Thankful +

(Wed) Thankful for another reason to get together with family!!

(Thurs AM) Thankful that all the food is preparing itself now, and we can all sit and enjoy the day (until, I suppose, the half hour before lunch).

(Fri) Thankful for shepherd's pie tonight, Upwords, Scrabble, gaming family members, voices of loved ones, crafts, ...

(Sun) Thankful for corn and bean salsa (C), the temptation of food in the kitchen (Kevin), full stomachs, water to fend off the cravings...

(Mon) Thankful for the beautiful sunrise that welcomed our family into "real" life this morning...Kevin to work, the girls and I home on our own.

Thankful for girls that are cooperating this morning, with each other! For a while they made MegaBlok cameras and were going to take pictures of things around the house and coming back to the sewing room to show me. Then they both decided it was time to use the potty. Then they decided to head into their bedroom and play "naptime". It got really quiet for a while and then I heard, "Mama," from L and "She'll be here in 5 minutes." from Kj. :) I waited about 5 minutes and then went in to check on them. They demonstrated how they were pretending to have naptime. After that they came out, looked at books for about 10 minutes and then I got the real naptime under way. What a pleasant day!

Along with all the previously mentioned "activities", I was able to bake some bread while they played PlayDoh. I sewed birds while they took pictures.

Also...Thankful I could help 5 people out by selling 2 cars.

New Subtitle?

I feel like my blog should have a new subtitle, as I have been doing so much more with food lately. More than sewing projects. I tried and tried to find a pattern to knit or crochet a simple short sleeved cardigan sweater, but was not successful in that. The next day I went to a clothing exchange with my friends and found 2 such sweaters!! Yeah! No craftiness necessary. Although if you are interested in hosting a clothing exchange, here is the basic idea: Sew Green.

I tried cooking with tofu this weekend. I bought a large (for me, normal for others) box of tofu. I only used about 1/3 for the Creamy Orange Poppyseed Dressing I made, and wasn't sure what to do with the rest. I've never bought tofu before this week. I've never wanted to try tofu before now. I still don't think I want to try it as a little cube or plain, but blended works quite nicely!

So, a new recipe for you all...

Sort of Scalloped Potatoes

2 large russet potatoes, cubed
2 large carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 thick slices of ham, cubed
salt
pepper
onion (I used minced...but you can chop some up if you'd like)
garlic
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan
2/3+ package of tofu...sorry, not sure what size the package was...
water

~Blend tofu and water (approximately: 2 parts tofu, 1 part water)
~Layer food in crock pot: 1/2 veggies/ham, seasonings, 1/2 cheeses, 2/2 veggies/ham, seasonings, 2/2 cheeses...pour blended tofu over all.
~Set to high for 2-4 hours or until veggies are tender, or low for the day (while you are at work)

(I'm adding corn to the leftovers...you could also add: colored peppers chopped, peas, ...)

Well, enjoy!!

Avocado

We bought an avocado at the grocery store last week. I know they are supposed to be very good for you, and so I thought I would try it out. I saw an ad for www.avocado.com, so I went there for a recipe.

Originally I was going to go with the dessert type items (which, I probably should have stuck with that idea), but then found the avocado quesadillas. So we tried them out gluten-free style...with corn tortillas. Ate it with salsa

Ratings:
Kevin: 3 out of 5 "It was good, but it wasn't the most tasty thing, but it was good for you too..."
Anna: Good but nothing special--taste-wise
Kj: wouldn't eat a bite
L: got it in the mouth, but gave back the tortilla and didn't try any more bites