Mom's Dutch Apple Pie

Today marks the first day of fall! I was in the mood for something a little different than my normal chocolate chip cookies, and emailed my mom for her apple pie recipe. It is sooooo yummy!

Mom's Dutch Apple Pie
1C Sugar
1/2 C Flour
1tsp Nutmeg
1tsp Cinnamon
dash salt
8C sliced/chopped apples

Mix together in a large bowl

Crumb Topping:
1C Flour
1/2C Brown Sugar
1/2 C Softened Butter

Mix till crumbly Bake at 375 for 50-60 Minutes. Cover top with foil for 30 minutes to keep from burning.

You can use a store bought crust or use this easy recipe:

Easy Pie Crust:
2C sifted Flour
2tsp Sugar
1 1/4 tsp Salt
2/3 C oil
3Tbsp Milk

Mix dry. Mix oil and milk. Mix together. Push into pie plate.

So you have crust, then apples, then crumbly topping. :)

Lesson Planning!

While Chris is out of town tonight, I've been getting myself organized and put together, finally. Hehehe :)

I made out a M/W/F/Sa Schedule, and a T/TH Schedule (since Kaydence goes to school T/TH and it needs to be different!) I also made a chore chart for Kaydence and Laila... it's about time they started with some daily chores! I wish I knew how to put my schedules up here on my blog from Microsoft Word, but I haven't figured that out yet...

I also got to work on homeschool lesson planning for the next week. I decided to push Kaydence along from where we left off back in December when I had Maleah. So M/W/F she will be doing more difficult work along with what's assigned from her school. I also am starting Laila up on a few things. Here's a little of what's planned for next week:

Kaydence-
For handwriting, we're finishing up her Handwriting Without Tears workbook.
For phonics, we are reviewing some of her Abeka and Hooked on Phonics readers, and introducing the first five words from the Wise Guide for Spelling on Monday, with a test on Friday. (We'll do 5 words every week)
For math, we're picking back up in our Singapore Kindergarten workbook B... but I might need to go back a little and review. We'll also review writing numbers 1-20.
For bible, we'll be going through Proverbs, corresponding to the day... so Monday the 14th we'll read Proverbs 14 and discuss.

Laila-
For handwriting, she will be doing some print readiness worksheets from donnayoung.org, and learning how to write an 'L'. (I like to teach them to write their name first!)
For phonics I'll be pulling out the Leapfrog Letter Factory DVD and she'll watch that T/TH while Kaydence is at school. She originally learned all the sounds a long time ago when Kaydence watched it, but it's since been forgotten. We'll also be going over alphabet flashcards. (If all goes well I plan to start reading with her next semester sometime)
For math, we'll be reviewing counting 1-10, working on recognition of numbers 1 and 2, and reviewing shapes and colors. I'm pretty sure she knows most of it, but I've never really sat down with her to make sure she knows everything like she should. :)
Bible will be the same as Kaydence.

That sounds like so much written out, but it's really not too much! I have my day scheduled so that all that school stuff is broken up throughout the day. Any mother of a preschooler knows that a little one has a hard time sitting still and concentrating on one thing for more than 30 minutes!! :)

Wish me luck next week!

School- At Home

Last week we completed our first week of school at school, and first week of school at home. :)

Here's Kaydence coloring:


Laila making a collage (she just glued on whatever random scraps she could manage to cut out, haha):



The girls at work!

It was a pretty easy week last week. I've been debating on whether or not to keep Kaydence where she is at to get more even with the Pre-K level, or keep pushing her on her own level. The real question is, do I want to keep things easy on me, or make it a little more difficult?

Her teacher sent home a sheet to review shapes. I pointed to a hexagon (knowing she knew the easier ones) and asked her what it was. She said, "Hexagon!" I asked her how did she know that... and she said, "It's because I know everything!" Haha I can definitely tell that child came from me. ;)

First Day of School!

Today was Kaydence's first day of school. She handled it quite well. They have a short assembly first thing every morning, where she's supposed to go and sit with her class... she held on to me and refused to go in until a teacher came and led her to her seat. Then we went back to her class and she played with Play-Doh with a few kids, while kids at another table drew pictures and wrote their name. I peeked over at their drawings... it included nice scribbles, including scribbles for names. I asked Kaydence if she showed her teacher that she could write her name, and she said she just scribbled it like the other kids! Hahaha oh man...

She said she had fun for the most part, but she said, "We had SPICY Cheese-Its and we all had to drink lots of water!" and "There was a kid crying during rest time and I couldn't sleep!" She also said that her teacher talked a lot and they had to sit and that was "boring". You can tell she's never had to do that! :) It'll be good for her though, because in life you must learn to do things even if they're boring!

But luckily, since it's a school for homeschoolers... I get to teach her Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! There are a few things that are assigned for her to do... but other than that, I can add whatever I want. I do need to add some things that will keep her on her level. I think most of what she's assigned, I'll have Laila do also. Tomorrow we are fingerpainting, reading (Laila will be starting on recognizing letters and their sounds), handwriting, math, bible study... and that's probably it for tomorrow. Taking it easy on the first day at home!

Now I'm off to get the kitchen cleaned up so we can mess it up tomorrow! ;)

Chicken Tetrazzini and Chicken Enchiladas

This week I tried two new recipes, both of which my family loved! (That pretty much never happens, LOL)

Thanks to Jamie for posting these in her "Notes" on Facebook! :)

Chicken Tetrazzini (I doubled this for us, but this is the original recipe)
1 pkg (7 oz) thin spaghetti, broken in half
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 can cr of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp ground mustard
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
Minced fresh parsley

Cook spaghetti according to pkg directions. Drain & place in a greased 11x7 baking dish. Top with chicken; set aside.
In a skillet, saute the onion in butter until tender. Whisk in the soup, milk, poultry seasoning, salt & pepper and mustard until blended. Stir in the cheddar cheese; cook & stir over medium heat until cheese is melted. Pour over chicken.
Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses (dish will be full).
Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 25-30 mins or until heated through and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with Parsley.

4-6 servings

Chicken Enchilada Casserole (The only thing Chris wanted added to this next time was jalapenos, because he wants it a bit more spicy. Otherwise he loved it!)

1 1/3 cup chicken broth
1 can green chiles
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup fat free sour cream
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp pepper
2 cans 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 pkg corn tortillas (at least 12 count)
4 cups cooked chicken (I boiled it and shredded in food processor)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Combine the 1st 9 ingredients and bring to a boil in a pan. Remove from heat. Spread a little of the soup mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Top with 6 tortillas. Sprinkle with chicken & cheese. Repeat Layers ending with cheese. Bake at 350 for about 35 mins.

Slow Cooker Recipes

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted! I've been busy every night working out... and I told myself I'd post before I went and worked out tonight. :)

Here are a few slow cooker recipes that we eat around here! (I've already posted my slow cooker chicken and dumplings recipe, the link is on the right side)

BBQ Beef Sandwiches
Take a roast, cook on low for 8 hours. When there is about 1 hour left, take roast out, shred, drain juice, put shredded roast back in and mix with your favorite BBQ sauce. Serve on buns.

Garlic Pork Roast
3 1/2 lb pork boneless loin roast
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 teaspoom salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic
1 cup chicken broth

Heat oil in 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook pork in oil about 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place onion and garlic in slow cooker, place pork on top. Pour broth over pork.

Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.


Jambalaya (Chris loves this, but I do not like it, so it will depend on your taste, LOL)

1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
2 medium stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups chopped fully cooked smoked sausage
1 TBSP parsley flakes
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper sauce
3/4 lb uncooked peeled deveined medium shrimp
4 cups hot cooked rice, for serving

Mix all ingredients except shrimp and rice in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours.

Stir in shrimp. Cover and cook on low about 1 hour.

Serve with rice.



Those are the few slow cooker recipes I use... I need to find some more, I just haven't looked for those as much!

Being Thankful

Today Kaydence and I had a one-on-one lunch. We talked about lots of things... like starting school, making new friends, going back to school shopping, etc.

After lunch, we ran to the grocery store to grab a few things. As we were leaving, I said, "That lady is walking home with her shopping cart!"

Kaydence laughed and said, "Does she not have a car??"

I told her that maybe she didn't have a car.

Kaydence said, "I thought everyone had cars!"

So I explained that not everyone has a car. And Kaydence asked why. So I tell her how some people can't afford cars, or don't have a drivers license, or aren't able to drive for some reason.

She then asked why some people can't buy cars, and I explained that it costs a lot of money! I told her how some people don't have houses to live in, and in some parts of the world people are starving because they cannot even get food! Kaydence then asked why they just can't go to the grocery store. So I had to explain that too.

Kaydence then tells me, "Then why don't people just give those people some of their food??" I smiled at her innocent but correct idea. I told her that some people do try to help, but not everyone that is starving can be helped.

Then we started talking about people having no where to live, and she asks, "But what if they don't have a pool either!?"

Well we don't have a pool, so I guess we're just so deprived, LOL. :)

So I told her to be thankful for what she has. "A house to live in, a warm bed to sleep in, clothes to wear, food to eat, and a blanket to sniff!" (Said to her as she was smelling her blanket, haha)

Kaydence then tells me, "No one sniffs blankets!"

I said, "Yeah, you're just weird."