Confessions

Today is August 31 and I ate soup. I never eat soup in the summer. I like soup, love it in fact, but not in the summer. It doesn't even sound good to me. My hubby, on the other hand, can eat soup no matter the season. He grew up in Pennsylvania and I guess they eat soup all year. It must not get as hot there as it does in Kansas. Well, I should say as it USUALLY does in Kansas because it has been downright cool, chilly even in the early mornings and evenings. I hadn't gone grocery shopping in forever and the hint of fall was in the air and so I caved and we ate soup. My hubby had a big, silly smile on his face the whole meal exclaiming over and over how great it was to eat soup again. My oldest son however peeked in the pot on the stove and said, "Oh no the most challenging season of the year is coming." I asked him what in the world was he talking about and he said with a defeated tone in his voice "Soup season". Apparently he is not as thrilled as hubby.

Sometimes you need a little helper

I did things differently this time around. When my first three children were born we lived in a tiny house. When I was busy doing something, they were within my sight or reach, so I let them play on their blanket with their toys or put them in a jumpster hanging in the doorway. They played, and I got my work done.

With our fourth baby things were different. We had moved to a two story house, so she could not be in my sight or reach. Most of my work is in the kitchen which is not opened for viewing into other rooms, so if Little Pumpkin was in any other room I couldn't see her. So I made a pouch and carried her with me. She has always been a part of everything I do. When I'm cooking, she wants to smell the spices. Now that she is almost two she will drag a chair over to help with washing dishes splashing water everywhere which should give me incentive to mop the floor more I guess (sigh). She wants to knead the bread. While the other kids are going about their day busily playing their games, Little Pumpkin wants to be right at my side being my helper. Yes, sometimes it is more work, but it is also more fun to be together.

Why did it take me four children to figure this out???

Ribs on the Grill!!!!!!!!!

This is Jody's Husband guest posting today on one of my all-time favorite topics--grilling. My pit master hero is Steven Raichlen. He has several grilling shows on TV that I tune into as often as I can. He says that in order to call yourself a true pit master, you have to be able to grill 3 things really well--brisket, steak, and ribs. This is great, because I love all three.

I want to focus on ribs in this post, because I found a super recipe for ribs on the grill on Jody's favorite (mine too!!) recipe web site (look for recipe #30200). This recipe will get you 1/3 of the way to becoming a pit master. The recipe is Hickory Smoked/BBQ Baby Back Ribs. The recipe is for the grill only and specifically for charcoal grilling only (it can be done on gas but it is not recommended). You do not need to boil or bake or do anything to the ribs before putting them on the grill. I like this, because I like to let the grill work its magic. You will need to brine the ribs before cooking, as well as let them sit a maximum of overnight. Let's get started.

Hickory Smoked/BBQ Baby Back Ribs
Serves 4, 2 Racks

2(2 lb) racks of baby-back pork ribs or loin ribs (baby-backs were fabulous this way)

For the Brine:
1/2 cup salt or 1 cup kosher salt (I used regular salt)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 quarts cold water

For the Rub:
6 garlic cloves
8 large fresh basil leaves (I didn't have fresh, still turned out great!)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (I didn't have fresh, still turned out great!)
1 teaspoon fresh oregano (I didn't have fresh, still turned out great!)
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
1/2 cup olive oil
2-4 tablespoons light brown sugar

1. Combine the salt, sugar and water in a large plastic container or non-reactive stock pot.
2. Place ribs in brine and refrigerate for one hour.
3. Meanwhile, combine all rub ingredients except sugar and grind into a green thick liquid with a food processor or immersion blender.
4. Remove ribs from the brine (after one hour) and pat dry with paper towels.
5. Brush or rub green liquid over both sides of the ribs, sprinkle with brown sugar and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.
6. Place in refrigerator for a minimum of one hour (preferrably 4 hours). Leave them in overnight for a really flavorful treat. (I did overnight, and WOW!!!!!!)
7. Now to the grill. Remove grill grate and add charcoal or fill your charcoal chimney and place into the grill. I used a mixture of hardwood lump charcoal and dry hickory chucks for this recipe. I also soaked several dry hickory chunks in water for about 2 hours for adding to the lit grill for additional smoke flavor. It worked wonderfully!!! To light the grill, use a charcoal chimney if possible. If you do not have one, I stuck several sections of the evening paper under my pile of charcoal and pour a few splashes of vegetable oil onto the newspaper. Try not to use lighter fluid if at all possible.
8. Once the coals are hot and gray covered, set up the grill for indirect grilling by moving your hot coals on one half of your grill leaving no coals on the other half. If you are using a chimney, simply pour your hot coals on one side of the grill. Add the soaked hickory chunks onto the hot coals and watch that smoke billow. Yeah baby!!! Place your grill grate into place.
9. Form a pan large enough to hold the ribs with some heavy aluminum foil or parchment paper which ever you prefer (I used parchment paper). Place the ribs into the pan and add about a cup of water per pan if you use more than one. Make sure the pan is deep enough to hold the water. Place the pan(s) on the cool side of the grill. Place the grill cover onto the grill with the vent holes over the ribs. Be sure to open the vent completely.
10. Turn the ribs 180 degrees and over every 30 minutes. (I only did this once after 2 hours.)
11. Add additional charcoal and soaked hickory after about 2 hours.
12. Smoke the ribs for a total of 4 hours.
13. Brush on your favorite BBQ sauce for the last 10-15 minutes of cooking if desired.

There you have it. This is a great recipe for smoked ribs on the grill. Try this recipe and amaze your friends. Here is what my ribs looked like after trying this recipe:



They tasted GREAT!!!!!!!! I hope you enjoy trying this recipe. I'll work on steak for another time and brisket also. We'll see how it goes. Let me know how it goes for you and if you tweaked things a little. I'm always up for new ideas on how to grill better. Until next time, grill safe and grill often. See you.

The Time Has Come

Good-bye Summer. We will miss you.

Long Live the Turntable

Last week we had several rainy days and the natives were getting restless at my house. So, I pulled out an old 1978 Fisher Price Record Player that I had found on a garage sale. When I was younger, we had a Holly Hobby record player that we loved with read-a-long book and record sets. The Holly Hobby record player no longer works which is very sad indeed, but my mom had kept all of the read-a-longs. I found this record player for $2 (He wanted $3, but bargaining for the lower price is the best part of going to garage sales isn't it???) The kids wanted to listen to the "big CD's" all afternoon. (Clearly they needed the 1970's cultural enrichment) Had I known what a treasure this record player would be to bring peace back to my house, I would have happily paid more. Just don't tell that to the man who sold it to me.

The Most Delicious Cheesecake. . . EVER

I know it seems pretty bold to say this is the best cheesecake, but honestly I've never tasted one better. I can't take credit for the recipe because I got it from a generous friend at church. I will spare you the calorie count that she included in the recipe☺ Ready??? Here it comes.

Cheesecake ( I think a better name needs to be here, but I lack creativity so maybe plain and simple is best)

5 - 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1-3/4 - 2 c. sugar
whip above until fluffy

Add:
5 eggs
3 Tblsp. flour
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 tsp. grated orange peel
1/4 - 1/2 c. whipping cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt


Pour into large spring form pan lined with graham cracker crust. Bake at 500° for 10 minutes.
Turn oven down to 200° - DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR
Bake one hour longer.
Turn oven off and leave in oven for another hour.
May freeze or decorate with fresh fruit or any other topping and serve.

So there you go, easy peasy with a huge wow factor. I think it can be adapted to what you have also. For example, I used a 9 x 13 " pan because I don't own a springform pan ( I really want this one.) I think you could change the flavorings too. Some ideas I had, but haven't tried are: Melt unsweetened chocolate and stir into half the batter and then marble/swirl the two colors together. I personally LOVE orange and chocolate together, so I would either keep the orange peel or use orange extract. How about melting raspberry jam and swirling that into the batter with almond extract? Adding mini chocolate chips? I think the possibilities are endless.
Enjoy!!! Let me know how it goes and what you try.

My Birthday

On my birthday I always take the day off. Well, as "off" as you can with 4 young children. Hubby was wonderful at helping with the kiddos. He made grilled brats for lunch and got takeout Chinese for supper. He washed all the dishes. I married a good man♥. What did I do all day? Well, I read all day of course☺. Sobbed through this book actually. Ahhh, it was a good day even if you have to turn 35. (or maybe it was turning 29 for the 6th time?)
I will share the recipe for the most delicious cheesecake tomorrow.

Free pattern download

Oliver + S makes adorable children's clothing patterns and they are offering a new freebie. Pop on over to the site and download it for FREE!!! They also have a fabulous skirt pattern too if you haven't already downloaded that one.

Surprises

Birthday season starts in July and goes through October in our family. I love to sew and making special gifts is so much fun. I usually make Princess H. a dress and sometimes a poncho for her birthday. I asked her which fabric in my stash she wanted me to use to make her a dress. I was hoping to make a fancy dress that she could wear to church during the cooler months, but oh no Princess had other ideas: "I want a dress I can play in with no buttons so I can do it myself. Buttons in the back are too hard to do." Well, there you go. Clearly she is an opinionated child.☺
I used "City Park" by Alexander Henry to make this dress. I kind of suggested this pattern to avoid the dreaded zipper and will use pearlized snaps as the closure. I didn't add too many details because she just wants it for play so it was quick and easy. One present down, more to come.

Snuggle 'N Snooze

My mother recently opened an Etsy store called Heartland Heirlooms. She makes beautiful, soft, baby blankets with a crocheted edging. She has given a blanket to each of her 10 grandchildren soon after they were born and they are definitely favorites. Little Pumpkin LOVES her blanket so much she actually wants to take a nap if you mention that she can snuggle in with the "monkey blankie" Getting a 22 month toddler to want to take a nap??? Absolutely priceless. If you get a chance you should check out Mom's store.

Can you have too many ruffles?

Make It Perfect is having a giveaway for a gorgeous little girl skirt pattern with tons of twirl and girly stuff. Super cute. Head on over to her blog and leave a comment for a chance to win. The drawing closes Aug. 17.

Cold Brew (iced coffee, that is)

This summer, hubby and I have been making a lot of iced coffee. We love it and I thought I would share it with you. I first read about cold-brew iced coffee here.

Iced Coffee
4 1/2 c cold water ( 6 1/2 c cold water)
rounded 1/3 c. coffee grounds (1/2 c. coffee grounds)


I don't actually measure, but tried to estimate amounts that I use. Put your coffee grounds into a clean coffee filter. Wrap the filter into a bundle and I just secure it with a clothespin-use what you have. (I didn't always secure it until one morning I found grounds all through my coffee and had to wait for it to filter. I wasn't too happy about having to wait☺) Let it cold-brew like you would if you were making sun tea until it looks dark enough to you. Pour over ice and add all sorts of evil things like half and half and vanilla syrup. Ahhhh. . . Now that's what I'm talking about.

Music

As a homeschooling mom, one of the things I enjoy the most is searching to find the best programs to help my children learn. I found a winner with this piano program. Simply Music is a lot different then traditional piano lessons. Rather than learning to read music before playing, my kids are playing the music and then that will translate into learning to read it later. They have learned so much more in the 10 months that they have been taking lessons then I learned in the 6 years I took traditional lessons. They can play any chord, accompany someone else, transpose their accompaniment (yes, you heard me - transpose!!!! I know, I couldn't believe it either), change a major chord to minor, compose or arrange their own music, and the list goes on and on. They already know a least 50 pieces from memory that they can just sit down and play anytime they want. They are learning the artistry of playing music before learning the nuts and bolts of it. And the best part is that I get to learn it all with my kids. Love it!!!

Peanut Butter Granola

Our family eats a lot of homemade foods. One of the things I love to make for breakfast is granola and peanut butter is my favorite. (Can you go wrong with Peanut Butter??? No, I thought not) Here is the recipe, but I must confess to being one of the cooks that dumps things in and doesn't measure much.

Peanut Butter Granola
5 c. oatmeal
3/4 c. wheat germ
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. oil
1/3 c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 - 1/3 c. peanut butter



Mix oatmeal and wheat germ in large mixing bowl.

Heat oil, honey, salt, and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Take off heat and add vanilla and peanut butter.

Add to dry ingredients and spread onto a large sheet pan to bake at 275 degrees for 30-40 min. stirring occasionally. Let cool on pan and then break it up if it has stuck together and put into a container to store. Delicious!!!

Hello

I have spent much of my time reading other blogs and thought it might be time to give back. My blog might end up being a little eclectic because as a SAHM I have the opportunity to learn about so many different things that interest me. I love learning and will try to pass on what I learn here.