What's Cookin', Jon? Snow Cream!

Hi, everybody, and welcome to Jonathan's new video project! Jonathan has many interests, but two of his favorites are cooking and, um, hamming it up for anyone who will pay attention. He and Joshua have both become interested in taking and editing video since they got video cameras for Christmas, so we've downloaded a simple video editing program for them to play with. Here is the first installment of Jon's new blog series, "What's Cookin', Jon?"

(Yes, we're aware that there is no actual cooking in this recipe...we wanted to start simple!)




He wants to make this a weekly contribution to our blog. Please leave him a comment and let him know if you enjoyed it. I know he'll be asking!

Snow Cream
2 c. milk
1 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 gallon or so fresh snow

Mix milk, sugar, and vanilla together. Stir into snow. Spoon into bowls and enjoy!!

A Little of This, a Little of That...

Proof That They’re Learning SOMETHING…
Thursday afternoon Joshua was trying repeatedly to get Jordan in trouble for eating some candy without permission. I was preoccupied with birthday party preparations and obviously wasn’t responding the way he expected. When I finally “got it” I told him to go to his room—you tattle in this family just to get someone else in trouble and YOU get the punishment. He stormed off in a huff and shouted “I wasn’t tattling! On WHOM did I tattle?!” Looks like we still have quite a bit of work to do on the attitude. But it is encouraging to see that the grammar lessons are finally sticking!




Another Work in Progress…
I finally started cutting a new quilt. I’ve had the fabric for a few months now, but couldn’t decide exactly how I wanted to proceed. While my first quilt followed an online tutorial step-by-step, this one I’m making up myself. The reason? I’m trying to work in pictorial squares that are an odd size. Time will tell if I regret this decision or not. It’s certainly a lot more complicated than I had hoped, and I’m thinking I’ll go back to following a pattern for my next quilt. Oh, I was originally planning to use this fabric for Josiah’s quilt, but Jordan has claimed it for his own! Josiah could care less, so I’ll find him something else.




A Few of My Favorite Things…
This is admittedly late since the weather will hopefully be warming soon, but during the cold winter months I love to sit and relax (okay, I’ll settle for just sitting) with a nice hot drink. I keep three easy mixes on hand—hot cocoa, chai tea, and swiss mocha coffee. Yes, it would be even easier to just buy them at the store, but they’re so much cheaper to make at home, and when I run out, I don’t have to go anywhere to get more. (I'm lazy that way.) I whirl them around in the blender to make them a nice, uniform powder, although that isn’t necessary. Placed in a pretty jar they’d make lovely gifts, too.


Boys Will Be Boys…
…And Joey is a real stinker, in more ways than one! I’m in desperate need of potty training help with my most stubborn (and super smart!) child…we’ve got #1 down pat, but he absolutely refuses to make any progress on #2, despite both lavish bribery and dire threats. I know, I know, no one ever goes off to college in pull-ups, but I’d like to stop buying them well before we start paying tuition! If anyone has any brilliant ideas to motivate this kid, I’d love to hear them. I’m getting desperate!

Mmmmm! Homemade Frosties!!

The boys and I were in the mood for a treat today, so I decided to try out a recipe from the Hillbilly Housewife website for a chocolate milkshake. Just as she claims on her site, it tastes just like a Wendy's Frosty!! Yumm-o! I just had to share!

By the way, that site has a great section on instant drink mixes that I love. I make the hot chocolate mix and the chai tea mix regularly. They're yummy, easy, and so much less expensive than buying the packets at the store!

Kids Say the Funniest Things...

Tonight after dinner I really wanted something chocolate. Okay, if I'm honest just about all the time I want something chocolate, but tonight I decided to actually make something chocolate. Usually I would just beg Jeremy to go get me something, but since we finally got a TV stand and bookshelf that we've been needing delivered today, and they needed to be assembled, I decided that I'd better let him do that instead. :) So, I pulled out a recipe for a great, super quick and easy standby that I actually haven't made in quite a while: no-bake chocolate cookies. These are yummy, and if you're a really creative thinker you can convince yourself that the 2 cups of sugar and stick of butter don't really count against you, because hey! they also contain whole grain!!! I realize I'm getting way off topic here (check the title to see what I'm supposed to be blogging about) but I'm thinking someone out there probably wants this recipe:

No-bake Chocolate Cookies (with Whole Grain!! *grin*)

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp. cocoa
1 stick butter

2 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter

Mix 1st 4 ingredients & bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add oatmeal, peanut butter, and vanilla. Mix well, then drop on foil and let cool.

Really, I let them cool just enough to not burn my tongue (too badly) when eating them. I also scoop out a little before adding the PB so my Jonathan, who is allergic, can have some, too. The kiddos loooove these.

So, back to the title. After serving the boys, I went back into the kitchen to clean up. Joshua, my 9-year-old, came in a few minutes later and we had this conversation:

Joshua: "Mommy, I love those cookies. They are my favorite!"

Me: "I'm glad you liked them. I guess I should make them more often."

Joshua: "When I grow up, will you give me the recipe?"

Awww, I'm thinking, he wants to make my cookies! I'll give him the recipe NOW! We'll make them together some time! How sweet!

Then he adds...

"I want to give it to my wife so she can make them for me, too!"

Gotta love it!! (I think!) :)

Just Another Busy Day at Home!

Today was a pretty uneventful, though fruitful day at home. The older boys and I worked hard on our schoolwork today, since we want to finish most of this week's worth of work before Peepah arrives for his visit Wednesday night. I'm finished with the older four boys' clothing, but I'm trying to weed out all the baby clothes to garner myself more closet space. I have a weakness for cute baby clothes, and tend to keep waaaaaay more than I need or than the current baby can actually wear in each size. This afternoon I was humbled as this mommy who at least used to have a photographic memory got thoroughly whooped up on by 4-year-old Jordan in a game of Memory (which he calls "remembory cards" lol), then he proceeded to beat Joseph and me in a game of Sorry with an amazing come-from-behind last minute charge!

Dinner tonight was Tortilla Soup, from a recipe I got several years ago from my Grandma. It's one of my favorite soups, and I like to make homemade soups once the weather starts cooling off. I thought I'd share the recipe, in case anyone's interested.

Tortilla Soup

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and chopped (I usually omit this for the children)
2 cloves minced garlic
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in strips
1 large can (28 oz.) tomatoes (I use diced tomatoes)
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes
3 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 can tomato soup, undiluted
1 tsp. cumin (I usually double this)
1 tsp. chili powder (I double this as well)
1 tsp. Tabasco
salt to taste

Cook chicken, onion, and garlic in butter and olive oil until chicken is done and onions are soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer about 1 hour. We serve this sprinkled with crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and a dollop of sour cream. Diced avocado is good on it as well.

I usually make this on the stove, but on those occasions where I'm really organized or won't have time around dinner time, I've been known to start it much earlier in the day and throw it all in the crock pot after the cooking the chicken and onion step. This is super yummy! Let me know if you try it and like it! :)