Mister J. seven months

Mister J. is Seven Months old.

He has mastered rolling over. If you put him on his back, he will be on his tummy in no time. He also trying to scoot a little on his belly. It won't be long til he is crawling. He has found his voice and uses it quite well. He is full of smiles and giggles.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Here are pictures of our feast.

My mom and dad came to visit with us for Thanksgiving.

Miss Z. resting before the big meal.

Mister J. all ready for the big meal.

Tonight's Dinner and Treat

Creamy white chili

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 medium onion chopped

1 1//2 tsp garlic powder

1 tbs vegetable oil

2 cans (15 1/2 ounces each) great northern beans rinsed and drained

1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth

2 cans (4oz each) chopped green chilies

1tsp salt

1tsp ground cumin

1tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1cup (8 oz ) sour cream

1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large sauce pan. saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat; Stir in  sour cream and cream. Serve immediately. Serves 7

Our treat

Oatmeal sandwich cookies

1 1/2 cups shortenig

2 2/3 cups packed brown sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

4 cups old fashioned oats

 In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; Add to creamed mixture. Stir in oats. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2in. apart onto a lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

For filling

3/4 cup shortening

3 cups confectioners sugar

1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme

1-3 tbs milk

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening, sugar, and marshmallow creme. Add enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Spread filling on the bottom of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies. Yield: about 4 1/2 dozen.

Lucinda Trouble *

Our Puppy dog. Lucy. A Walker Treeing Coon Hound

What's for Dinner?

Hot Beef Cheddar subs

4 submarine sandwich buns

1lb ground beef

1 medium green pepper diced

1small onion diced

1 can (10 3/4 ounce) condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted

1/4tsp Worcestershire sauce

4 slices American cheese

Cut a thin slice off the top of each bun; set tops aside. Carefully hollow out bottoms, leaving a 1/2in shells. Set aside 1/2 cup of bread.

In a skillet, cook beef, green pepper, and onions over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in soup, Worcestershire, and bread; mix well.

Spoon into buns; top each with a cheese slice. Replace tops. Place on an ungreased  baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Last nights dessert

Strawberry Delight

2 cups frozen whole strawberries, thawed.

Red food coloring, optional

1pkg instant vanilla pudding mix

1 carton frozen whipped topping thawed

1 graham cracker crust

1/2 cup flaked coconut, toasted.

In a mixing bowl, crush strawberries. Add food coloring (if desired)

Beat in pudding mix until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Pour into crust; sprinkle with coconut. Chill until ready to serve. Store leftovers in the refrigerator. 6-8 servings

Updates

Miss Z. said Mama for the first time the other evening. She was running around the living room saying, "mama, mama, mama," you get the idea.

Mister J. has started rolling over. I tried to get a video of it, but he would never do it while I was filming. We moved Mister J.out of his bassinet a couple of weeks ago.
He likes his bed. He has lots of room to roll and scoot himself around.

My favorite picture of Miss M.

One of my favorite pictures of Miss M.

Who does Miss Z. Look like

Miss G. at around 14 months old

Miss B. around 3 yrs

Miss M. around 14 months old

Miss Z.  at 16 months old.

Looking into the past

To see into the future.

This is Mister A. and Miss M.

This will be Miss Z. and Mister J. next year.

Spaghetti Face AKA: Miss Z.

Miss Z.'s favorite meal. Spaghetti.

Whats for dinner and dessert?

Spinach Cheese Manicotti
one medium onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1Tbs vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1cup shredded mozzarella cheese Divided
4 oz cream cheese softened
6tablespoons grated parmesan cheese divided
 1tsp Italian seasoning
1/2tsp pepper
1pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
8 manicotti shells, cooked and drained
1 jar spaghetti sauce

In small skillet, saute  onion and garlic in oil for 3 minutes; set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, cream cheese, 4 tablespoons Parmesan, Italian seasoning and pepper; beat until smooth. Stir in onion mixture and spinach. Spoon or pipe into the manicotti shells.
Pour half of the spaghetti sauce into a greased 13 in x9 in x 2in baking dish.
Arrange shells over sauce; top with remaining sauce. Cover and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

These recipes are from old Taste of Home magazines.

Rainbow Gelatin Cubes
4 packages (3oz each) assorted flavored gelatin
6 envelopes unflavored gelatin divided
5 3/4 cups boiling water, divided
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup cold water

In a bowl, combine one package flavored gelatin and one envelope unflavored gelatin. Stir 1 cup boiling water until dissolved. Pour intoa 13 in x 9 in x 2in dish coated with non-stick spray; refrigerate until almost set but not firm, about 20 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the condensed milk and 1 cup boiling water. In another bowl, sprinkle two envelopes unflavored gelatin over cold water; let stand for 1 minute. Stir in 3/4 cup boiling water. Add to the milk mixture. Pour 1 cup of the creamy gelatin mixture over the first flavored gelatin layer. Refrigerate until firm, about 25 minutes.

Repeat from beginning of recipe three times, alternating creamy gelatin layers with flavored gelatin. Chill each layer until firm before pouring next layer on top. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before cutting into 1 in squares.

Whats for dinner?

Our main dishes will be something new for the next two weeks. I sat down and planned our menu out . Then went and bought everything we needed. Tonights dinner was really good. I thought I would share.

Beef in onion gravy

1 can  Cream of mushroom soup undiluted

2TBS Onion soup mix

2 TBS beef broth

1 TBS of quick cooking tapoica

1lb beef stew meat, into 1in cubes

Hot cooked noodles or mashed potatoes

In a slow cooker, combine the soup, soup mix, broth and tapioca; let stand for 15 minutes. Stir in beef. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender. Serve over noodles or mashed potatoes. Yield: 3 servings.

I doubled the recipe for my brood. And served it over egg noodles.