Eberhart's Explorers: Nocturnal Animals

Eberhart's Explorers: Nocturnal Animals: Owl Poem Bat Poem Venn Diagram Owl: are/have/can chart

Salmon Patties

Ingredients:

1 can salmon (mine was 14 3/4 oz)
1/2 sm onion finely chopped
2 Tbsp minced parsley (or parsley flakes)
black pepper to taste
2 large eggs beaten
3/4 sleeve of saltine crackers
butter (to fry the patties in. I used about a stick

Pour salmon and its liquid into a medium sized mixing bowl. Break up the salmon with a fork (the bones are edible. I learned this after a minor meltdown). Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Melt about 2 Tbsp butter in frying pan. Shape mixture into patties and fry in butter until brown on both sides (About 4 minutes on each side on low-med heat.)  Add butter as needed while frying patties.

These are great with tartar sauce or plain.

Yummy Oatmeal cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c softened margarine
1/2 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 egg slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 c quick oats
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips or raisins (your preference)
1/4 c finely crushed walnuts

Cream the margarine with both sugars. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well into the margarine/sugar mixture. Stir in the quick oats, walnuts & chocolate chips (or raisins). Drop rounded teaspoons of dough onto and ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees.


You can certainly substitute the raisins or choc. chips and walnuts for other dried fruits, nuts or candies of your preference. I'm going to work on an icing  to top these with also. I will post it when I get it right. Enjoy!

Home-made Barbecue Sauce

I decided a while back that I would start cooking from scratch more. I have found a wonderful recipe for Barbecue Sauce and it is super simple. It's not a secret family recipe; I just found it online and tweaked it to my liking, so I thought I'd share it. It's better than any store-bought barbecue sauce for sure.

Here's what you'll need:
1 c. ketchup (I used Heinz)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. vinegar
1/4 c. grape jelly
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan on medium heat. Stir until grape jelly has dissolved.

If the sauce starts bubbling & spattering turn the heat down a little. It sure hurts

That's it! Super simple and super yummy! The best part is: you know what's in it!!! Enjoy!

Another little crafty I did.

My kids found yet another movie to drive me nuts with by watching it repeatedly for a week straight....Robin Hood. You know how it goes. They watch it and start it over and it's the only movie they will allow in the DVD player for week. Classic Disney movies I used to love are now loathed. Anyway, after watching Robin Hood for the umpteenth time the kids announced they wanted hats like Robin Hood. So, I went to my best pal, Google, and found a pattern. This is what emerged.

I'm so proud of me!  I made two while watching a movie. The kids love them!

I know, I know, I'm slacking!

I know it has been a minute since my last post, but I am going to try to be more dedicated in this. I promise. I still haven't tried the other cornbread recipe. I am a bit nervous. I have always used Jiffy and loved it. I haven't made any of that either though. I am determined to try the other one before I write it off. It was a recommended recipe, so I shouldn't be that scared to try it. Pinto beans are on the menu in the near future, so I will have to give in at that point anyway. You just can't have pinto beans without cornbread and a sandwich dressing that has that "tangy zip" mixed in. YUMMY! I  know it sounds gross, heck it even looks gross, but it is delicious. I have been eating it that way since I was a wee one.

I did do a couple of crafties in my blogging hiatus and have more planned. I just need to get myself more organized so I can actually make time to get them done.

In this crafty I gave my cupboard a little makeover. The cupboard belonged to my Granny and was given to me when she passed, so replacing it was out of the question.  The glass-front doors revealed everything to anyone who came into my kitchen and its contents were not pleasing to the eye (as you can see).

So I made a run to my favorite crafty supply store and purchased some pretty fabric, cut it to size and hot-glued right behind the glass. What a difference! It is now much more attractive to have in the hub of our home.

Here she is! All dolled up!

Much better huh? I absolutely love this fabric. If I knew how to use a sewing machine I would find something else to do with it! Ooooh! Maybe that is a blog for another day. Sewing Machine Adventures!!!

Soon I will post my Robin Hood hats I made for the kids. They absolutely love them and I am not ashamed to say that I did a pretty good job! :)

Well, that's all for now folks!

Cornbread

So, I have begun my journey in cooking from scratch. My first mission is to find a good recipe for cornbread. I tried one I found on the internet last night, but it did not satisfy my taste buds. I used to use Jiffy cornbread mix and I loved it, but that is hardly cooking from scratch. I will be trying several recipes until I find just the right one. I may be trying dozens...ugh. It will be worth it in the end though. I want my family to have healthy home cooking made with love instead of something prepackaged with ingredients I can't pronounce. I have been given a link to a website from a seasoned "scratch cooker" so I will start there. Maybe...hopefully, I won't have to look any further. We shall see.

iPod Brownies

For my stepdaughter's 11th birthday, we were going to be outdoors at a park. I decided a cake would be a bit of a hassle to serve outdoors. Cupcakes can be fun, but I wanted to try something different, so I decided to make these iPod brownies.

They look a little worse for the wear after the trip to the park and back, but you get the picture. It took some time, but they were a big hit.  I think after all was said and done, it took me four hours to make two dozen of these.  All the effort paid off though. The kids (and parents) loved them.   The recipe is in the June 20, 2006 issue of Woman's Day. 

Thank you!

Thank you to my SeaChele who made my cute link button! She has helped and shared lots of resources with me recently. She is truly family in the way family should be; loving, helpful, supportive, encouraging and KIND. I am truly grateful God has brought her back into my life.

Just Getting Started

I'm new to blogging and not really sure about what my blog will focus on just yet. I have been a SAHM four five years now.
I am starting a new chapter in my life soon as I will begin homeschooling my children once they are finished with this school year. My daughter was recently diagnosed with ADHD.  After trying meds and being disappointed by the side effects my husband and I decided homeschooling would be the better alternative. 
I have also embarked on a new journey to get back to basics with food. I plan to do a lot more cooking from scratch and making healthier meals for our family. Our family has consumed many boxed and frozen meals, but I don't want our children growing up on that. I want them to enjoy and be nourished by the foods I grew up on rather than the prepackaged junk we have grown accustomed to whipping up in a flash.
I figured a blog would be a nice place to start and share my journey with others. I will share recipes and homeschooling experiences as well as any other homemaking tips. If anyone has any to share, I will gladly and gratefully accept. Ta Ta for now!