zucchini brownies

These are great brownies,
and perfect for those extra garden zucchini's laying around...

Sift Together:
1 1\2 C flour
1 1\s TB cocoa
1\2 tsp baking soda
1\2 tsp cinnamon
1\4 tsp baking powder

Set AsideBeat Together:
1\4 C oil
3\4 C sugar
1 egg
1\4 C sour cream
1\2 tsp. vanilla
Add to flour mixture,

Then fold in:
2 C grated zucchini
3\4 C chocolate chips
1\3 C crushed nuts (if you want, i never add them)

greased 9x13 pan bake at 325 for 30-35

*****make sure you refrigerate them after you bake them, otherwise they'll mold because of the veggies....

i learned this the hard way the first time i made them :) ******

markets, gardens and cats

Yesterday I went to the farmers market with a dear friend. We walked downtown and enjoyed looking at all the fresh goodies there were! We walked in and out of a bunch of downtown stores and just enjoyed the afternoon together. I bought some fresh peaches, which I think I may just make a pie with... YUM!

Last night, Mike went out to the garden while I was teaching and came home with our first "real crop" of veggies. We've brought home a couple of things here and there, but last night he came home with a basket of stuff. We had zucchini, yellow squash, green pepper, banana pepper and some sugar snap peas.... I'll have to post my recipe for zucchini brownies, they are AMAZING and it's a great way to use up extra zucchini....

more yummies to come... :)

And just for fun, these are pictures of our beloved cat. It's been so hot lately. He doesn't like the heat, and I think he struggles just as much as we do, after all, he does have a fur coat on. The back of that couch is his most favorite sleeping location in the world. Normally he loves the soft fleece blanket to sleep on, but this is what we found the other morning when we got up. It was like he had pushed it out the way because he was so hot.. poor baby....

The second picture was when Mike grabbed the camera and started taking some pictures.

"Daddy leave me alone"...

that's his common sentiment towards us most of the time! :)

lazy weekends

I LOVE lazy weekends.

Mike and I have enjoyed a relaxing weekend. We did stuff, but nothing we "had" to do. Well, we did have to washing machine shop because ours is dead and we need a new one, but it was okay. I just love the opportunities we have to spend at home with each other. It's my favorite!!!

Here's a shout out to weekends! :)

more recipes

Taco Soup

I got this recipe from a friend over the winter. It's quite tasty and really easy to make.

1- 1 1\2lbs of ground beef or turkey. (i normally use 1 lb)
1 onion chopped
1 pkg of ranch dressing mix
1 pkg of taco seasoning
1 can corn
1 can green chili's
1 can of diced tomatoes
3 cans of beans (any variety)

(I've also put tomatoes in) ..
editing the tomatoes in.. they're there, I forgot them! :) oops!

brown meat with onion. add both seasonings, follow directions on taco pkg. add the rest of the ingredients and a couple of cans of water. bring ingredients to a boil and simmer. (the longer the better). the longer it simmers, the thicker the soup, so you may need to add more water.

Serve with toppings to make it "taco-y".
sour cream, green onion, cheese, fritos, etc....


I also made muffins yesterday. In fact, the same afore-mentioned friend posted this recipe and I had blueberries so I thought why not. Let's just say it's going in the books!!! It's super easy to make, and amazingly tasty!! The best homemade blueberry muffins ever!!
Take this LINK to the muffins. Trust me, they are worth baking!

taco soup

soup soup soup...

for whatever reason, soup sounds really good this week.

tonight on the menu....

Taco Soup

It's super easy to make and really yummy!!

I also made some muffins to go with dinner.

It's simmering now and I can't wait to eat it! :)

minestrone soup

Minstrone Soup

Last night I made minstrone soup and it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Saturday night Mike and I had a date at Olive Garden. I had gotten their minestrone soup and loved it. So after that I was on the hunt for a recipe. Well, with a little internet googling I found a knock off olive garden recipe and just had to try it, and I had stuff from our garden to use.
So, here's the recipe! It's kind of long, but it's really worth it!

3 TB olive oil
1 C finely chopped onion
1\2 C chopped zucchini
1\2 C frozen green beans
1\4 C finely chopped celery
4 tsp minced garlic (I used 4 cloves)
4 cups of veggie broth
(make sure to not use chicken--too salty, or just use water)
2 15 oz. cans of kidney beans
2 15 oz.cans of white beans
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1\2 C carrot (shredded, or finely chopped)

2 TB parsley ( i didn't have this, so i didn't put it in)
1 1\2 tsp oregano
1 1\2 tsp salt
1\2 tsp pepper
1\2 tsp basil
1\4 tsp thyme
3 C of hot water
4 cups fresh spinach
1\2 C of small shell pasta

1) Saute onion, celery, garlic, beans, and zucchini in oil until onions become translucent
2) Add vegetable broth to pot, plus tomatoes, beans, carrots, hot water and spices.
3) Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes
(I think longer would be better)
4) Add spinach leaves and pasta cook for another 20 minutes.

Makes about 8 1 1\2 C servings..
It made a ton.. we're having it for dinner tonight! :)
I really think this is a "add whatever you have" kind of recipe. It seems like a ton of ingredients, but I had most of them in the house.
I'm sure you could mix and match all sorts of veggies with no problem.
If you change it, let me know! :)

first veggies

we finally got our first veggies out of our garden....

just one zuchinni,

but nonetheless it's exciting! it means that we are weeks away from fresh tomatoes, peppers, onions and beans...

yum yum yum.... :)

dinner tonight... minestrone soup,

so i can use my fresh zuchinni! :)

a dear friend

A dear dear friend of mine just found out she lost her baby.

It is amazing to me how much it brings me back to that moment in time when the doctor looked at Mike and I and told us our baby had died. I cannot describe to you how we felt in those minutes, days, and months following our miscarriage, nor will I attempt because words are not adequate.
It continues to amaze me how often I feel okay with everything, and how hearing those words from a friend can bring it all back in such a real way for us. Our precious baby would be 2 1\2 months old right now... .... it still catches me off guard to say that, our lives would be so different right now, but I'm also thankful.....
I'm thankful for the ways God has taught us over these past 9 months. I'm thankful that we have grown as a couple together, that we've learned to lean on each other like we never have. I'm thankful that we will be better parents someday because of the experiences we have gained through this time. I'm thankful that I can be a better friend to a friend who experiences a miscarriage.
Did you know that 1 in 4 women will experience a miscarriage? 1 in 4... that number still astounds me, and yet it is something that is virtually unspeakable in society. I wish it was something talked about more often; that women felt comfortable talking about it. I am struck by how often I feel uncomfortable talking about it. It's such a deeply personal thing, but I often feel like there are so many things we could gain if we did talk about it. I wonder how many women sit beside me, or talk with me on a regular basis, have had miscarriages. I really think the number would be astounding, which is why I think it is worth talking about. I don't know how to begin solving the problem, but I think talking about it is a start, so for now, that's where I'll begin.

Just thinking about my dear friend, her husband and two girls this evening. Praying that she experiences an overwhelming sense of God's love and peace during this difficult time for them.

welcome home, grandpa

my grandpa is home!!

After 3 weeks of being at the hospital and in rehab, he finally made his way home yesterday morning. i went over to say welcome home and told him to stay put for a while. he said, GLADLY! :) My grandma was her usual crazy self and couldn't find something, and he kept saying, Mary I don't know where you put it, but I know we have it and she said, well Phil you must have been dreaming because I don't remember buying that. Then I said again...

Welcome Home, Gramps, we've missed you.. and he just smiled and said.. yeah. :)

I think my mom was most happy to sleep in her own bed for the first time in 3 weeks.

camping, kaydee, and grandpa

I realized I never gave the update on camping, kaydee or my grandpa for that matter, so here goes...


Camping
We had an absolutely wonderful time camping with friends. There were 12 adults, 17 people in total and craziness most of the time! When we go with our friends we split up meals and we all eat together which is so much fun. We ate lots of really yummy yummy food and too much of it, probably!
Mornings we spent around camp, a lot of the kids took naps then, or we would just go for walks. We often spent the afternoons at the beach, playing in the water, letting the kids play in the sand, and just soaking up the sun. Evenings were spent around the campfire, thanks to the TONS of wood Ben and Jessica brought with them from Ben's work. :) yeah for free firewood!

We managed to get in trouble from the DNR a few times as well. It's a running joke with our group, because we ALWAYS seem to get in trouble, which is just crazy. We're not a bunch of hoodlums by any means. We just think it's funny. I guess a group of 12 20-somethings generally are problem campers? Last summer we got in trouble for "too many cars" even though we didn't have too many cars. This summer we got in trouble because we had an extra picnic table that was on our site when we got there, then the next day we got in trouble for too many cars. Again, not too many cars, they just didn't like where they were parked. And, one morning we were playing fetch with Bella in the water and we got in trouble because she wasn't wearing her leash while swimming... hmm... we put it on and then took it off, because April said... um, yeah, I don't want her getting stuck on a log or something out there... We often want to say, well let's see, you could talk to that person about their incesantly barking dog, or how about the people that were shooting off firecrackers at night? ah.. well.. such is life I suppose.

The kids all did great!! No major fiascos! A few bumps, bruises and some crying, but nothing major which was great! They were all troopers, and it was COLD at night, low 50's, so they did great!


Kaydee
Sunday we got home and my parents were getting their dog, Kaydee that day. Mike and I unpacked, then headed over to my parents to meet her. She was just simply the cutest little bundle of joy ever. She sleeps a lot still, but then she gets up and romps around, and is definitely got a little attitude on her! She didn't tolerate Bella (my sisters dog) messing with her at all.
We spent the evening with them and had a lovely time getting to know her.


Grandpa
My grandpa is finally out of the hospital, but has moved to rehab. He will be in rehab for approximately 10 days. He is doing pretty well, getting stronger every day. There was talk of moving to a retirement center after all of this, but I guess for now they are going to come back home, and we are going to look into getting LifeLine or something similar to that in case they do need help.

Be sure to check out the pictures below of camping and kaydee

little miss kaydee

July 4th Camping

we're going camping now, we're on our way....

camping camping, we're going camping!

tomorrow we leave to go camping!! have i mentioned how much we love camping? there is nothing like sitting outside reading, relaxing, smelling like campfire smoke, and eating dinner over the fire... ahhh...
we are headed out with 5 other couples to a campground about 20 minutes from us. it should be interesting. we have 6 couples, and 5 kids under 3. it will be lots of fun and lots of laughs, i don't doubt!! we are definitely looking forward to it. we have been in a small group with these guys for about 3 years now, and are some of our closest friends, so we are definitely looking forward to spending some time with all of them.
we leave tomorrow night, so today is packing day. it is well underway, but it is a lot to do!! i have to run to the store to pick up a couple things, then back home to keep a move on the packing.. doing laundry and all sorts of fun things like that... :)

yeah for camping!!

oh, and my parents get to pick up Kaydee this weekend!!! They are super excited!

grandpas

this is what happens when i post too early...

Grandpa is NOT coming home today. Apparently yesterday his heart started beating irregularly, which, he has a pacemaker to prevent that. So, now we have to wait for the heart doctors to come in and what not to find out what's going on before he can leave...

so goes the drama.

grandpas and camping

My grandpa is moving to rehab today!

We are excited to be out of the hospital, but it's still a long road. They said he'll be in rehab for about 20 days. We've also decided that they cannot live by themselves anymore. So, we're searching for a retirement center for them. My grandpa's health is not good, and my grandma cannot function on her own, we believe she has the beginnings of dementia.

This morning I'm off to be at the hospital one more time, and get things straightened out for the rehab facility.

On a personal note, I feel like there haven't been many of those lately.. :)

We are going camping this weekend! :)

We are really excited. We are going with our small group that we just love being with. We leave Thursday, and will be back on Sunday and simply can't wait!!!! :)