Advent Calendars

                                                 

While down in Eugene over Thanksgiving, my sister wanted me to help her whip up an advent calendar for their family. "Whipping it up" ended up being synonymous with shopping for fabric for a couple hours, staying up until 1:30am, and racing to put the finishing touches on it before we headed home. It was fun though and some great time with my sister. It's just a basic fabric pocket advent calendar that she will fill with pieces of a nativity scene, activities to do, and treats.

I had started working on a cardstock version for Jake and I and finished just in time for the first of December. On the back of each tag is an activity to do that day. The black rectangles on the front are chalkboard paper, so we can plan the calendar each year and change the date on the activities if need be (ie. we might get our tree on a Sunday this year and not want to plan to get it on Monday next year).

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving we went down to Eugene and celebrated with my family (since we missed last year with them when we were in Kenya). We had a lovely Thanksgiving feast at my aunt and uncle's house, celebrated my dad's birthday, did a little shopping, went to the civil war football game, played some games, and hit up the $1.50 movie theater a few times (the boys went to three movies over the weekend).

One Pot Dinner

Have you ever tried the Birds Eye garlic chicken skillet meal? It is super delicious. I hadn't had it for a long time, and then some friends made it for me for dinner one night (they got the jumbo bag from Costco). Since I didn't want to pay probably around $10 for the premade stuff, I decided to try to make it myself. It turned out pretty identical and was cheaper too. Here is my made up recipe:
                                                

1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 head of broccoli, chopped
1 can of corn
1/2 lb of rotini pasta
1/4 of a costco rotisserie chicken, picked and shredded
2 Tbs butter
6 cloves of garlic, grated or finely chopped
2 Tbs flour
1 1/2 c milk
1 1/2 tsp dill
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

-sautee carrot and broccoli in a little olive oil until crisp tender, add corn
-boil water and cook pasta until al dente, stir into veggies
-add rotisserie chicken to veggie/pasta mixture
-melt butter in saucepan, add garlic and cook until lightly browned
-stir in flour and let cook for a couple of minutes
-whisk in milk, stir in dill, cayenne, salt and pepper
-toss garlic sauce with pasta/veggie/chicken mixture

-Eat!

Date Night Chopped

We don't watch a lot of TV, but we have been watching some episodes of Chopped here and there online. We were trying to decide on what to do the other night and on a whim Jake came up with a game plan. We ran to the store, had a budget of $4 each to buy ingredients with, came home and revealed them to each other, then had to use what the other person had bought (along with pantry items) to create a delicious dinner in 30 minutes. Mayhem ensued, and a plate of waterchestnut/pepper/onion/& chicken sausage stirfry and a plate of smoked cheddar/broccoli/bacon/tomato sauce pasta with broccoli salad were the results. I was hesitant to do it at first and wasn't really in the mood, but in the end it was a great time. I didn't get any pictures of the food cause we were so hungry by the time we were done, but here is the resulting disaster in our kitchen:

The Pumpkin Patch

Every year we venture out to the pumpkin patch to have some homemade apple cider & pumpkin doughnuts, pick out a pumpkin, taste fudge samples, and walk around the farm. We did that this year as well. Although we tried our best to find pumpkins that were narrow and tall (cost of the pumpkins is based on the width not the weight), it still would have cost us 7 bucks to get two small ones. So after enjoying the atmosphere and tasty treats, we followed a sign to a small pumpkin patch without all the hoopla. It was $2 for any pumpkin, and paying was on the honor system. I feel like we got to experience the best of both worlds.

Gleaning for Free

Jake and I went on a bike ride the other night. We wanted to get one last one in before the rain inevitably starts up for the winter. It was a lovely, crisp fall evening. We decided to check out the local community garden, and Jake wanted to also hunt for dandelion greens. Upon arriving at the garden, a couple who had some plots there told us that people were pretty much done working in their plots and to help ourselves to whatever we could find. There was so much left it was sad to think that people just left it to rot, but also exciting for us who got to reap the bounty for free.

The Glory of a Costco Rotisserie Chicken

For being someone who didn't eat meat for 11 years, I never though I'd buy a whole chicken at the store. Since reentering the glorious world of meat eating, I've cooked with a lot of things that surprise myself. Rotisserie chicken being one of them. These babies are so cheap at Costco- $5! After picking all the chicken off (it's not as gross as you'd think it would be, just make sure to pick it while it's still warm so that the skin is easily removed), I used to just throw away the carcass and skin and nasty leftovers. Until recently when my mother in law introduced me to making my own chicken stock.

It's as easy as taking all the stuff that's left after you pick your chicken,
-putting it in a pot with enough water to cover it,
- throwing in stuff to season it if you want (i usually put in a couple onions, and some garlic cloves),
-bringing it to a boil, letting it simmer for a bit (maybe 1/2 an hour-45 min?),
-and pouring it all through a strainer.

Then you're left with glorious homemade broth from something you were going to throw away. One chicken gives me enough meat for 2-3 meals (think putting it in soups, enchiladas, sandwiches, salads...) plus 3 quarts of broth (great for homemade soup, flavoring rice or pasta while it cooks, making sauces)- all for 5 bucks. Deal of the century.

The Simplest of Solutions

I sew quite a bit. Up to this point, my thread has been stored in this beast:

Super inconvenient, super awkward to store, super ugly. Both sides of the case fold up and latch together so that every time you open it all the thread goes flying off their little pegs. There have definitely been times where I have used black thread on brown fabric just because I didn't want to deal with finding a different color in there. Good thing I discovered a simple solution to my problem:
1. find an old frame you're not using & cut a piece of wood to fit into it

2. hammer some evenly spaced nails into the board

3. put the board into the frame and place your thread on the nails

Voila! Much prettier, much more accessible. 

Surprisingly Simpler Than You Think

It seems to be that I have this ongoing list of things in my head that just seem too overwhelming to try to cook myself. Well I'm starting to face my fears and give them a go. Dealing with yeast in any given recipe was my first attempt at conquering those "there's no possible way I could make that" recipes. More recently, I went after homemade gnocchi. Jake and I personally LOVE this stuff! The recipe only has 4 ingredients, and although cooking the potatoes takes a little time, it comes together relatively quickly and super easily. It's highly recommended that you give it a try too... here's how:

Gnocchi:
serves about 4

1. wash and prick 4-5 potatoes with a fork
2. bake in a 400' oven until tender (40 minutes or so)
3. scoop out potato flesh from the skin and mix it in a kitchen aid until fluffy

4. mix in 1 1/4 c flour
5. beat 1 egg with 1/4 tsp salt until combined

6. mix the egg/salt into the potato/flour combo until a dough is formed

7. split the dough into four equal sections

8. using your fingers, roll out like a snake on lightly floured surface, until it's about 18" long
9. cut into one inch pieces, place onto wax paper lined baking sheet (if you're going to freeze them)

10. you can now freeze the gnocchi on the baking sheet and transfer it to a ziploc freezer bag after they have frozen, or cook the gnocchi in boiling, salted water until they float to the top (about 2 minutes)
* to cook the frozen gnocchi, DON'T thaw first! cook the same as you would the fresh gnocchi.

Warrior Dash

Is this something that's familiar to the general public? I had never heard of it before my husband and our friend Ricky started getting hyped up for it. It's basically a 5k with 14 different obstacles along the way made to make you feel super tough. Rolling over logs in a pond, scampering over junker cars, sliding down firepoles, climbing under barbwire, jumping over fire, and sloshing through a mud pit are just a few of the challenges you must face. At the end of the race you're rewarded with  a medal, a furry warrior helmet, a beer, and a t shirt for your efforts. Then you walk the trail to a little pond that feels like a public bathhouse because everyone else is there with you trying to rid yourselves (still clothed though) of the mud that covers you head to toe by the end of the race. Unfortunately I've been battling congestion for a couple of weeks, and was feeling a little cloudy headed and fighting a constant nasal drip while participating. We had a fantastic time though! Our friends from Yakima came down and ran it with us, and we all stuck together to the bitter end. After the race it's kind of a surreal environment as  live music plays, turkey legs are sold, and a sense of camaraderie amongst the oddly dressed (costumes are encouraged for participants), furry helmet wearing competitors unites the crowd. It was an experience to say the least.

Thankful For Another Year

Jake and I celebrated our 4th anniversary at the beginning of September. For a gift I made him a photo book documenting every month for the past two years (I had made him one for the first two years on our second anniversary). How neat it was to look back on all we've done in such a short time. Sweet travels (Thailand, Cambodia, Bali, Kenya), new communities jobs & friendships, living in different places - and seeing the Lord provide more than we could imagine through it all. I am so thankful for the absolute gift that my husband is. We were able to get away through a deal on groupon (!) to the Oregon Garden Resort. It included a night at the resort, dinner for two at their restaurant, a bottle of wine, breakfast for two, and free admission to the garden. It was the perfect way to celebrate 4 years!

Berry Picking Season

I never would have thought I'd get such a thrill from picking blackberries. The sharp thorns that get stuck to your head as you duck under to go for those huge ones just out or reach, the black mess that gets stuck to the bottom of your shoe when you step on overripe ones that have fallen off without any help, and laboring to pick them in the hot sun isn't something that most people sign up for. It has been a tradition for me since my childhood, and maybe that's why I love it so much. Ever since I can remember, I've gone blackberry picking every summer with my grandma and any other family member that's been brave enough to join. She insists on wearing her blackberry picking outfit- a turtleneck and sweats to keep the thorns off your bare skin, her berry picking shoes (ones so old and ratty that her big toe sticks through a hole on the top), a rope around her waist for conveniently holding a bucket so both your hands can be picking, and one glove (only 1!) for the hand that holds back the briers. Living in Oregon, blackberries are a well exposed gold mine. They grow wild all over the place, so you can pull over at any park, path, or parking lot and pick away for free! Maybe that's part of the thrill of picking. Or maybe it's imagining eating the blackberry pies that my grandma is "famous" for. Either way, it's worth it and this is a tradition that will be passed on to my kids someday.

A Couple of Birthday Bashes

There's been a whole lot of celebrating going on! Since we are now so close to family, we are able to make it to more family birthday parties. It's great! We recently went down to Eugene to celebrate my niece's 2 birthday. What a sweet one she is. I'm amazed at the little party my sister was able to pull off (with help from my parents of course) considering she just had a baby 2 weeks prior.

More recently we celebrated Jake's birthday. 27 is starting to sound old! We had a great day celebrating with friends and family. Making breakfast together in the morning, floating the river, happy hour at Oswego Grill (it's amazing by the way- so cheap and delicious), sand volleyball and presents at the park, and ice cream sundaes at our place to wrap up the day. Later in the week my parents drove up and took us out to dinner at the Brazil Grill. That was insane. All you can eat 11 different kinds of delicious meat that is sliced off of swords by gauchos. Wow! So thankful for everyone who came along to make his day so special!