Canning

Last week I spent 2 full days canning the "fruits" of my garden labor.  This year my green beans and cucumbers are really producing.  YAY!  In the past couple of years things have not produced as well as I would have liked but with a new arrangement in my beds and the addition of a large trellis for the cucumbers I am thankfully picking a basket full of veggies almost everyday.  The addition of the cucumber trellis has made everyone in this house happy because that means mom makes pickles.  

Pickles are probably one of the easiest veggies to can.  I made two kinds; bread and butter and dill. The prep work for pickles is probably the most time consuming because it requires lots of slicing but once you have that done everything else is really simple.  

This year I have conquered my fear (I think) of the Pressure Cooker.  My grandmother used a pressure cooker for so many things but I was always terrified of it. The only way to can green beans safely is to pressure can them. I am not fond of frozen green beans and I'm really not fond of food poisoning so I was left with only one choice.  Pressure canning. I purchased my pressure canner and it sat in the box for several days. Unfortunately the box is quite large so "out of sight, out of mind" didn't work.  Finally, knowing that I needed to can the green beans soon or they would go bad, I got out the book and read all the instructions.  I talked to my mom several times about how scared I was and she suggested that I find a You Tube video to watch.  Huh, why didn't I think of that?  I watched the videos, reread the instructions, crossed myself (I'm not Catholic but what could it hurt, right?!), said a few prayers, and went to work.  Thankfully my kitchen is still in one piece and so am I. I will admit to standing in the doorway of the kitchen for most of the 20 minutes clutching the instruction manual.  

I think I will attempt to can some salsa next.  I have lots of jalapenos from the garden and I think that salsa will be a good use for them. Chips and salsa, yum!

Strawberry Pickin

 On Saturday I woke the girls a little early, made a stop at Dunkin Donuts, and headed over the bridge (James River Bridge) to go strawberry picking.  The girls love to pick strawberries and we are almost out of the last strawberry jam I made so there was a need. The girls and I have been looking forward to this since the season changed.  I have been calling the "Strawberry Hotline" since late April to find out when the fields would be open.  It was a little muddy and damp that morning due to recent storms but like they say " A little dirt (or mud) never hurt anyone!"

On Sunday morning I woke up and started busying myself preparing for the strawberry work ahead.   

 The first time I made strawberry jam the girls were about 4.  Kaitlyn tasted it and declared it will be the only jam she will eat.  She wasn't kidding either.  If she is presented with jam that I didn't make she is very reluctant to eat it.  Funny girl.  The jam process is not a hard process but it would be better with 2 people.  The girls are too young to stand at the stove stirring a pot of hot molten lava. In the future they will help but not yet.  They don't need to wear a Phineas and Ferb band-aid because of second degree burns like someone else I know. (ahem :/) After 2 batches of jam I ended up with 20 half-pint jars.  I also had enough strawberries to freeze 4 quart bags and fill two containers for eating.

Not too bad.  Sadly this will all disappear very quickly.  The girls and I can go through fruit like no body's business.  

So much deliciousness in one bowl.  Yum!  I think I will make a pie.  Probably this one.  Double Yum!

A Week of Easter Lunches

I know I am very late on this post but well, that's life right now.  Here is last week's lunches for the girls.  Enjoy a week of Easter themed lunches.

On Monday they had an Easter snack plate.  Pepperoni slices and grape tomatoes are in the flower silicon cups surrounded by cucumber slices and crackers.  I also packed strawberries, and Easter Egg shaped muffin, cheese stick and yogurt tube.

On Tuesday the girls had a cute Bunny sandwich with candy eyes, heart marshmallow nose and almond teeth sitting on ranch flavored veggie chips.  I also packed yogurt with Easter sprinkles, grapes decorated with a cute Easter Egg ring and a plastic Easter Egg with jelly beans.

On Wednesday they had 2 egg shaped sandwiches, ranch flavor veggie chips, yogurt with sprinkles, strawberries with a cute bunny ring and a bunny shaped "egg" filled with grapes.

Thursday was my last day to pack lunches for the week.  Yay!  The girls had a nice spring lunch with 2 tulip shaped sandwiches, ranch veggie chips, strawberries with a flower ring, blackberries with a butterfly ring and a cereal bar.  

I hope you had a wonderful Easter!

The Week in Lunches 2/25-31

Here is the lunch round up for this week.

On Monday the girls picked different lunches.  For Hannah I packed: Hummus, pita chips, grape tomatoes, yogurt with frozen raspberries and apple slices.

Kaitlyn had apple rings with peanut butter and granola, pretzels, yogurt with frozen raspberries and a muffin.

On Tuesday the girls took leftover pasta salad and diced up chicken, yogurt with frozen berries, mandarin oranges and a mixture of 3 different bags from our Nature Box.

On Wednesday I made them a silly monkey sandwich with PB and apple butter for Kaitlyn and PB&J for Hannah, yogurt with frozen strawberries, a muffin and banana chips.

On Thursday Hannah requested hummus again with pita chips, cucumbers, apple sauce and a few Girl Scout Cookies.

Kaitlyn had pepperoni slices, a Laughing Cow cheese wedge, crackers, cucumber slices, apple sauce and Girl Scout Cookies.

All week long the girls have been celebrating Dr. Seuss at school. In honor of his birthday (tomorrow 3/2) I packed the girls a Seuss inspired lunch from a few of their favorite Dr. Seuss books.  A "B" PB&apple butter/jelly sandwich for The B Book.  I read this book so many times for them I could recite it without having to look at the words.  Ham dices in a green egg for Green Eggs and Ham.  Goldfish for One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, and apple slices with the number ten in stickers for Ten Apples Up On Top.  

Have a great weekend!

The Week In Lunches 2/18-2/21

This has been a very busy week around here. Lots of activities and birthdays.

Here are the girls lunches for the week.

There was no school on Monday but the girls had a field trip with their Girl Scout troop to the food bank.  They toured and learned lots about the food bank and even helped stock the shelves.  After the tour the girls headed to a local park for lunch and a little play time.  I packed the girls a PB & Apple butter flower sandwich, veggies sticks, yogurt with frozen raspberries, a cereal bar and a few marshmallows.

On Tuesday I packed the girls a toasted PB & apple butter sandwich stamped with one of our toast stamps, pretzels, blueberry breakfast cake, a GoGo Squeez, and a Mini Dipper with Nature's Bounty and Dark Cocoa Almonds from our Nature Box.

Wednesday the girls had a PB & apple butter sunshine sandwich, sour cream and onion corn puffs, cucumber slices, grape tomatoes, apple sauce with frozen raspberries and a Mini Dipper with Nature's Bounty and Dark Cocoa Almonds from our Nature Box.

Thursday I packed the girls a basic lunch of PB & apple butter sandwich cut into 4 squares, veggie sticks, yogurt with frozen strawberries, Blueberry Nom Noms from our Nature Box, marshmallows, and a GoGo Squeez.

Mama got a lunch on Thursday too.  A friend and I went to the quilt show (more to come on this) and while they offer concessions there I feel there is a time and place for a hot dog and a quilt show just isn't it.  Baseball game for sure but not a quilt show.  I packed myself a chicken salad sandwich, pretzels, a cutie and a cereal bar.

On Friday the girls got chicken salad, crackers, tulip shaped cucumbers, grape tomatoes, yogurt with frozen raspberries, and a cutie.  No PB & apple butter you ask?  Well, I will tell you my girls are not picky eaters, in fact they are really good eaters and open to trying new things. They just have very specific ideas about what you eat cold and what you eat hot.  Room temperature or cold leftovers is not an option.  If I sent it it would just come right back home untouched.  We are working on a few things thanks to the Momables website and a few new recipes I've come across.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

The Week in Lunches 2/11-2/15

 Here is the lunch round up for this week.  

On Monday I sent my "love bugs" and cute buggie lunch. They each had a PB&Apple butter ladybug and heart sandwich.  I tried to put antenna on the ladybug but they didn't work.  They also had heart cucumbers and heart grape tomatoes, blueberries and blackberries on heart picks.

Tuesday was Mardi Gras so I sent the girls a fun Fat Tuesday Lunch.  They had a PB&Apple Butter "King Cake" sandwich, veggie sticks, yogurt with frozen strawberries and sprinkles, blueberries and blackberries.

On Wednesday I sent big hugs and kisses for lunch.  The girls had PB&Apple butter heart sandwiches with fruit leather X & O's, sour cream and onion corn puffs, cucumbers and grape tomatoes, kiwi and blueberries, 2 cherry yogurt pretzels, and a Mini Dipper with Nature's Bounty snack mix from our February Nature Box.  I also sent them a Vitamin C packed smoothie made with frozen mango and pineapple, a banana, almond milk and a little orange juice.  The flu and strep throat have been going around and I am doing my best to keep us healthy.  

Happy Valentine's Day!  Thursday was a very hectic day for this mama.  I have been having problems swallowing food recently and I had to have an endoscopy done.  I was so nervous, especially without my husband.  I had a really good friend go with me but I was still so nervous.  I did manage to make them a heart filled Valentine lunch.  They had a PB&Apple butter heart sandwich with a fruit leather heart, sour cream and onion corn puffs, heart shaped marshmallows, frozen raspberries and frozen yogurt hearts, a Cutie and a special Valentine chex mix that we made to send to Jef.  There was just a little leftover so I saved it for them.  Not pictured was a sweet note I wrote on a Valentine napkin for them.

For Friday I was really feeling the need for some warm, sunny weather.  I sent the girls their favorite "snack plate" with pepperoni slices, crackers, a Laughing Cow cheese for Kaitlyn and a cheese stick for Hannah, cucumber slices, grape tomatoes, yogurt with frozen raspberries, a butterfly muffin, Go Go Squeez, and a Mini Dipper with Vanilla Macaroon Granola from our Nature Box.  

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

The Week In Lunches 1/25-2/1

Here is this weeks lunches for the girls.  The girls were out of school on Monday for a teacher work day so no lunch to pack.

Monday night was a rough night in our house.  Both girls had nightmares and the dog was restless for some reason which means this mama didn't get much sleep. Not enough sleep + coffee in progress = the most basic lunch mama can manage. These are the days when I wish the schools offered a proper lunch for the children but since that is laughable I will always pack their lunch no matter how tired I am . 

The tired mama lunch consisted of a peanut butter and apple butter sandwich with the crust cut off, pretzels, yogurt with frozen raspberries, and strawberries and blueberries.

On Wednesday I jumped the gun a little on a Valentines style lunch.  The girls had a heart shaped peanut butter and apple butter sandwich with a heart fruit leather decoration, pretzels, yogurt with frozen raspberries, and a Strawberry Shortcake Muffin using  this recipe I found on Pintrest.  Its not a very sweet muffin but I like that I could eat more than one and not feel guilty about it.  Muffins are a very loved breakfast item in this house but they can do some serious damage if you are trying to watch what you are eating. They also had a Mini Dipper with Orange Crush Granola from our Naturebox.

On Thursday I packed the girls probably their favorite type of lunch. They love what we call in our house"snack plates". My husband makes a great snack plate with lots of fun finger foods for us to share while watching a movie or TV. The girls had crackers, cucumber slices, pepperoni slices, grape tomatoes and a cheese stick (Kaitlyn had a Laughing Cow Cheese). They also had yogurt with frozen raspberries and a heart shaped muffin.  

Today was the first day of February and the first day of an exciting month.  This month includes: Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras, my husband and my birthday, and best of all we will finally be at the half way point of this deployment. WOO HOO!  Today was the girls first official Valentine's lunch.  The girls had a peanut butter and apple butter heart sandwich with a heart cut out and heart sprinkles, yogurt with heart sprinkles and frozen raspberries underneath, and a heart muffin.  

I couldn't end the week without a little sharing. My dear friend over at We Are New Everyday called me this morning and said to meet here after dropping off the girls because she had something for me.  It has been bitterly cold today with strong winds and she knows my issues with that so this was my special treat.

Isn't it gorgeous!  This was actually my first King Cake and oh my was it delicious.  I did show some restraint and save some for the girls after school and there is one piece left for my morning coffee.  Stop by her blog and read about her and her family and check out the the recipe for this fabulous treat here, here, and   here.

Have a great weekend!

The Week in Lunches 1/14-1/18

 Here is the roundup of this week's lunches. This week the girls had some very simple lunches.  I had absolutely no imagination this week.  Between gray skies, constant rain and plumbing issues I was lucky I was able to pull myself out of the bed and put clothes on everyday.  

The girls had a very simple lunch on Monday.  They had peanut butter and apple butter sandwiches, sour cream and onion corn puffs, vanilla Greek yogurt with frozen mixed berries, dried bananas and a side car of Chocolate Ginger Bliss from this month's Nature Box.  The girls loved this mix.  Kaitlyn wasn't too keen on the candied ginger pieces but Hannah couldn't get enough of them.

On Tuesday the girls had simple lunch #2.  A peanut butter and apple butter sandwich cut into small squares, pretzels, vanilla Greek yogurt with frozen mixed berries, cucumber roll ups, a Go Go Squeez and a Easy Lunchbox Mini Dipper with Lone Star Snack Mix from Nature Box. The cucumber roll ups were something new for the girls.  Its just a flour tortilla with cream cheese and cucumbers rolled up and cut in smaller pieces.  It was a hit with Hannah not so much with Kaitlyn.

On Wednesday I packed Hannah more cucumber roll ups (by request), grape tomatoes, pepperoni, pita crackers, a cheese stick, squeezy yogurt, Go Go Squeez and a homemade oatmeal cookie.

Kaitlyn had pepperoni, a Laughing Cow cheese wedge, pita crackers, grape tomatoes, cucumber slices, squeezy yogurt, Go Go Squeez and a homemade oatmeal cookie.

I had a rough day on Wednesday and was feeling a little emotional on Thursday so I decided to make sure the girls got a little extra love in their lunch box.  The have heart shaped sandwiches with peanut butter and apple butter, sour cream and onion corn puffs, vanilla Greek yogurt with frozen mixed berries, a Cutie, and a Mini Dipper with Lone Star Snack Mix from Nature Box. I also added a Lunchbox Love note to each of their lunches.

Finally Friday.  Today we had our first school delay due to snow.  It wasn't a lot of snow but enough to make the girls happy.  In honor of our 2 hour snow delay I made the girls a snow lunch.  They each had 2 circle sandwiches with snowflakes stamped into them, sour cream and onion corn puffs, vanilla Greek yogurt with snowflake sprinkles and frozen berries underneath, dried bananas and Wild Berry Bunch from our Nature Box.

Have a great weekend!