Applesauce

Another first for me.  David and I made applesauce last weekend and froze 4 - 32 oz. containers.  It is very yummy and very tasty.  It was super easy - mainly because my MIL has an grinder/peeler/applesauce maker (I am really not sure the technical term).  Apples are not in season just yet but we were given a half a box of red delicious apples that were leftover from a middle school church lock in.

We had about 30-40 apples (I kept forgetting to count) and froze 4 - 32 oz. containers.

First wash and quarter the apples (don't forget to remove any stickers, if you purchased them from the store)

Put about 2 inches of apple juice into your stock pot.

Put in quartered apples (if you have a grinder/peeler/whatnot you don't have to remove seeds or peel)

Cover and turn stove to hight until apples are very soft 20-30 minutes (stir occasionally to get the apples on the top to the bottom)

Once soft pour apples into the grinder and start cranking.

We did add a couple cinnamon sticks to our apple juice.

I am so excited about the yummy things that are filling up our freezer:

1 gallon bag of carrots

5 - 3 cup bags of sweet corn

1 gallon bag of green beans

7 - 2 cup bags of zuchinni

4 - 32 oz. of applesauce

Master Bedroom: Remodel

It really isn't that impressive but I (we) did it!  And I love it.  I still have some touches to do:  a couple pillows, pictures and/or shelving on the walls.  And eventually we will take care of the bigger projects: sconces, and closet.
Check out what it looked like before: Master Bedroom

Walls painted, curtains done, purchased bedskirt (it looks a little wrinkly, ignore that), purchased new bedside table, lamp and lamp shade for myself

Here is the curtain fabric up close, I am by far a top seamstress, but it will do and I am proud of my accomplishments.

My jewelery organizer and the curtains are the only thing on the walls right now.  I did end up repainted the frame of the jewelery organizer to black - the blue was just too much.  Like I said I hope to get pictures on the wall soon, I will probably share some more pictures.

Oh! and I am not a photographer by far and the lighting is pretty bad in these pics, sorry!

The Header

I'm Working On It, YIKES!

Egg Rolls

1 pkg. (16 oz.) shredded coleslaw
1 cup cooked, diced meat (poultry or shrimp)
1 1/2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 pkg. egg roll wrappers
Vegetable Oil

Stir together first 6 ingredients: slaw, meat, ginger, garlic, pepper, salt.
* WIDD (what I did differently) tossed the first 6 ingredients into a skillet with some soy sauce, until warmed and covered.*

Brush outer edge of egg roll wrapper with water *WIDD egg/water mixture.* Spoon a 1/3 cup of mixture into the center of the wrapper.  *Make sure filling has cooled before placing in the wrapper, it being hot seemed to tear the wrapper.*  Fold bottom corner over filling and tucking the corner under the filling, fold over left and right corners; gently press to seal.  Pour oil, depth of 3 inches (a lot of oil) into a dutch oven, heat until 375 degrees.  Fry egg rolls in batches of 3-4, until golden brown.  Serve immediantly.

These egg rolls were amazing!  I was so proud of us for trying something we have never made before.  I used chicken for our meat.  Also, if veggies are in season shredd your own slaw mix: cabbage, carrots.  This is also the first time I have ever used fresh ginger - now what to do with the rest....any ideas?  The wrapers is tear some but like I noted before I believe it is because we warmed up the slaw mix before hand, the original recipe did not call for us heating up the mixture or using soy sauce.

Little Chef: Vegetables

A couple great ways to keep little hands busy in the kitchen, when all they want to do is help.

Shuck the sweet corn

and snap the beans!

We have been visiting the farmers market atleast weekly this summer and are loving all the fresh, local farm foods! 

Little Chef: Meatloaf

Easy Meatloaf
1 1/2 lb. ground beef                       salt and pepper
1 egg                                              2 T. brown sugar
1 onion, chopped                            2 T. prepared mustard
1 cup milk                                       1/3 cup ketchup
1 cup breadcrumbs
Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Combine; beef, egg, onion, milk & breadcrumbs.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place in loaf pan.
In seperate bowl, combine brown sugar, mustard, ketchup.  Mix well and pour over meatloaf.
Bake for 1 hour.

Before Noah came to the kitchen I had all the ingredients measured out in the cups.  Noah poured in all the ingredients.  I handled the raw meat and Noah held onto the spoon as we stirred.  He was great help and loves to be cooking with David and me.

Another great thing about Noah helping make dinner is he also ate dinner.  Noah is not a big meat eater but after we complimented him on his meatloaf and talked about everything we put in to make it he had no hesitation, he dug right in!

Kitchen Message Boards

There is not much open wall space in our kitchen but I needed a place to charge my phone, put up a marker board for grocery lists, and I also made this cute menu board.  There is about 3-4 feet of wall space between where the fridge door opens up and the back door open up, prime realestate!  I had all the materials so it was a very inexpensive project.  The decorative shelf was used in our old apartment in the dining room but I am using it in the kitchen here. I had the marker board from college and painted the frame black and the menu board is a picture frame. For the menu board: I measured some scrapbook paper, used my cricut to cut circles, used some sticker letters for the days of the week and header put it all back in the frame and use a dry erase marker on the glass.  David even thought it looked good (and he usually doesn't get into the crafty things).  So here's to being a little more efficient in the kitchen!  Does anyone want Pizza on Friday :-)

All Your Baby's Needs

Recently several of our very close friends are expecting their first child and have asked those of us who already have kids, (here are some of the kids, this picture was taken in 08, the number of kids have doubled since then!)

"okay, so what do we really need to register/buy to survive?  What was useful and what could you just live without?"

So I am writing all our responses and putting out there for anyone else who might want some ideas or opinions (not like you don't get enough people telling you what to do when you become a parent, HA!)

Newborn:
Bottle Warmer
Diaper Genie
Diaper Genie Refills
Crib/Mattress
Dresser (if you make sure and purchase a dresser that is atleast 34 inches in height it can double as a changing table - that was a total space saver for us since we lived in an apartment)
Changing Table/Changing Pad
Boppy Pillow (even if you don't nurse they are great, soft pillows to prop baby up and you don't have to worry about them rolling over)
Onsies
Sleepers (Noah pretty much lived in onsies and sleepers atleast for the first couple months)
Socks
Swing (this is something that can easily be found at a garage sale in fairly good shape)
Bouncy Seat  (this is something that can easily be found at a garage sale in fairly good shape)
Large Receiving Blankets for swaddling (one friend had a specific: Miracle Blanket)
Sound Spa (preferred by some for white noise, we personally used a small table top fan)
Baby Monitor
Dishwasher Baskets (for all those little bottle parts, if you have a dishwasher)
Bottle Drying Rack
6 Bottles (atleast)
Burp Clothes (old fashioned cloth diapers are very absorbant and pretty inexpensive and you can always dress them up by sewing on a ribbon)
Crib Sheets (atleast 3-4)
Bassinet (this was not something that we registered for, mainly because we lived in a small apartment and Noah slept in his crib from day one.  Many prefer one though for placing next to your bed for those middle of the night feedings)
Pack-n-Play (not a necessity right away but you will travel OR you can set this up in our room instead of a bassinet and really if people are going to buy you those bigger items then you having to do it later than you better add it to the list)

Pack-n-Play sheets (I have survived with one)
Baby Bathtub
Diapers (All sizes)
Wipes
Diaper Bag (I preferred one with an insulted pocket, but they are a little hard to come by and expect to by another one or two along the way, we are pretty hard on our diaper bags)
Bottle Brush
Stroller (Many prefer a system, we personally registered for the safety first that reclined and would put a positioner in the stroller so Noah wouldn't roll back and forth-again a space issue for us-but we have used the same stroller and Noah is now 2 1/2)
Nursing Cover Up (there are tons out there, you can even make your own)
Baby Wrap/Sling/Carrier (here is a really easy and inexpensive one that I have found to make check it out: Baby Wrap)
Formula Dispenser (if you aren't nursing and it is great for those middle of the night feedings before you go to bed measure out the correct amount and fill your bottles of water and all you have to do is warm the water and pour the formula when you are half asleep)
Travel Changing Pad (usually one comes with the diaper bag, but you better make sure)
Formula (if that is the route you are going)
Sun Shade (for the car)
Car Seat and Base

For Later On:
Highchair (one that can recline a bit and baby can join you and the family at the dinner table)
Travel Booster
Snack Traps (I have had the best luck with the Munchkin Snack Catcher)
Sippy Cups w/ handles and soft tips
Rubber Tipped Spoons
Safety 1st Training Potty (seems to be the most preferred among our group of friends)
Small bowls with lids
Bibs (I have some good friends that make some check them out: The Dotted Duck)
Bumbo Seat (these are also nice to sit in the bathtub, once baby gets control of their head, since it is rubber.  But please never leave your little one unattended)

Check back for any updates in case I missed something or please share what worked and didn't work for you.  Every child and family is different.