84 litres each)
1 can 680 mls pasta sauce
2-3 cups water (enough to wash out pasta cans)
2 Tbsp oregano
2 Tbsp basil
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup sugar

1) Brown ground beef and onions. Pour into a huge cooking pan. (at least 12" tall)

2) In a couple tablespoons of olive oil, lighty saute the green and red peppers, celery, and garlic.

3) Add the green and red peppers, celery, and garlic to the browned ground beef.

4) Add the mushrooms, diced tomatoes, pasta sauce, water, spices, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar. Mix well.

5) Bring to a high heat - do NOT burn - then turn down to very low and let simmer quietly for a few hours. Stir occasionally. Cool and then freeze in family size portions.

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Cajun Meatball Soup

This is the most delicious recipe! None of my recipes end up exactly the same, so even if I write this out you will find that your version is slightly different from mine. But it should still taste delicious! Even my most picky child who won't eat *anything* ate three bowls of the soup! Probably because it doesn't have celery, mushrooms, or onions!

The following recipe is so easy that even a child can make it. And does at my house!

The first thing I should mention is that when I know I am making soup, I always drain my vegetables and potatoes that I am cooking for dinner into my large soup pot. This way I have a vegetable stock for the soup. So without even trying I have saved all the nutrients and have about 5 litres of base!

Smoky Meatballs

2 large eggs, fork beaten
1/2 cup water
2 cups dry bread crumbs
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
liquid smoke (optional - and I don't use it)
3lb ground beef

I like to double the sauce, so I end up with more sauce for my soup recipe

1 1/2 cups chili sauce (3 cups)
1 cup white sugar (2 cups)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (4 tsp)

1) Combine the first nine ingredients. Mix well. Shape into meatballs.

2) Brown in a frying pan. Put into an oven dish or crockpot.

3) Combine the last three ingredients. Pour over the meatballs.

4) Cook in the oven for about 1 hour or the crockpot on high for a few hours.

This is a delicious recipe, feeds 10 people, including 4 adult eaters. A tad spicy.

After dinner is when I begin to compile the soup recipe from the leftovers. The kitchen is already a mess and it will only take a few minutes to begin, and the balance can be done in the morning. But this way I have a headstart.

Cajun Meatball Soup


leftover mashed potato (I had about 4 cups)
leftover meatballs and sauce (I had about 8 meatballs)
6-8 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
6 large bakers potatoes
1 tall can creamed corn
2 cups black beans
2 cups Texan bean mix
1/4 - 1/2 cup dry barley

Making Dried Beans For the Freezer
I always cook up lots of beans and keep them in 2 cup servings in ziplocs in the freezer. This is simple to do. I put on a large pan of water and put in about 4-6 cups dry beans. Whatever kind I want. I bring the water to a boil, and then I turn it down and let it cook on a medium heat for about 3-5 hours. I then rinse the beans and then bag them into servings for the freezer. This is fast, efficient, and way cheaper than buying cans!


Okay, so with this recipe I make either rice or potato. I usually save the leftover rice and use it in a soup the next day. This last time I did it I made mashed potato and I did something different than I usually do. I used the mashed potato in the soup.

I always make enough of the meat dish to have some leftover sauce and meatballs. You can even do this recipe if there are only two meatballs. Where there is a will and a budget - there is a way!

I took my second largest pan (6 inches high x 11 inches across) and I dumped the remains of the sauce and meatballs into it. (I already had the cooking water from the vegetables and potato that I cooked for dinner in the pot.)

I broke up the meatballs with a fork. I then decided to try putting the leftover mashed potato into the pan. It seemed a shame to toss that much leftover food away, but I had not used mashed potato in soup before. I put it in and then mushed it around and decided it looked quite gross. But I was willing to give it a shot!

I then selected the carrots and large bakers potatoes. I peeled them both and then sliced the carrots and diced the potatoes. I tossed them into the mixture. I poured in the can of creamed corn. This makes a nice thickener, tastes good, and is nutrious. I added the bags of beans and the dry barley.

I then put it in the fridge and left it til morning. The following day I turned on the stove, brought the soup to nearly a boil, and then turned it down to about 3 and let it cook for a number of hours. I did not need to add any more seasoning because the sauce from the meatballs added a nice flavour.

Well, I have to tell you!! When I served it up for the kids for lunch today I had a taste. Boy, was I impressed!! I had forgotten I had put mashed potato in and I was wondering why the soup looked so thick and hearty! It was delicious!! I have found the secret ingredient. So in future, always make too much mashed potato if you intend to make a soup from your left over chicken or meatballs!

This pot of soup will last us two or three days, but as it dwindles I will often add things to it to stretch it. Perhaps a couple cans of regular tomato soup or some more beans or another can of creamed corn. This way I will get another day or two out of it. You know, in the old days they would have a vat of hot soup on the back of the stove and it just kept on going. Each day bits were added to it and it always tasted different, but it was always hot and yummy! Time to get back to my soup making lunches!

And then God's provision. We have my dear friend, Rusty, who blesses us with as much bread as we would like. Do you think I would be making these beautiful loaves of bread? I would love to say yes, but sadly it is no. I don't have the desire nor patience to make such pretty bread. But it sure tastes delicious with the soup!


Nothing like a good book with your bowl of soup!


Cassidy puts up with the camera because he wants to have his photo in his blog book, *not* the Blog World! :o)

Austin loves to be on camera and knows he is heading for Blog Fame.
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Spuds

I have a great husband. He doesn’t complain about what he is served for dinner. Usually it is a good meal and often it is different. But once in a while it is not very interesting and is not very different.

That once in a while was lately when I realized we had a new menu and it didn’t include much in the way of potatoes. I had a 50 lb box of potatoes, and I really didn’t want it to go to waste.

There began the Week of Potatoes!

It began with baked potatoes and ended with chicken and potato soup. My husband was very patient through it. You would never know from this posed picture, but he is just a good actor! *grin*


My motto – Waste Not, Want Not! Well, as it turns out, a bunch of potatoes did get wasted, but in the meanwhile we had lots of potato dishes that week!

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A Good Breakfast - A Healthy Start

I am a person that loves to learn from others. If they can enlighten me I want to learn. Of course, it is as long as I see the results in their life that I want. A friend came to visit me recently and she pulled out her breakfast making ingredients. Granola, yoghurt, sliced almonds, bananas, blueberries, wheat germ. You name it. Healthy stuff!

My breakfast is not bad, but certainly not that healthy. But I do enjoy my evening snack:

(Note: since I have written this blog I have given up my evening snack, and am well on my way to healthy living again!)

So I realized it was time to make a change. If I wasn’t yet ready to throw out my evening crutch, then at least I could start the day right:

I am enjoying it. And my kids are having it now once or twice a week. They, of course, love it! It is a break from the monotony of oatmeal and toast. *smile* And speaking of monotony of breakfasts. Lately, I have been trying to get back on the “Interesting Breakfast” bandwagon. So, now the new menu includes:

Smoothies and Muffins

Toasted Egg Sandwiches

Granola, Yoghurt, Fruit

Pancakes

Oatmeal

Toast and Jam

Let’s see how long it lasts! The kids are certainly enjoying the variety!

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Dock Jumping and More

I figure you need to camp in one place for at least a week to get the lay of the land, work out boundaries, find rhythm and routines, and then just enjoy everything each day has to offer.

If we were only camping for a few days then we would have to do everything in those couple days: hot chocolate, smores, hotdogs, hamburgers, chips, freezies, ice cream, watermelon - there just wouldn't be enough time to eat in a day! I am very thankful to have enough days to spread out the treats and the children feel that each day is a day full of treats they wouldn't ordinarily get, plus there are so many activities to do: water fights, playground, exploring the surrounding areas in the boats, picnics at seas (haven't done that yet!) and more!

Since I was busy doing this and that the first couple of days, I had not yet had a chance to try out the kayak. Boy, am I glad we bought that boat! It is wonderful. We can put one child on the front as a figurehead - Queen Mesai, another in front of the front paddling person, one on the middle storage box, another paddler in the back, with a small child in front of them, and then one last middle sized boy on the back as a scout looking backwards. The boat carries 475 lb and we were just under that. The boat didn't even show any signs of feeling the weight. Not only that, the boys (when alone!) can rock that boat so hard and it won't tip over! It is the best buy! For all those that are interested in buying one for themselves, *grin* we got it at Costco for $449.

So, today I took some boys for a ride, and then it wasn't long after that that all of us got on board the kayak and the dingy and headed off down the lake for a pleasant sightseeing row. It is amazing how relaxing it is here! I just wish it were free and I would just set up camp for the summer!


You know, I was working out the cost the other night. For our family to go to a local town for a one night getaway, it costs us $450. That is one night in a hotel - 2 rooms, plus $150 for food and treats for the day, plus $50 for cheaper entertainment. Now, for us to come here it is $40 for the night, plus about $40 a day (max) for fun eating. That is $80 a day; $560 a week! What a difference!! And that is why our family does not take holidays. Well, no more!

A problem our children have had is not being very comfortable around water. We have not had the luxury of a swimming pool or lessons in our town, so the only time they have had a chance to advance in their water comfort has been at hotels on road trips! It is *amazing* how far a child will go forward in a single one-on-one swimming lesson in a hotel pool.

So since we are now going to be hanging out at lakes for a great deal of the summer, I felt it was necessary for our children to get into the water. Not just look at it, or just put their toes into it. No - plain old jump into it and be good about it. Why? So that I don't have a child fall off a boat and drown through fear of being immersed in the water.

Two years ago, I had sweet Cooper nearly drown. It was the most horrific moment. I was sitting at the beach - at the edge, with feet in the water - my customary spot, and I was talking to my children. All of them. There had been a dispute over a ball, and I had my attention on the kids for about 60 seconds, while I was sorting it out.

As the kids wandered off, I looked across the water and directly in my line of vision I could see Cooper's hair floating on the top of the water. There was no body in sight; just his hair. As I discovered, his body was straight upright for some strange reason. I raced as fast as I could into the water - it was like God gave me wings. I reached him and grabbed hold of his swimshirt and hauled him up. It all happened so fast that I don't even remember my feeling. I am sure it was shock. Praise God that he had not ingested water and he simply coughed and held onto me.

When he was sitting with me at the beach, I was able to find out from him what had happened. I asked him what he was doing when he was in the water. You see, he was not thrashing or moving. I could not see his body because he was simply floating above a drop-off where he had stepped into. I have heard that drownings are often silent. There is truth to this. Just writing this brings back such scary vivid memories!

His response? "I was waiting for you." Oh my gosh! My little guy steps off into nothing and he said he tried to get back but he couldn't find the ground, so he just waited for mummy to come and get him! Praise God that I saw him in time. My precious little boy!! It still stuns me to think what must go through a child's mind, when in that type of situation. I am so thankful that I *was* able to be there to show him that Mummy would take care of him.

And so that is why my children *must* be comfortable around water.

Today they began with jumping off the dock. It was not easy. The four little ones had to do it. I started them shallow - a couple feet deep and we worked up from that.

Walking on Water Cooper

They are all at different levels now, with Cooper being able to jump off, submerge, and swim into shore on his tummy using a dog paddle. Of course, they all do it with life jackets on.



Savannah took time before she was willing to do it, but now she is getting better.

Flying High Savannah

En Pointe Dane

Dane and Cass were sent out to the deeper part to show me their skills. Here it seems that Dane has take up 'en pointe' ballet, instead of deep water jumping, and Cassidy is getting ready to take the plunge.

Showman Austin

Another great lunch was had. This time it was Frito Pies. Strange name, but that is what I was given. Very delicious and easy to make. Another great Rambling Road Trip meal!

Fritos Pies chili (homemade recipe below, or canned chili) corn chips sour cream cheddar cheese, shredded tomatoes, sliced lettuce, shredded 1) Make your chili. 2) Put some cornchips in the bottom of a bowl. 3) Put a ladleful (or more) of chili on top. 4) Add the toppings over this.

Serve and enjoy!

Sharla's Famous Chili (slight variation)

1 pack of Mexican Ground Round or lean ground beef

1 chopped onion

1 - 28 oz tin diced tomatoes

2 cans Heinz chili style beans

1 can tomato paste

1 can tomato soup

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

2 Tbsp honey

1) Fry up the onion and the meat or meat substitute til onion is soft.

2) Mix the beans, tomatoes, paste, soup, and spices in a bowl.

3) Add the mixture to the meat and blend well. Bring to a higher temp and then turn down to simmer for a while.

4) Mix in honey before serving.

All Worn Out Briton

After a full day of swimming, water fights, and boating it was time for food again. Today was hot dogs. We came back to find that Dane and Cassidy had built us a nice fire and had the hotdogs ready to go.


Savannah was so tired from her day of swimming that she only ate one hotdog before wobbling off to bed.

A Savannah-Made Mustardy Hotdog

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This is the Life!

Today was a beautiful day! We woke up bright and early. Actually, those teen hoodlums woke up at 4:00 am - that is how sunny it was. So by 5:00 am they were out of the tent and out boating til they were called for breakfast at 7:30.

Given our tribe of children live on oatmeal or toast 7 days a week, they were very happy to be greeted by bacon and eggs this morning!


They don't know it but they will only have oatmeal once this week *smile*. Every other day I have something different planned.

The nice thing about not being at home is I don't feel compelled to spring/summer clean closets, plan school curriculum or clean the floor *again*! Here I can bead Raine's hair, so that she doesn't have to sit out in the hot sun with a cap of curls! We sat outside and beaded her hair, while enjoying the hot sun rays. At first it was hard for her to decide if she wanted her hair beaded - something she loves - because she was deliberating if she wanted to give up her playtime to sit for two hours. When I told her it would mean no hair combing for a week, which means no tangles, she jumped at the sitting time.

The boys spent the day in the water.


Cooper is getting very good at working the little dingy by himself, and the older boys spent their day in the kayak. At one point, as I was going for a walk, I saw the older boys in the kayak. They looked innocent enough...

Until a few moments later, when they got closer to the little boys. They were not friendly boys; they were fully armed pirates! They came fully loaded with two water guns and plenty of ammo *smile* each!


The little boys had no hope of getting away. Austin took it like a man, but Cooper got a little upset at the rocking of the boat and asked the captain of his boat to hurry him to shore, as he was getting seasick!



By the end of the day, they realized how much sun one can get by being out on the water! Ooops!! Dane was not pleased and Cassidy was in minor pain. Now we know that legs need to be coated with sunscreen as well as the arms, back and face!

At lunchtime, I had Dane run inside and make us some jam buns - a simple lunch, since most of the meals will be gourmet camping. He pretended the door was a takeout window and the kids quickly obliged him by getting in on the act.


Raine adores Briton. He reminds her of Yoseph, her little brother, in Ethiopia. He is cute and busy and mischievious. Here is a picture I took when I asked Raine what Briton was doing with her pudding. She told me that he was stirring it up for her. I can guarantee that none of my boys or Savannah would have put up with Briton 'helping' them like that! *smile*

And here was the end result when I walked back by them about 15 minutes later. She was giving him just 'baby bit', as he calls a 'little bit'. I don't know if I have met a sweeter child. I love my boys to bits, and they are sweet and charming and loving, but Raine has a blessing in her that causes her to be so incredibly kind and goodhearted. We are very thankful she is part of our family!


Briton has really enjoyed the bonus toys and ride on cars that are at this site.


And to make it even better, we are the first and only people at the site right now! I think we will end up making this a June tradition. While other poor children are still chained to school desks, we have the privilege of coming out camping and learning all about culinary arts on a campstove, fishing, water survival, boating skills, and outdoors activities. That is the bonus of homeschooling - our children can finish their curriculum as quickly or slowly as they see fit! One boy had completed his year in April and was very happy to burn the outer skins of his workbooks! *smile*

But of course, the learning and reading continues. In my house children read. On our holiday everyone was required to bring a book or three. As it turned out we had to send an SOS to Daddy to bring more books, as some children have read half a book in their afternoon quiet reading time.

Speaking of that time, that is when I get my blogging in. The boys all curl up with a book and the four little ones snuggle up in their beds for a nap. The schedules are all out the window. The girls are up til the boys fall asleep, and then we older ones are up for another couple hours. The children are learning to fall asleep to the sounds of people a few feet away. It certainly is a different way of life! But I *love* it!


When I was a teenager I began travelling with a backpack. I headed to Savary Island, then Hawaii, then onto Banff for six months, and then to travel all over Europe, back to Banff, and then finally down to Mexico and California. I had full intentions on continuing travelling, but I met my husband *smile*.

My travel bug quieted down after Ray and I did a couple trips. Our honeymoon was to Fiji. One trip was to Europe with a seven month old baby boy, Colt. Speaking of that - he cut his first tooth in Paris. *smile* And then we took both Colt and Dane to Mexico and California on a cruise. We intended to continue travelling, but our budgeting was not yet in a good place, and so the money wasn't there. The travelling died out, and my passion for it settled quietly down.

It wasn't until a few years ago, that I took my first Rambling Road Trip that I realized that the desire for adventure and travel had not disappeared, it had simply put itself on a shelf until such a time that it was appropriate to reemerge. That three week trip to California and surround states began the yearly trips. The next was our trip around Western Canada and this was followed by a trip to Ethiopia.

Now this year, things have gotten very tight due to the Recession, so the trip I will be taking will be to see adoptive families in the Western Provinces. I will have to keep it very tight, as money is like that right now, but it will still be an adventure!

But something has caught my ear. A fellow MOMYS - Mother of Many Young Siblings (have to have four within eight years to qualify, and I have done that three times! *grin*) told of a wonderful camping trip they took for a year in Europe and North Africa. Well, anyone that knows *me*, knows that is *right* up my alley. Now Ray is another story. So I shall continue my research and my thinking and leave it up to God. If we are meant to go then the doors will open.

In the meantime, one of the first things I needed to do was to perfect some simple 'on the road, out of a backpack, type meals'. So we began with Dane on the second night. He was to make Barbeque Kielbasa. This is a *delicious* dish, that is so fast and simple. It is done in one pan, and then the noodles are cooked in another.

Protecting Himself From the Heat

Here is the recipe, for those that want to compile some simple camping/travelling recipes:

Barbeque Kielbasa

1 medium onion, chopped
olive oil
10 italian sausages (I use this instead of real kielbasa, as that is what I had)

2 cups ketchup
1 packed cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (and for those that don't know how to pronounce it: Wuss ter sheer - I come from that area in England)

Hot cooked rice or pasta

1) Cut up the sausage into tiny pieces.

2) Put the onion, olive oil, and sausages into the pan. Saute/cook until the onions are soft adn the sausages are browned.

3) Add the ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a slight boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for a few minutes.

4) While doing the above, have the water on for the noodles and cook them up.

NOTE: This recipe is enough for me to feed 10 people. I use about 1 kg (2 lb) of fusilli noodles, but any will do. This is a great way to stretch sausages far!

To see just how far they actually stretch, let me tell you what happened. Dane had cooked the dinner and was bringing the kielbasa to the house. He had just entered the door when the pan slipped and we lost 3/4 of the dinner! ACK!!

Thankfully, I still had all the noodles, so I opened a can of Hunt's Thick and Rich and poured a can of that into a pan with half of the noodles. I then added the remaining Kielbasa to the other half of the noodles and there was dinner. I found the Kielbasa sauce stetches so nicely over the noodles, that even if you only get a few pieces of the sausage (as was the case when we lost so much), the delicious thick sauce coats everything and makes it yummy by itself.

Back to our day:

The kids spent the rest of the day boating, playing sports games on the large lawn, eating, and reading their books. It was a very full and fun day!


Before Raine was allowed in the boat with Cooper, she had to show that she wasn't afraid of the water. So she walked in as far as she felt comfortable, but it was rather rough, so that was as far as she went.

Click on the picture to see Cooper's determination to get the boat off the beach. I think his tongue might be helping him!

Queen Mesai

We discovered her name Raine means Queen in French, and since Ray's family is French, it seems appropriate!

Unfortunately for Raine, she nearly had a mishap. She almost fell out of the boat, as she leaned towards the dock to push them off (a little later). It frightened her and when I told her she had her first adventure, she said, "I had NOT adventure." *grin* She did not want to claim it. She is a little tease!

First Watermelon - Yummy!

They have also been having lots of fun with the water guns. I think Briton had more fun shooting that being shot at. He had to sit on the trailer steps a few times for shrieking when squirted too close to his face.



I think filling the buckets from the lake and pouring it into little containers had more appeal for the little ones.


At the end of the day, Ray showed up with Colt. They had worked that day and had gone home to bring a few forgotten items. I have no clue how people tent!!! I love the convenience of the trailer!

After dinner, some more boating, and a movie for the bigs ones, everyone hit the sack and slept hard. This time two of the older boys chose to sleep in the house. One took the couch and one the floor. In the morning, they claimed it was much better than the tent!

And Daddy went back to work for another day... (with another list of things we forgot: games for the evenings, more blankets, more bugspray, and more books for the boys)
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