Tuesday, December 29, 2009

December food


Adam made lasagna from the recipe on the box.






Jasmine helped me make our favorite crockpot potroast for Christmas eve.

Crock Pot Roast
3-6 lbs beef roast
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 packs Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix
2 c water
1-3 c each carrots, celery, potatoes cut into 3” pieces

Mix soups, beefy onion mix and water in crock pot. Add meat. Cook on low 6- 8 hours. Add the vegetables. Turn to high and cook 2-3 hours more. You can speed it up by turning it to high earlier.


Jessica made drummettes and cheesy muffins on Christmas day for supper.



Jessica's Teriyaki Chicken Wings
Flour
Package of drummettes (approximately 14)
1/3 c soy sauce
½ c granulated sugar
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Measure 1-2 cups of flour and put in paper or plastic bag. Rinse drummettes in cool water. Place drummettes 3 or 4 at a time in the bag. Seal and shake until chicken is flour coated. Tap off extra and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 375F for 35-45 minutes.

While chicken is baking, mix soy sauce, sugar, garlic powder and sesame seeds in a small bowl. Adjust sugar and soy sauce to taste.

When chicken is done, remove from oven and let cool. Stir sauce again. Roll each drummette in the sauce and place on serving plate. Pour excess sauce over the plate of wings.

Cheesy Muffins
½ c butter, softened
2/3 c sugar
2 eggs
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 c milk
2 c grated cheddar or jack cheese

Cream butter and sugar with fork until smooth. Add eggs and stir until well blended. Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Stir so baking powder is evenly distributed. Measure the milk. Stir a little milk into the butter mixture. Stir a little of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Repeat adding small amounts of milk and flour to the butter mixture until they are all mixed together. Add cheese and mix. Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full. Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes. Makes about 20-24 muffins.






I forgot to take a picture after they cooked. Basically they look like a mini meatloaf with vegetables on top. They originally just called for plain hamburger but it was too blah and tough so we created a meatloaf-type recipe instead.














Hobo Dinner
1 ½ -2 lb lean ground beef ½-1 cup ketchup or tomato sauce
1 egg beaten ½-3/4 cup uncooked oatmeal
2 yellow squash sliced 2 -3 lg. potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
4 carrots sliced 2 lg. onion thinly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
you can add whatever vegetables you like
Mix ground beef, ketchup, egg and oatmeal. Form into six patties. Place each on a square of aluminum foil. Place vegetables on top of each patty. Add salt and pepper. Wrap foil tightly around each patty. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 375F for 1 hr to 1 hr 15 min.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Last Evening with Jeff

Rick and Tyler left early this morning to take Jeff back to where he is staying. Yesterday was our last day together. Everyone was hanging out and playing Wii, playing games and watching movies.



Jeff and Jessica made a gingerbread house. We do this on Thanksgiving but since they mark them half price after Christmas we usually do one more with Jeff when he's here.





Jessica made rolled sugar cookies.




We played some games.







Things were going pretty well with everyone getting along more or less. Then I realized that one child had, for the second time, been out playing Wii etc. without completing a job he'd told had to be done before he played.
He kicked a hole in the bathroom wall several weeks ago and he had to patch and paint it by Christmas. The first time he was out playing without fixing it at all. Then he slopped paint on it and it was a mess so he had to redo it. So when I saw him out for the second time without fixing it, I sent him to his room. But he chose to say some rude things under his breath and got grounded to his room for today.
Choices, choices--especially kicking a hole in the wall in the first place. This is a habit. He also decided to be careless with the new pingpong table and knocked it apart right before this.
These two things put a bit of a damper on things last night but then we just changed directions and the guys and Jessica went to the back to watch GI Joe and Jasmine and I watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Then the guys watched Street Fighter and Jessica and I watch NCIS season one.







Saturday, December 26, 2009

Rest of Christmas

Jessica made her cheesy muffins and teriyaki chicken wings for Christmas supper before going to work.




Tyler and Jessica have worked a lot of hours this week including Christmas eve, Christmas Day and today. They need the money for college but I miss them here at home.










Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas from

Jessica



Adam

Jeff


Tyler (fresh out of the shower)


Jasmine









Everyone had fun opening their gifts and gathering their "loot"

Tyler








Adam








Jeff










Jasmine








Jessica








Lunch was make your own pizza. The pizzas reflected both taste and personality.


Jasmine



Tyler




Jessica

Adam
He created a concoction of bbq sauce, pizza sauce, chicken and ham.

Jeff

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Eve

Tyndale sent me a Pottery Barn stocking and devotion book. I love being a Tyndale author. Now I have to get around and actually write the book!


Everyone taking life easy.



Christmas Eve day we make some sort of cake for Jesus. Usually it is a Christmas tree cake but this year we went with cupcakes.



Jessica colors the frosting.



Jeff helps frost the cupcakes and Jasmine puts on the sprinkles and colored sugar.



The boys are helping Ty put together the ping pong table my mom bought us.






Wii time







Jasmine helped peel vegetables for a crock pot potroast.


On Christmas Eve we open stocking presents. This year I put either two inexpensive movies or a movie and a book and two packs of candy in each stocking.


Jasmine (8)





Jeff (16)







Adam (14)




















Tyler (19)






Jessica (18)


Jessica had to work 12-8. Then she found she'd lost the keys so Rick had to drive the other set out to her. Poor Jessi. We hope they show up because it cost so much to replace the clicker and key with sensor. She's afraid they went down the disposal at work!





Some of our traditions have changed over the years. We used to have the kids exchange names for Christmas presents and I would give them each $10 to shop for whoever's name they had.




Then they started using their allowance and buying dollar store gifts for the others whose names they didn't draw.


We still draw names among the fours kids here but I started putting $1 an A in an envelop for each child each report card day and originally each midterm but now just report card day. However, you get the amount cut in half for a D or F or if you are on restriction on report card day. It's really a good reward system and no one has to take part but they all choose to. This time one person only had $1.25 in his envelop but the person who bought for him had mercy and got him a little better present than what that could buy. The top person had $14 in her envelope.

Plus this year the kids used more of their own money to buy for siblings and Rick and I.






Jasmine drew Ty's name and bought him Angel Wars 4.









Adam got Jessica's name and got her a Snugglie and candy.









Jessica bought for Adam. I hope he doesn't really wear the necklaces on his head. Might be a new style....









Jessica bought me two movies.












Tyler bought me Star Trek Scene It and we found out that neither of us knows much about Star Trek. It was mostly about the original series and I'm a Voyager fan






The ping pong table takes up the whole room.























Jessica bought Ty this sweatshirt. The kids bought each other an assortment of candy, perfume, clothes and DVDs.









We watched Speed Racer and Up and then everyone went to bed. It's 11:15 and all is quiet. Even the rainstorm seems to finally have stopped.