Monday Monday

How was your Monday?

We started off the day by dropping daddy off to work. Then I decided today was a good day to go bargain hunting. First stop: Salvation Army. I didn't get a single thing off my list, but I did find some cool stuff. I got a pair of rain boots for Jaden that will fit her NOW and a pair that will fit her in about a year. I also found her a pair of Teva like sandals that will fit her in about a year, year and a half. Both looked like they were NEVER worn. I found Jaden and I both scarves as well. I noticed a handful of LeapPad books and remembered seeing that several people that take part in these online swaps that I do, were looking for LeapPad books. So, I picked up every one they had. (59cents a piece!) Then I found one of those back-of-the-door clear plastic organizers! I had been wanting one and at $1.99 I was sold! Before I left, I spotted a funky mirror that's surrounded by funky iron of some sort. I left with nothing homeschooling, but I did leave happy. :)

We headed off down the street to a new thrift store called Fine Funky Finds, but I was disspointed to find that not only was it closed, it didn't have their store hours listed. As we were walking back to the van, I spotted a "baby boutique". Hmmm I thought, maybe I can look around there. To my surprise, I stumbled upon a GEM of a store!!! I like in a very mainstream hick town and what I ran into was a store you'd find in down town hippie Olympia, Wa. This store was full of organic clothing, fair trade wooden toys, and more! I already picked out gifts for my niece and newphew for their birthdays in March. I also plan to register there for the kids' birthdays!

When we got home, it was time to put Davin to sleep and encourage nap time for Jaden. Lately she's been falling asleep around 5 which makes bedtime impossible and she's often up past midnight. So I'm going to encourage naptime everyday in the midday. Today she didn't sleep but that only means she'll be out tonight on time. Hopefully we can get her into a noon naptime so she doesn't crash in the evenings sometimes.

After the kids got up, we decided to watch some movies we rented from the library. All of them were a bit dissapointing so we quickly began doing other things. Oh well, that's why we like renting them for free!

I needed to use some cabbage I bought and chose to use my friend Jen's recipe called Ministrone Gone Crazy. Then I forgot to add the cabage as I followed the recipe's instructions, doh! But it was FANTASTIC. Here's her original recipe:
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Minestrone Turned Crazy

1 onion (chopped finely)
3-5 cloves garlic (pressed, crushed or minced)
2 carrots (chopped or sliced into julienne strips just slightly wider than matchsticks)
2-3 stalks celery (chopped)
2 cans chopped tomatoes (italian style is great if you have any)
1 can tomato sauce (8-15 oz, whatever you want)
2 cans garbanzos..or kidney beans (drained, rinsed)
1/2 can corn (leftover from another project, you could use a whole can if you want)
1 can green beans
1/2 jar artichoke hearts (chopped, marinated in water, again, a leftover from another project)
3 large handfuls of macaroni
6 or so cups water

Let me start by saying that soup is such a fluid thing. You can't really mess it up if you are willing to add a little, taste a little, add something else, taste a bit more. By the time you finish making soup, sometimes, you've tasted it enough that you're quite full.

So, this soup starts out like most of my non-creamed soups. Saute onion, garlic, carrots, celery in about a 1/2 cup of the water listed above. Let the water evaporate and the veggies just barely start to stick to the bottom and then add just a bit more. The more you do this, the browner and nicer carmelized they will become. I talk about armelizing in another thread somewhere.

After a few minutes, add the rest of the ingredients except for the artichoke hearts and macaroni. Heat through until it's at a low rolling boil. Add macaroni and cook until macaroni is just turning soft. Add the artichoke hearts and heat through completely.

That's pretty much it. It's easy peasy. You can add more or less of any ingredient. If you want it thicker, add less water, thinner, add more. I usually eat this with crushed peppers and make it all kinds of spicy. Also with this particular batch, I used miso to "salt" it just for kicks, to see if it would add flavor. It didn't, really. If you want a stronger taste, add a boullion cube or two.
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I didn't have any more carrots or artichoke hearts so I omitted those. Instead I added more celery and garlic. I also only had 1 can of kidney beans so I also used 1 can of pinto beans. I didn't have canned corn or green beans, so I used frozen. I let mine cook for a good 45 minutes before I added the macaroni, because I like mine more chunky than soupy.

Then I took some of those deli french rolls for like french dip or sandwhiches and covered them in Earth Balance and garlic powder and put them under the broiler. I then dipped them into my soup.

This is a must try!!!





Of course a girl needs her chocolate fix (duh) so I'm currently polishing off a box of Buckeyes that my mom made me for Christmas. What are buckeyes, you say? Well, if I can remember right, here's the recipe:

1 small container of chunky peanut butter
6 cups or so of rice krispie cereal
1 lb bag of powdered sugar
1/4 cup of melted butter or butter substitute

Form those into balls and put them on wax paper and into your fridge overnight. In the monring, melt a bag of chocolate chips and 1/2 a stick or so of household wax. Dip your balls into your chocolate. You're suppose to leave a little "eye" without chocolate on it. But if you're me, you don't care about the eye so toss those balls deep into the chocolate! Set them back on the wax paper and let them cool on the counter for awhile. You can keep them that way or my personal favorite thing is to FREEZE them and eat them frozen like that. mmmm






I wanted to quickly share a few pictures from yesterday as well. My brother and mom came down to visit us. We had a blast and here's some pictures for proof!