Strawberries

Two years ago we got some strawberry plants from Josh's grandma and transplanted them into our garden. Last year was our first year to get any yield and we got like two or three strawberries a day for a week or so. We expected to maybe get a few more this year and wow did we ever! Every day for at least a week I was bringing in a big bowl full...we had so many we couldn't eat them fast enough. We ended up freezing two bags with some sugar to thaw later and serve over ice cream or pound cake and with the others I made a strawberry pie and two loaves of strawberry bread. I will put the recipes for both of those here. We also have in our garden this year corn, broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, squash, lettuce, and white onion. I will post later this summer on how we do with those once they start producing vegetables.

Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:

Filling:

Chopped strawberries

4 tbsp strawberry jelly

4 tbsp cornstarch

Topping:

1 maple and brown sugar oatmeal packet

½ cup sugar

½ cup flour

1 stick butter

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Pour filling into 9 inch deep dish pie crust. Top with topping. Bake for 30-45 minutes.

Strawberry Bread

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh strawberries
• 3 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter and flour two 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
2. Slice strawberries, and place in medium-sized bowl. Sprinkle lightly with sugar, and set aside while preparing bread mixture.
3. Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in large bowl: mix well. Blend oil and eggs into strawberries. Add strawberry mixture to flour mixture, blending until dry ingredients are just moistened.  Divide batter into pans.
4. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until tester inserted comes out clean. Let cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn loaves out, and cool completely.

Austin's 18 Month Appointment

Austin had his 18 month appointment today. He weighed in at 29.4 lbs (87th percentile) was 32 in. tall (36th percentile) and his head circumference was 19 in. (61st percentile).

Austin has always been ahead of the curve on motor skills, but he wasn't saying a whole lot until recently. As of today he can now say car, ball, shoes, bowl, grandpa, uh-oh, no, yes, eyes, mama, dada...he can also say and correctly identify the letters n, r, l, f, and x. There are also tons of words he understands and will point to certain objects when asked. He knows what sound a monkey and a bear make. He is also pretty good at letting me know what he wants nonverbally too...he will bring me his shoes or hat when he wants to go outside, stand at the pantry or climb into his chair when he is hungry and stand at the fridge or point to my drink when he is thirsty.

Other new things of interest since my last post about Austin....he can now climb steps by himself, he also climbs on and off the couch and kitchen chairs by himself, (he even climbed out of the tub once when i wasn't looking but surprisingly he has not climbed out of his crib yet)! we recently moved him out of his high chair into a regular chair at the table, his new favorite thing to do is play with cars, he loves to stand on a step stool in the bathroom and brush his teeth in front of the mirror (and he almost always throws a temper tantrum when it is time to take the toothbrush away)

That's about all I can think of for now. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. He's really a pretty great kid!

Shrimp and Wild Rice Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) package long grain wild rice
• 1/2 bag frozen small shrimp
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce can) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups grated sharp cheddar
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Cook the rice according to package directions.
Heat the butter in saucepan and saute the pepper, shrimp, and onion until soft, about 5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the rice, soup, 1 1/2 cups of cheese, shrimp and vegetables. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well. Spray an 11 by 7-inch glass casserole dish with vegetable spray. Place the mixture in the pan and top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

Cous Cous Salad

Ingredients:

Cous Cous

Chicken Broth

Chopped cooked chicken

Diced red onion

Chopped spinach leaves

1 can garbanzo beans

Feta cheese

Italian dressing

Directions:

Cook cous cous according to box directions, using chicken broth instead of water. Stir together with other ingredients. Can be eaten hot or cold.

Lobster Macaroni

I just made this recipe on Saturday night and it was delicious...an exact quote from my husband was, "Do you ever eat food that just makes you happy to be alive"?

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• salt
• 1/2 box macaroni pasta
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 cup red wine
• 2 cups half and half
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 cup shredded sharp white cheddar
• 1 cup shredded mixed italian cheeses
• 8 oz lobster meat, chopped
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and adjust racks to the middle. Spray a small baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large pot of boiling salted water over medium heat, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and reserve.

Add 4 tablespoons butter to a large pot over medium heat. Once the butter shimmers, add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the tomato paste and flour and stir to toast, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the red wine and reduce, by half, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the half and half, whisking well to remove any lumps. Add the paprika.  Bring the cream up to a simmer and turn the heat to low. Let reduce until the cream is thick and can coat a spoon, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the grated cheeses, a handful at a time, combining well after each addition. Add the chopped lobster meat to the sauce and stir well. Add the pasta and stir. Add to the greased baking dish and sprinkle with the bread crumbs and parsley. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

 Verse Of The Day: "But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another." ~1 John 1:7

Pulled Pork with South Carolina Barbecue Sauce

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup yellow mustard
• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 lb pork tenderloin

Directions:

Whisk together all ingredients, except butter in a saucepan, bring to a low simmer, and turn off heat. Stir in butter. Put pork tenderloin in slow cooker with half of the sauce for 6-8 hours. Shred with a fork and top with additional sauce before eating.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Ingredients

• Chopped cooked chicken
• 6 ounces egg noodles
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• Garlic and herb bread crumbs
• Shredded cheese
• 1/2 bag frozen mixed veggies

Directions

1. Cook and drain pasta.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together mushroom soup, chicken soup, sour cream and frozen mixed veggies. Season with salt and pepper. Gently stir together cream soup mixture with the chicken mixture. Place in a 2 quart baking dish.
3. Top casserole with bread crumbs and cheese.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 30 minutes, until heated through and browned on top.