Our Second Annual Camping Trip (Or "A Guranteed Way to Make It Rain")

This past weekend we had our second annual family camping trip.  We went to Silver Falls, here in Oregon. It is absolutely beautiful there.  Last year we went tent camping, and it rained so hard that we had to leave after only one night because all of our belongings were soaked.  So this year I reserved a cabin instead.  I thought a cabin would be so much easier to handle any rain that might occur while we were camping.  (And yes, to this girl, any thing that involves not being in a hotel or having a bathroom attached to the place you are sleeping qualifies as camping.)
The entire week leading up to our camping weekend was absolutely beautiful.  The sun was out, plants were blooming, our cats looked for shady spots in the yard to take their naps, and there was nary a drop of rain.  Then Friday came along.  The day we were supposed to leave.  And wouldn't you know it, the sky opened up with a fury only seen when you really, really, really don't want it to rain.  But it's okay, I told myself.  We have a CABIN!

Flash forward to our arrival at the campsite.  The cabin was great.  It had a bunk bed and a double bed in a separate bedroom.  There was futon in the living room, and a table and four chairs.  Each of these rooms was about 8 feet by 10 feet.  The good news was that everyone had their own bed, and it was warm and dry.

The bad news was that this is not a lot of elbow room for a two parents, a 17 year old, a 10 year old, a 2 year old, and a 7 month old.  Never mind the fact that all cooking had to be done outside on the two burner propane stove, or that the firewood we bought at the campsite was wet and wouldn't stay lit enough to make s'mores.  And because of the rain, I couldn't really take Nicole outside for any walks, so she and I were pretty much stuck inside the tiny little cabin for the majority of the weekend.
However, the skies did clear long enough for us to take a walk on the trails around the water falls.

It was incredibly beautiful, and I was so thankful to be outside at last.  All the kids were great, and it really warms a mother's heart to see her children getting along and helping each other.

Cassandra and Charles helped Eloise navigate the trails, and Josh and I took turns carrying Nicole and taking photographs.  Turns out Josh is quite the nature photographer!

Me, I prefer to take pictures of people.  They fascinate me.  I like to look in their eyes to see if there is a story there.  But that is a topic for another time.
All in all, the trip wasn't so bad, but I was definitely happy to be home.  But I always feel like that after any sort of overnight adventure away from home.  It really is true..."Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home.".

The Spartan Race

Well, all that playing on the playground paid off for Josh a couple of weekends ago.  He participated in a little thing called the Spartan Race.  Heard of it?  It is a wicked fun and amazingly dirty obstacle race.  He and his cousin Andrew went up to Washougal, Washington and had the time of their lives.
Here are a few pictures from the event:

This is Josh pulling a very heavy weight.  This is just one of the 23 obstacles participants had to maneuver through.

Another piece of the course was trying to avoid being hit by very large pugil sticks being brandished by very large men.  I'm pretty sure there were a lot of bruises from this part of the course.

This must have a been a welcome sight for the participants!  Ahhh, the end of the course.  Time to eat some recovery food!

When Josh got home, he was so covered in dirt that Eloise was scared of him and wouldn't talk to him until he took a shower.  Which happened to be his second shower.  His first shower was at the race site after the finish line.  Yes, my friends, there was that much mud and dirt to wade through.  His arms, knees, sides, and back had scratches and bruises all over them.  But you know what?  He loved every minute of it.  And I am pretty sure he is going to do another obstacle race again soon.  And hopefully next year, I'll be able to participate with him.  Better get to the playground, I guess!

Interested in finding out if there is a Spartan Race in your area?  Check out their website at www.spartanrace.com.  Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Ground Beef Stroganoff

I finally remembered to take some ground beef out of the freezer on Tuesday.  Don't worry, it isn't the "pink slime" ground beef.  It is ground beef from a grass fed cow that was owned by a friend of my father-in-law.  So you know it is much tastier than what you would typically find in a grocery store.  My first idea was to make a taco soup that my sister told me about a few weeks ago.  But it was a slow cooker soup, and it was already afternoon when I was finally deciding what to make for dinner.  I know, I know, you should always plan your weekly meals in advance, and normally I do.  In fact, I have this week's meals listed out right there on my iPhone.  But being without a car for the majority of the week put a wrinkle in my dinner menu.
I finally decided to make a stroganoff, since it was a cloudy and cold looking day.  I have a few recipes for stroganoff, but I really wanted something quick and easy.  Therefore I put together a mental list of all the ingredients that typically go into a stroganoff, looked to see what I had in the fridge and pantry, and this is what I came up with.  Now, please know that we are moving towards a "real food" diet, and this was my last can of cream of mushroom soup.  I wanted to just get it off the pantry shelf, and I don't like wasting food.  Besides, I didn't have any mushrooms on hand.

Quick and Easy Ground Beef Stroganoff
Serves 4 - 6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 box of  whole wheat penne pasta or 1 bag of egg noodles
3 tablespoons butter
1 lb of ground beef
1/3 of a medium onion (or 1/2 if you really like onions), cut into bite size pieces
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 tablespoon of paprika, divided
1/4 teaspoon of coriander
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
1/8 teaspoon of black pepper
1/3 cup of water

1.  Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add penne pasta or egg noodles and following cooking directions as listed on package.
2.  Meanwhile, add olive oil to pan and heat over medium high heat until hot.  Add garlic and onion. Saute until soft.  Add ground beef to garlic and onion in pan and cook  for 3 - 4 minutes.  Add coriander, turmeric, and half of the paprika.  Continue to cook ground beef, stirring occasionally, until cooked through and no longer pink.  Add cream of mushroom soup, water, and sour cream to ground beef mixture.  Stir to thoroughly mix and until smooth.  Add remainder of paprika and black pepper.  Stir to mix and heat until hot, stirring occasionally.
3.  Drain the pasta or egg noodles, and put back into pot.  Add the butter to the pasta or egg noodles and stir until butter is melted.

To serve, place individual portions of pasta or egg noodles on plate.  Spoon  ground beef stroganoff mixture over the top of pasta or egg noodles and season to taste with salt and/or pepper.  Tastes great with toasted garlic bread and a side salad.

The Orange Cauliflower

I had no vehicle yesterday.  Our minivan is in the shop being repaired, and Josh had to take the car to work. Which means that my plan to go get some chicken for dinner was a no go.  So I had to come up with something else.  I cannot necessarily call what we had the best dinner ever, but it did the trick, and Josh and Cassandra seemed to like it.  Eloise, however, does not like cauliflower, no matter how disguised it is.

I boiled the cauliflower with some cut up Hebrew National hot dogs, and then also made some Annie's Organic mac-n-cheese right in the same pot as the cauliflower and hot dogs.  The cauliflower was the same exact color as the mac-n-cheese, so I thought it was pretty well hidden and Eloise wouldn't notice.  She did.  And she refused to eat any more once she found it.  Oh well.
Like I said, not the best dinner in the world, but at least it tasted good!

It All Started With a Little Thing Called Facebook

Well, here we are...starting a blog.  I never thought I would be one to do this.  I'm not a writer by a long shot, and the majority of my days are spent changing diapers, feeding children, trying to get a dinner pulled together, cleaning my house as best I can with a baby in one arm and a broom in the other, and trying to keep it all together until my husband gets home.  But like I said, here we are.
So what happened that made me start a blog?  Food.  Food happened.  I love food.  Not the crazy food you'll see on TV, but good old fashioned comfort food.  Now I realize that the idea of "comfort food" can take many forms, and I am not opposed to trying a different culture's version of it.  Just don't ask me to try any half baked baby chicks still in the egg shell.  That I cannot do.
But let's get back to the point of this post.  I have a friend who is currently posting pictures of her daily lunch.  She is on a diet program, and she also posts how many points her lunch is worth.  And I love it.  I love looking at the delicious things she eats.  So that got me to thinking, why don't I post some pictures of what we have for dinner?  I did this for about 4 days.  Then I began to feel...odd about it.  I felt like I was fishing for compliments.  (I wasn't.)  I began to feel like people might be annoyed.  ( I hope not.)  And I began to feel like I needed to do something else.  (Here we are.)  Interestingly enough, the very same day this blog idea popped into my head, my brother-in-law over in South Korea commented on one of my dinner pictures that it was time to start considering a blog instead.  Um, was this some sort of sign?  Of course, I fought with the idea.  Who, me?  No, not possibly.  I have way too much to do.  I can't even get five minutes by myself, much less enough time to actually sit down and think about what to write.  But again, here we are.
I hope this blog is enjoyable to the reader.  I hope it inspires others who feel crazy busy but want to put a decent meal on the table each night.  And I hope you'll be patient as we go through this adventure together.

Back to Order Monday

I don't really know how it happens, but every weekend our house explodes and becomes quite possibly the messiest place in the state.  Okay, maybe not the messiest, but darn close.  I don't know if it is because we are all home, or because the majority of our weekend is spent running errands, or because we simply get lazy, but come Monday morning I almost dread coming downstairs because of what I know awaits me.
So for me, every Monday has become "Back to Order Monday".  Between feeding the kids (which Nicole takes up a LOT of time, since I nurse her), making sure Eloise makes it to the potty in time to avoid an accident, any errands we have to run, baths, and all the other things that happen on any given day, I try to get our house back to a somewhat clean and organized state.

The living room is always the worst, since we spend the most time there.

And some Mondays that is the only room I can manage to get clean.

And as much as I like a clean and organized home, I try not to worry about it too much, because I  know I can always tackle a different room tomorrow.  As long as I keep things sanitary, I'm okay with a little mess for a little while.  I do have to admit, though, that sometimes the messiness and general disorganization does get to me, and I can't wait to have a week or weekend to really get down to business and ORGANIZE!  Until then, I'll keep cruising Pinterest for ideas.

Farmer's Market Saturday

Now that our local farmer's market is open, we have gone for the past three Saturdays.  This week we bought Swiss Chard, which I have never bought before, or even eaten, to my knowledge.  I was very excited to find a recipe and try it out.  We also bought sugar snap peas, broccoli, and orange cauliflower, which is higher in beta carotene than your typical white variety.  What a great find!

After we got home and the little ones had their naps, we headed off for a walk to the local elementary school to play on the playground.

 My family has been watching American Ninja Warrior, and that, combined with Eloise's recent gymnastics class, has created a strong desire in my husband and kids to try their own ninja warrior skills.

 
Nicole and I sat on the grass to watch the crazies others play on the equipment.

I must say I had a bit of a hankering to get out there too, but Nicole will be big enough to play too before I know it, so I can wait until then, and will treasure these sweet little baby moments for now.

We got home with just enough time to start dinner and use that fresh bought Swiss Chard.  I found a great quick and easy recipe on allrecipes.com called Pasta with Swiss Chard.  Josh ended up having to make dinner because Nicole decided she needed to eat right as dinner needed to be started.  He did a great job, as usual, and it was delicious!  However, he did leave out the capers, which I am sure would have kicked the deliciousness factor up a notch.

Pasta with Swiss Chard
Courtesy of allrecipes.com



11 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bunches Swiss chard, chopped
2 teaspoons capers
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice, or to taste (optional)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

1.  Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the spaghetti, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.

2.  Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook for 1 minute to soften. Add the Swiss chard. Cook and stir until the stems of the chard are tender. You can use some of the hot pasta water to help steam the chard in the covered pan.

3.  Stir the hot spaghetti into the chard mixture along with the capers. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and drizzle with lemon juice if desired. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to serve.