Yee-haw Birthday

Good Morning Dear Friends! What a day we had yesterday!!! So fun, exciting and tiring!   The family worked all day getting things clean and prepared to have our friends and family over for the celebration of Eli’s 5th birthday!
We had a good turnout and I think the children had a great time!
Yesterday I baked the The Pioneer Woman’s Chocolate Sheet Cake she claims it is the BEST ever… I haven’t had many chocolate sheet cakes, but it was VERY good! I also used the same cake recipe for Eli’s cake and then a cream cheese frosting for the outer.  I figured the children would be crazy about the birthday cake but they were more interested in the Chocolate Sheet Cake! 
Here is our little buck-a-roo’s cake! Decked out with a Wild Bill figurine and all! 

Gathering around the birthday table!

My wonderful son!

We had such a great time and I do love having people over at my home, it may be cramped but it is cozy and I hope to have friends over again soon!

French Toast and Answers to Questions...

Lately I have been getting up with Shannon and it makes my day run so nicely! It is amazing how much can be accomplished by getting up a little earlier every day, that and during that time getting in a Bible Study! That is starting your day off GREAT!!   By doing that, I get my Bible time in, I have my coffee with my husband, we are now going to move our devotion time from late at night till early in the morning, I blog and shower and get dressed, make beds, start laundry and whatever else needs to begin before the children usually are awake.  They are normally awake by say 7:30 or so.  
So after all that good stuff yesterday morning the children awoke and I tickled them by saying we were going to make French Toast! One of their favorites and THEY were going to help me!

Here we are, with pj’s and all, scrambling the eggs, cream, cinnamon, and vanilla up for the toast to be dipped in…
Elijah and I are slicing the bread for our yummy breakfast…
(People I rarely let myself be in photographs so there you  go… so consider yourself special! hee hee)

Eli took the rest of the pics of the French Toast but I didn’t realize he had it on movie so he recorded it instead of taking pictures… so the rest of the pictures didn’t make the cut! But you can take our word for it, it was great! 
Updates on Aunt Lynda… 
Her surgery was delayed almost 4 hours yesterday… grr…
Being w/o ins… she is tossed around. 
She made it through surgery, although it was terribly painful… Zach (her husband) said it was much worse than last time according to my mother.  In the last surgery they cut a lot around her eye and it has bothered her because she can not keep it from running and oozing and hurting so this time they sewed her eye shut while they were in surgery cutting the place out of her forehead!  I don’t know for how long either, they said because it was such an irritant that it wasn’t healing because of all the rubbing and itching and scratching so this would help it to heal.  
They will know on the pathology hopefully in a few days and I will continue to pray that they were able to get ALL of it and she will NOT have to go through any more torture!  Please, if you keep a prayer journal, please add her to it, if you just whisper a prayer as you pass my way please do, I appreciate it so much!!!

I have been asked many questions and I am going to try and answer them here…
Mrs. Mo.. nope I don’t have a tuffet so I guess I will have to eat my curds and whey somewhere else! 

Kombucha tea! My husband LOVES the stuff… I like it and will drink some now and then, but if we have it he drinks a bottle daily.
I will try and put together a whole blog entry on how to and what I do and even if you need a scoby, I can try and get you one as I grow them! 

Crockpot Enchilada’s!
One of my faves!!! And super duper easy!
This is the recipe…
1 lb ground beef
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 T. flour
1 T. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp of cumin (I think I use more like a tsp, I like cumin!)
1/4 tsp of ground sage or coriander
1 can of corn (drain this)
1 can of black beans (rinse these with water)
1 can of black olives (drain this too) 
1 package of flour tortillas
1 package of colby-jack cheese or whatever
Enchilada sauce (recipe will follow)

Brown ground beef with chopped onion and garlic, be sure not to burn your garlic!  Drain and add spices and let the spices infuse the meat, set aside.
In your crockpot smear a little enchilada sauce on the bottom, then lay two tortillas (you will probably have to overlap some) across the bottom of the crock.  Add a little ground beef, a little black bean, a little corn, a little olives, a little enchilada sauce and then a little cheese! Do this until you run out of all your stuff besides tortilla shells, sauce,  and cheese.  Top your enchiladas with another 2 shells, a little more sauce and a good helping of cheese.  I set my crock (which PLEASE note it is old and doesn’t get NEARLY as hot as your newer models!) at  high for about 4 hours… I can get this ready at lunch time and it is ready at supper! In the meantime mix you up some guacamole, get out your sour cream, and pico de gallo if you like and get ready for a fiesta!!!!!! YUM-O

Enchilada Sauce Recipe
2 cups tomato sauce
1 T. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander or sage
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Add seasonings to tomato sauce and mix well to combine! Use in place of canned enchilada sauce anytime!!!

Have a great day everyone!!!!!!

Chicken Stock Part 2

Alrighty, my stock simmered ALL night and some of the morning because I went yard sale-ing  so here is what happened when I got home!
Let the stock cool a little so I could handle the pan…
Straining the stock into my bowl…

My finished stock, 2 gallons and about 1 pint…

I am about to start some NT Chicken Rice Soup for tonight (pg. 199).  It will be a perfect quick supper before the birthday party!
It truly is fall here!!!
Thank you Lord! 
My Cup Runneth Over…Chas

Chicken Stock Part 1

Well, I finally got started with my cook-a-long project today!  I got a bit of a late start but I am well on my way to some healthy stock tomorrow!
I went to Walmart this morning with my Mom and picked up a few things I needed around the house and also went in search of a roasting pan, They did not have any in stock at this time and it was a bummer but I found one that I was able to borrow! YEAH!!
I also found some little chickens on sale too!!! I got one for $2 and one for $3! 
Here is the roaster and my rinsed chickens…

Setting the temperature…

A picture of the roaster doing its thing on top of my washing machine!  I really liked it that it didn’t heat up my house and it was on for a few hours!!

Look at all that chicken! Yum!

And the veggies are in and it is time to let it go for the night!

I will be working toward getting me one of these roasters, it was so handy! I liked how I could put it in the laundry room and it doesn’t take up my counter space and that it didn’t heat up the house! That was a big one with the weather we have been having lately! I think possibly it is finally starting to cool down… I hope!

In other news, I finished my first quilting project earlier today!
HOORAY!!
It is by no means great, but I am very tickled that I have actually done it all start to finish! 

I put a little rick-rack around the edges…

I loved sitting and stitching… it was so relaxing…
I stitched while Shannon and I watched a movie last night,
I stitched for a few minutes before breakfast this morning, 
I stitched while Abram was laying down for his nap, 
So fun and handy to tote with you!

It is time to turn in for the night! 
I hope everyone has had a wonderful day and I hope you have a terrific tomorrow!!!!!

My Cup Runneth Over…Chas