Author: Lois Houston

I'm a sweet tea drinkin' southern gal who loves to cook, bake, crochet, and read. Check out my blog for posts about parenting, faith, books, crafts, planning, baking, cooking, and life in general.

Knit one…

My babies are learning to knit.

IMGP3131 IMGP3125 IMGP3126 They are having such fun.IMGP3127 IMGP3128   It’s a Saturday class and the lady who is teaching them is so patient and kind.  Much more patient than I would be. IMGP3129 IMGP3130 

And they’re having a blast.

Menu Plan Monday ~ 27 September

I bet you thought  I wasn’t going to post a menu plan today… didn’t you? Since I posted on another topic this morning, you probably thought I was slacking off… Well, it would be understandable given the fact that I got home from out of town last night and had no clue what was in my fridge and pantry.  But a quick survey remedied that.

mealplanmonday_v2

Here’s what I’ve got planned for the week:

  • Tonight: Beef Stew (grilled cheese sandwiches & chicken noodle soup as “plan B” for the monkeys if they don’t eat this – but they’d be crazy not to.)
  • Tuesday: Tacos
  • Wednesday: Pork Butt in the crock pot, sticky rice (from the drippings) & veggies
  • Thursday: TBD – something chicken, though
    (Maybe BBQ Dry Rub chicken  or Beer Can Chicken if the weather is nice and I can grill)
  • Friday: leftover pork butt transformed into BBQ sandwiches
  • Saturday/Sunday night we have company – both nights – so I don’t know yet what I will cook. Still thinking about it but I have time.

What’s on your menu this week?

Join us over on OrgJunkie.com for a link up of menu plans for the week!

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What a weekend

We had a whirlwind weekend.  SuperMan’s 25th high school reunion was this past weekend.  We zipped down to Savannah for the reunion and picked up a bunch of furniture from my mom’s house while we were there.  They are downsizing and shared some furniture with us.  Now, I have to figure out where to put it! The good thing is that the girls now both have “new” bedroom sets.  They are very excited about it and I’m excited that we’ll have enough space to store their clothes properly.  Maybe now Big Girl will actually put her clothes away? (one can hope)

We also saw SuperMan’s sisters & their kids on Saturday at the reunion picnic.  It was great to see them and I can’t believe how big the kids are – they are practically adults.  Which is very strange to me because I remember the oldest being just a few months old at our wedding.  They are all growing up into such lovely people, though.

While we were at the picnic, the big kids took my “little” kids to the playground. It was so strange to see Big Girl walking with her oldest cousin. From the distance (and without my glasses) it looked like me walking with SuperMan’s oldest sister – as if I was looking at a flashback in time.  Wow.  Really?

And then, my heart just about burst watching Little Bit walking hand-in-hand with her big strapping cousin, looking up at him as if she was absolutely certain that nothing bad could happen to her as long as he was with her.  Which, in itself is a miracle, because Little Bit is a little bit intimidated by big, tall, strong, male cousins.  She is afraid and attracted all at the same time.

I’m in recovery mode today. 

My body is calling me all sorts of dirty words for making it haul furniture around yesterday. 

My mind is swarming and swimming with all the things I need to accomplish before the monkeys get out of school. 

And the rain is falling down outside, singing softly to me about naps, blankets, tea, and snuggling on the sofa with a book.

But, it is not to be for me.  I have way too many things to accomplish before that school bell rings today.

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Baking day

I haven’t been in the mood to cook all week. We’ve been eating on leftovers and sandwiches for dinner most nights. My best intentions from Monday’s menu planning have been for naught.  Today, however, I feel a little different – thinking about what to cook for dinner and I’ve tossed out the “plan” from Monday and moving on to cooking something that inspires me.

So, today I am baking.

First up was the baked oatmeal I love and that I make WLS-friendly so I can have it for breakfast. That’s cooling on the counter now. (minus a square I’ve already nibbled for my breakfast)

Next up is my beef with egg noodles & gravy. That will be supper. I’ll be getting it into the crock pot soon.

I’m also going to bake some bread.Bread photo from Delicious! Delicious!

Trying to decide between my recipe for Portuguese Sweet Bread or a new recipe I found for Oatmeal Bread. The Portuguese Sweet Bread never survives for more than a few minutes after it comes out of the oven. The kids and SuperMan LOVE it.  The Oatmeal bread sounds yummy (and healthy) so I’m not sure which one I will make.

Do you make homemade bread?  I love doing it and it’s one of my favorite fall traditions.  It’s so easy if you have a bread machine – and so much better for you than the store-bought breads with all their preservatives and additives.

And, it makes the house smell so good. Add that smell to the crock-pot smells, and who WOULDN’T want to come home for supper?

I’m off to channel my inner Betty Crocker…

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You should bake this

I have it on good authority (my mom) that this is one of the best cakes you will ever bake.  She has just baked it and called me to tell me to bake it right away.  I have one in the oven, because, as we all know, I’m a very obedient daughter.  Of course I hung up the phone and started mixing! Mama said to!

I’m baking 2 small loaf cakes because I’m taking one to a friend who just had surgery. Everyone knows cake is the best medicine when you are recovering from surgery.  That, and my great-grandma’s sausage-rice casserole.  That’ll cure anything that’s wrong with you.

Brown sugar cake

Now that I've baked the cake and had a teensy-tiny sample, I can tell you it is soooo good. There's a rich, buttery taste to it.  I am thinking it would be great served on a cool fall morning with some tea or coffee.

Next time I make it I may add some diced apple and/or cinnamon.

But it is definitely worth a try.

Brown Sugar Cake

  • 1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
  • 1 pkg.  (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
  • 4 Eggs
  • 2/3 cup  BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
  • 2/3 cup Water
  • 1/2 cup  Oil
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup  chopped PLANTERS Pecans
  • 2 tsp. Powdered sugar
  1.  HEAT oven to 350ºF.
  2. BEAT first 6 ingredients with mixer 3 min. or until well blended. Add brown sugar and nuts; mix well.
  3. POUR into 12-cup fluted tube pan or 10-inch tube pan sprayed with cooking spray.
  4. BAKE 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 15 min. Loosen cake from sides of pan; invert onto wire rack. Remove pan; cool cake completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving.

I also added about 2-3 tablespoons of cinnamon sugar to the cake pan after I’d sprayed it with non-stick spray and before I poured the cake in. Next time, I may get crazy and add some to the cake, too.

*Click on the cake name to get a printable copy of the recipe. 🙂

Oh, and I'll be sitting over there in the corner in a diabetic coma after my little taste. If you need me, just nudge me.

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Menu Plan Monday ~ 20 September

mealplanmonday_v2Planning out this week’s menu wasn’t too difficult. 

I knew I wanted something special on Tuesday (it’s my birthday) and then I had a list of recipes I’d flagged from other menus I’ve seen – so it was just a matter of pulling it all together into a single list.

Big Girl is home sick today so I think I’m going to change my original plan and make some soup for tonight’s dinner.  Here’s what’s on the agenda for the week:

  • Pasta Fagioli (this is major comfort food for me – my grandma used to make this)
  • Grilled steaks, boiled & buttered potatoes, steamed broccoli (This is my birthday dinner)
  • Stir Fry Chicken (a friend made this for us for dinner Sunday night – it was yummy)  I’ll make this with whole wheat pasta and maybe add some more stir-fry veggies.
    She also made this for dessert – it was sooo good. I will be making it here at home as soon as I get the ingredients. I think I can make a sugar-free version that would be just as good. If you like Reese's peanut butter cups, you need to try this. It tastes like a cold, pudding version of a peanut butter cup.
  • Meatball Subs (I’ll make a variation of this recipe and let the girls help me make the meatballs. I think they will like that.) Cheesy Volcano Meatballs

Friday, we will be eating out and the weekend will be filled with SuperMan’s high school reunion activities.

What are you eating this week?  Join us over at orgjunkie.com and link up your Menu Plan Monday.

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Mind Games

I will start this post by admitting to you that what I’m about to share is a little bit crazy… as in I’m a little bit crazy.  But, if you know me, this is not news to you.  Yes, I’m a little bit crazy – aren’t we all?

Today’s craziness is all about getting up in the morning – and the mind games we play with ourselves around the dreaded alarm clock.

Let me ask you a few questions:

  • Do you set your clock to the ACTUAL time, or do you set it just a little bit fast?
  • Do you set your alarm early so that you can hit the snooze button a few times?

Now, it is confession time.

I do both.

How crazy is that?

Seriously crazy, I think.

But I’ve already admitted to you I’m a little nuts.

SuperMan is nuts, too.

Both clocks in our bedroom are set fast. Mine is about 20-30 minutes fast. His? I have no idea. I haven’t figured it out.

And while this seems a little crazy – I mean, if I KNOW the clock is set fast, then all I have to do is do a little math and I know what time it really is, right? I’m not fooling anyone…

or am I?

You see, the monkeys use my clock as a check as to whether or not it is really bedtime.  So, I get a little head-start this way.

But, it is nuts. I admit it.

Especially when you add in the fact that I set my alarm early so I can hit the snooze button a few times. It makes me feel like I am getting more sleep.  It’s probably terrible for me, but I do it anyway.

So…image

20-30 minutes fast on the clock setting + 20-30 minutes early on the alarm setting = too much math to do at 5AM when the alarm goes off. (or at least I THINK it’s 5AM)

So what do I do? I get up when I have hit the snooze 3 times. I know that it is roughly the right time to get up.  Some days, I get up earlier; some days I hit that snooze button just one more time (and usually regret it because then I have to rush)

Why do I play these mind games with myself?

I have no clue.

I’ve been doing it for so long I can’t even remember why I started in the first place. 

And I wonder if I quit would it totally mess me up and make me late? Who knows.

But tell me this… am I the only one who does this?

Come on, admit it… tell me you do, too.

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