The Pumpkin Patch - Homeschool Blogger

A Different Thanksgiving

Wed, 23 Nov 2005 21:03:00 -0600

Well what else would I be talking about but food!! LOL I am a food lover and much to my surprise actually really like cooking. This year Thankgiving is going to be different........no TURKEY! Daddy Pumpkin is a vegetarian and dd and I are slowly taking on this new lifestyle. We still have the occasional meat item but they are getting fewer and farther in between. So you may ask, what are you having for TG?

Here's our menu:

Spinach and Parmesan Salad with apple slices

Angel Biscuits

Garlicky Brussels Sprout Saute

Mashed Potatoes and

Roated Vegetable Cornucopias with veggie gravy

Different indeed but I think it's still going to be delicious and excited to try new things!

Lentil Barley Soup

Tue, 22 Nov 2005 21:25:00 -0600

Seems as though this has become more of a recipe blog for me than anything else. Oh well, I love getting new recipes and I like sharing. So here's another one.

3/4 c. onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 T. oil

2 16 oz. cans stewed tomatoes undrained

4 c. vegetable broth

1/4 c. uncooked barley

1 t. salt

1 t.dried basil

1 c. potatoes peeled and cubed

3/4 c. thinly sliced carrots

1/2 c. uncooked lentils

In Dutch oven pan cook onions and garlic until crisp tender in 1 T. oil Add tomatoes, broth, barley, salt and basil. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Add potatoes, carrots and lentils, cover and simmer for about 25 minutes more or until lentils are tender.

Pumpkin Pie Pudding

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 19:32:00 -0600

This is like Pumpkin Pie without the crust. :)

15 oz. can solid pack pumpkin

12 oz. can evaporated milk

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. Bisquick baking mix

2 eggs; beaten

2 T. melted butter

2 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice

In a large bowl mix together all ingredients. Transfer to crockpot coated with non-stick cooking spray. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours (I actually only did 5 hrs.) Serve garnished with whipped cream.

Freezing for 2 weeks

Sun, 20 Nov 2005 21:10:00 -0600

Today we flew up to WA for a 2 week stay. And all I can say is.........OK , it's not actually raining but it sure is COLD!!! I went from the high 70's to high 40's / low 50's. Yikes, I can't get this chill out of my bones!

Tomorrow I'm really excited as I get to meet 2 other Sonlighters!! We are meeting for lunch and I can't wait. Come to think about it, I better go figure out how to get where I need to go.........

Black Bean Burgers

Sun, 20 Nov 2005 21:00:00 -0600

Give these a try, I actually found them really tasty and I'm not a big bean person

2 (15oz) cans of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 small onion finely chopped (I left this out since we don't eat onions)

2/3 c. breadcrumbs

1 clove garlic minced (I used 2 cloves)

1 T. fresh cilantro or basil, finely chopped (didn't have any to use)

1 t. ground cumin

2 eggs (I used 2 egg whites) beaten

1 sm. jalapeno pepper minced (optional) (I didn't use)

salt and pepper

Place beans in bowl and mash with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Shape into 6 patties and fry in a little oil on medium heat a few minutes on each side.

(I also topped ours with cheese)

Alfredo

Thu, 17 Nov 2005 14:08:00 -0600

1 1/2 c. milk

1 1/2 c. heavy cream

3 T. flour

3 T. butter

2 c. parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Combine milk and cream in pot. Heat~DO NOT BOIL

Melt butter in another pot. Whisk flour in until smooth.

Add milk and cream to butter/flour mixture and whisk until mixture comes to a boil

Simmer~low heat~ 5 minutes

Remove from heat and whisk parmesan cheese (a little at a time) and salt and pepper.

Pour over fettucine noodles

I have sauteed shrimp in a little garlic and added it to the sauce.

Getting back into the groove

Wed, 16 Nov 2005 17:55:00 -0600

After having my root canal yesterday and taking 2 days off of school I'm finding it hard to get started on a Wednesday. We occasionally take off a Friday from school and it doesn't seem to disrupt our school to much. But after taking off Monday and Tuesday......well let me say, I wasn't in the mood.

This morning started out normal. I was checking email and visiting a few sites I enjoy and dd was getting her chores done. She said she was done and went on to go play. That's what I get for not actually checking. I then started to get on her case about not doing them and (well at least that's what she heard!). Let's just say it ended up being a ruff morning with her in tears and myself also.

I was so sensitive this morning and I believe it has to do with the fact that we would be on our way to WA. That is moving to WA. We would have left yesterday but since the sell of the house fell through we are waiting for another offer. I thought I was past that but obviously not. Ok, that was a little dramatic but everyone knows I have a little drama queen in me.

We did finally get our Read Alouds done before my nephew came over. Lil Pumpkin and nephew jumped on the trampoline then we took him to Preschool. After that I attempted to get Madagascar for my other nephew for Christmas. It was $14.99 at Target but of course it was a waste of time. They were wiped out and not taking rain checks. Oh well, my step sister is going to see if she can find one.

We came home and pumpkin finished seat work while I made the Peanut Butter Pie I posted earlier.

Tonight we are going to my sister's for dinner (I'm bringing dessert) before my niece and nephew come here for the evening.

That's all folks!!

Peanut Butter Pie

Wed, 16 Nov 2005 16:04:00 -0600

� c. peanut butter
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 c. powdered sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed

Beat cream cheese and peanut butter together. Add sugar. Fold in half of the Cool Whip. Pour into graham cracker crust. Top with remaining Cool Whip. Opt.- top with chocolate jimmies, crushed Oreos, or mini chocolate chips.

Veggie Couscous

Tue, 15 Nov 2005 10:42:00 -0600

4 carrots peeled and chopped

1 c. broccoli or cauliflower or both

1 1/3 c. veg. broth

1 1/2 t. butter

1 c. couscous

Steam veggies

Heat broth in seperate pan

Melt butter in another pan~stir in couscous~Cook 1 minute

Add broth to couscous~cover and cook 4 min.

Add veggies to couscous and salt.

Serve

The Dreaded Visit

Mon, 14 Nov 2005 10:20:00 -0600

Well I'm off to the dentist today after dealing with pain all weekend. I am so anxious! I really am not fond of the dentist and now I'm extremely embarrassed to have him look at the condition of my teeth. <sigh> I promise from here on out to take care of my teeth!!

Lil' pumpkin will be spending the day at my sister's. She's excited to get a day off school and play with her cousins.

I have to make sure the house is perfect before leaving today in case someone calls to look at the house. Hoping we will get an offer soon!

Not sure what's going to be for dinner tonight. Maybe leftovers from last week??