The kids were still asleep at noon today  when I left the house to go get my hair done. When I returned two hours later, Paul had put all of them to work  in the yard. In his words he had “organized his work crew.” They were weeding, removing mulch and cleaning out flower beds. Surprisingly, they were fairly good natured about it. When they were finished, the yard looked great. I made them some lunch and all  five kids sat at the kitchen counter eating, talking and laughing. They were working together, cooperating and seeming to have a good time as well. They were taking pride in their home which pleased me immensely.

This put me in a nesting mood so I made some soup. Paul cleaned out the freezer last night and found a ham bone stashed inside and I hunted around in the back of the cupboard for some dried beans I knew were in there. I threw it all  in a pot of water and let it simmer all afternoon and the smells are still wafting through the house. Yum.

Later in the evening, I asked Sophia if she would like to make brownies with me and she replied, “How about we make Mud Puddle cake instead?”  Great suggestion since Mud Puddle cake is much less fattening and super easy to make. I used to make it all the time when my girls were small because you can mix all the ingredients in one pan and the kids can stir ’til their hearts are content. It’s dairy free too. For a recipe of my Muddle Puddle cake click on my Just Imaginate blog. (Scroll down the page, it’s the 5th recipe down.)

I better go check and see if it’s ready.

Ingredients:
Filling:
1 small onion (I love to use shallots too.)
Handful of mushroom, sliced
2 cups cooked chicken
1 10 oz. package of frozen mixed vegetables like peas and carrots.
2 cans (10 3/4 oz. each) of condensed cream of chicken soup.
Note:Can also use cream of mushroom and cream of celery soup.
Sometimes I use three cans if I want my casserole to be creamier.
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Biscuit topping:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. For filling, combine onion and mushrooms in large, microwave safe casserole dish. Cover; microwave on high 2 minutes or until softened, stirring halfway through cooking time. Add chicken, frozen vegetables, soup and pepper to onion mixture. Mix thoroughly and bake 10-15 minutes until bubbly around the edges. In the meantime, make the topping. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine egg, milk and oil. Add to dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Remove casserole from oven. Drop tablespoons of topping evenly over chicken mixture. Bake 25-30 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve with cranberry sauce or apple sauce.

First, I only shop at Marshalls. I took the kids there when we were in New Jersey this summer and we could not believe the deals. All the girls got stylin’ gladiator sandals for under $10. Cheryl found an O’Neill bathing suit for $7 and Sophia scored an American Eagle wool pea coat for $24. I told the kids, “From now on, that is where we will shop.” No more over priced mall designer stores. After all, why pay more when you can pay less?

Secondly, I canceled the house keeper. It killed me to do it, but I just could not justify the expense anymore. Now I pay the kids a small amount of chore money to clean their rooms and bathrooms and pick up the rest of the house, which is something they should have been doing all along.  I had justified the expense in the past because I was working full time and the kids were so busy with sports and homework. Now, we set aside two Saturdays a month to give the house a thorough cleaning and the money we save can go into a vacation account or toward some  other house hold expense.

Cook from scratch. If the kids want cookies they can make them themselves. Ditto for pizza and other snacks. Here are some recipe ideas from my Just Imaginate blog.

Make gifts and cards. This holiday season I plan to make as many as possible. I am starting now so that I have plenty of time.  Here are some homemade gift ideas also from my Just Imaginate blog.

Cooking/baking and making crafts  is a wonderful way to spend time together as a family. It is entertaining. It’s relaxing and it teaches kids the value of saving money.

He was pretty bone-weary and bedraggled when he got home. I had dinner (shrimp scampi) and wine waiting. We sat at our outdoor fireplace and relaxed. He loved the new golf shoes I got him for his birthday.

RECIPE FOR SHRIMP SCAMPI (for two)

Ingredients:

3/4 lb. large shrimp or prawns, peeled and deveined leaving tails on

3 T good olive oil

2 T dry white wine (for drinking and marinating shrimp)

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened

several gloves minced garlic

1/4 cup minced shallots

3 T  minced fresh parsley

2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 egg yolk

2/3 cup panko bread crumbs

lemon wedges for garnish

Place shrimp in large bowl and toss with wine, olive oil and dash of kosher salt and pepper.  In a separate bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko and dash of salt and pepper.

Arrange shrimp in a single, circular layer in a round baking or gratin dish placing the tails in the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp and then spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes. If you like, you can place the dish under the broiler for 1 minute to brown. Be careful to watch though. Don’t want to burn it. Serve with crusty bread.

Here are the recipes for the ROAD TRIP FOOD.

CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar (0r dark)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar ,eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine  the flour, salt, baking soda. Stir into the creamed mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips, walnuts and oats. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake in 325 degree oven for 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for five minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

APPLE BREAKFAST BREAD

Nothing lasts long in our house so I doubled this one. This one smells like Christmas.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2  cup white sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

2 apples- peeled and chopped

In a large bowl cream butter and sugars. Add eggs. Mix together. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Stir into creamed mixture until blended. Fold in apples. Pour into lightly greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve warm with butter or cream cheese.

I recently discovered this great blog called  Piece of Cake Decorating. They offer custom made cakes as well as directions on how to make your own. My favorite is the slumber party cake, a variation of which I have made for my own kids. Check it out. Great fun.

Ours is a relationship that is very close. The saying that love is better the second time around is especially true for us because we appreciate each other so much more. We’ve been through divorce. We know what the dark side of relationships can be like so we really cherish each other. So when I was reunited with my darling husband, I pulled out all the stops. Steak and eggs for breakfast, meat stuffed sandwiches for lunch and this dinner below that I just kind of whipped up that Paul said was the best meal he has ever eaten. I’m going to call it:

GETTING REACQUAINTED CHICKEN

Ingredients are approximate.

1 lb. chicken cutlets pounded to 1/4 inch thickness

flour for dredging

2 cups assorted mushrooms (I used a mixture of wood ear, shitake and porchini.)

2 shallots chopped

1 heaping T of capers

8 oz. creme fraiche

1/4 cup stoneground mustard

good quality olive oil (I used lemon infused from my friend at Coeur d’Olive.)

Dredge the chicken cutlets in flour and saute in pan in olive oil until browned on both sides and cooked through. Set aside on warm platter.  Saute mushrooms and shallots in same pan until browned and a little crispy. Remove and place on same platter as chicken. Over low heat, place creme fraiche and mustard in pan and whisk until smooth. Add chicken and mushroom and onion mixture, coat chicken with mixture, toss in the capers and  cover and let steam for 5-10 minutes and serve with pasta and crusty bread. The sauce is great on pasta. We had two types of ravioli. One kind  filled with the porcini mushrooms and the other with asparagus. Delish. Pair with a dry/fruity white wine.

Mushroom Filling

2 lbs. assorted types of mushrooms — shitake, portobello, cremini etc. Stems removed and caps chopped into 1/4 inch pieces.

4 T extra virgin olive oil plus extra for brushing the filo

1/2 cup minced shallots

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1 tsp. dried oregano

6 T mashed roasted garlic (recipe to follow)

2 T dry white wine

2 T unsalted butter

 kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

20 filo sheets

In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute the mushrooms and shallots in the olive oil until they give off their liquid. Add the garlic, basil and oregano. Then the wine and butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread mixture  onto a large cookie sheet and let cool.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

On a clean surface, layer the filo sheets one on top of the other, brushing with the oil in between layers. Spread mushroom mixture along the short side of the filo, leaving room at the edges to roll it up. Fold in the sides a bit so you can enclose the mixture inside the filo like tube. Brush the top with olive oil

Place on cookie sheet and bake for about 18 minutes or until slightly browned. Rotate every few minutes to ensure even browning.

Roasted Garlic

Everyone has their own method of roasting garlic. Here’s mine. In a pinch, you can always use the bottled stuff.

3-4 heads of garlic

foil

olive oil

Cut off  the tops of the garlic heads and drizzle with olive oil. Roll up in foil and bake in 400 degree oven for an hour.

When the bulbs cool, squeeze the garlic out and mash with a fork.