gathering.

we stayed home this holiday...no cooking and no traveling. we attended and helped serve at our church's yearly thanksgiving banquet. there was plenty of food and fellowship. we phoned loved ones, did lots of art, made banana bread with pecans which charlie gathered from the yard, and spent time together as a family. i hope y'all had Happy Thanksgiving too!

latke

potato pancakes are the best-est!

we made potato pancakes today and topped them with a mixture that consisted of cream cheese, sour cream, dry ranch dressing mix, and milk...all mixed up to make a creamy dressing. oh so good!

southern comfort.

today i made homemade squash casserole. it came out super yummy!
i found this recipe but substituted saltines for the butter crackers. can't wait to make this again!

the monsters and the rainbow.

monsters attack the rainbow.

by charles ranon loriot, age 4.
watercolor on paper.

special people.

Special People

Artists are special people. He or she makes lovely pieces of art. Artists can draw or paint, sew, or craft. Some artists write music or poetry. Here are some examples of famous art, the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da vinci, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky. Artists help make the world more beautiful. When I grow up I want to be an artist.

The End.

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this is a story my 8 yr. old daughter wrote for class today. she wants to be an artist when she grows up. yay!

smitten kitchen.

have you been? looks super yummy...gonna try some new recipes!
http://www.smittenkitchen.com/

i'm dying to try red kidney bean curry. it sounds so good!http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/02/red-kidney-bean-curry/

kind-a-pizza.

cheesy pizza rice (6-8 servings)
.......................................

4 cups cooked rice
2 cups shredded cheese (mozzarella, colby-jack blend)
3 cups or so of italian style meat sauce (i make my own with tomato sauce, spices, sugar, ground sirloin, garlic, carrots, and onions)

pour 1/2 - 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 inch casserole pan. layer rice. layer cheese, reserve 1/2 cup of the cheese. pour on remaining sauce. sprinkle reserved cheese over the top. bake at 375* until cheese is melted, 15-20 minutes. Yumm-o!

another budget friendly meal...infact, it's what we're having for dinner tonight!

souper food.

we have a very tight budget for food thanks to cutbacks in my husband's work hours. beans are one way i shaved the food bill this month. i made some really yummy soup with navy beans. we had it for supper lastnight and will be having it again tonight with biscuits and jam. thought i'd share incase your eating lots of beans this month too and needed a new recipe!


vegetable soup with navy beans (6-8 servings)
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1lb bag of dry navy beans

rinse and soak beans overnight then cook till tender but still firm. drain cook water and set aside in large bowl.

6 carrots
4 ribs of celery
1 large onion

mince onion, chop vegetables, and set aside.

1 gallon of water
2/3 cup tonne's chicken base
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 1/2 tsp cumin (may want more or less. i don't measure )

mix vegetables, onion, water, chicken base, and spices in a crockpot. cook on low 4-6 hours until carrots are tender. add beans. salt and pepper to taste. cook an additional hour or so to heat beans and blend flavors. chicken base may clump and need to be swished around.

we really enjoyed this and hope y'all will too!

study in wc.

tonight was art night. chad set up a shoe still life for the kids to draw. i broke out the watercolors and sketched with paint and water. the kids picked some of the hydrangeas under the kitchen window earlier. i brought them down off the window sill and painted from life. i didn't manage to finish but i am happy with the study. i snapped a picture and will probably revisit it again. the kids had fun sketching chad's dress shoe but everyone was a bit tuckered tonight. here are the fruits of our labor. my watercolor study, the angle i sat at is looking down onto flowers more...

mr. dress shoe

charlie's shoe.

charlie is 4 and chose the graphite stick to draw with.

he says the rubbing is the shoe going 'thru the scanner'.

cosette's shoe complete with faeries and flowers.

this is kendall's shoe.
chad is trying to teach her to draw what she sees and not a shoe.

chad's sketch.

chad's shoe was used mainly to point things out to kendall. he and kendall both were very sleepy tonight. concentration came hard.

6 a.m.

when i engage myself in a great deal of artistic pursuits over a sustained duration, i find myself in 'the zone'. i am unaware of natural bodily appetites...the need for food, sleep, awareness of my surroundings...this can be a difficult thing for a stay at home mommy. last night i wrapped up my sale on etsy and got very busy getting orders completed...printing, sizing, cutting, mounting, packaging... so much so, that i never went to bed! my kids will be waking up and i am just winding down. this should make for a long, long day.

frugal eats.

redbeans and rice, spanish style...yum!

redbeans 'n rice (serves 4)

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1/2 lb of dry small red kidney beans, soaked and cooked firm

12 oz can of tomatoe paste

1-2 tblsp oil (canola)

4 oz can mild green chilies

1/2 large red onion, minced

1/4 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp chili powder

1 tblsp sugar

2 cups of water, more or less

add all ingredients to a crockpot. cook on low till onion and beans are tender but not mushy, approx. 4 hours. serve with rice. i use brown rice. so good and nutritious!