Surviving the Holidays - Part 3

There are 18 people in my house now and another 10 coming by Thanksgiving. In order to enjoy the holidays I have had to think about what is important and how to accomplish that with the least stress possible. This works whether you are enjoying the holidays alone, with family or with a large group.

My secret is that the over arching meaning to the holidays is not about me or how wonderful a meal or how beautiful a house I can have. The meaning of Thanksgiving is to convey thanks to God for His bountiful blessings. Secondary to that for us it is a time of gathering and building relationships as family and friends. Christmas likewise is to celebrate Jesus who was and is God but who chose to humble himself and become man in order to work out God's plan of redemption and then secondly it's a time of passing on the wonder of humanity at that act to our children. Thirdly for us it is about the fun of gathering and traditions.

So, if these holidays are not about how well I preform, how clean my house is and how wonderful a cook and hostess I am then I can relax and enjoy the chaos of 13 kids under the age of 12 much more. My kitchen is never totally clean because as soon as everything is put away someone gets a snack or gets a drink, but I can take the time to read a few books to a five and two year old (or write this blog) before doing the next round of put away/clean up because some of the time I can remember what is most important.

Surviving the Holidays - Part 2

One way I survive the holidays well is to have tried and true recipes that I pull out year after year for dinners, parties and when I need a dish to take. During the holidays I might try one or two new recipes just for fun, but never at the last minute and always with the understanding that it's for our own consumption (unless it turns out to be one of those special things that I just have to add to my favorites file).

For company I have a few meals that are simple as far as prep go but special as far as taste and presentation. My favorite company meal is grilled chicken, roasted vegetables, salad and dessert.

Grilled Chicken

Count one breast or 2 other pieces per person. I like boneless pieces for adults and throw in legs for children. The night before or earlier in the day flatten breasts and boneless thighs with a meat mallet. Place meat in bowl and pour over marinade or your choice (I use lemon or lime juice, olive oil, and some herbs and salt and pepper). Marinade meat for several hours. The secret to wonderful chicken is to ONLY cook it until it is done and remove it promptly. Cooked chicken is no longer pink, but does have clear running juices. Dark meat can be cooked longer without getting tough because it has more natural moisture. Some people suggest that you learn how a done piece of chicken "feels" when tapped with a spatula or tongs. A raw piece has lots of give or bounce a done piece feels firm when tapped. A very firm piece is over cooked.

Roasted Vegetables

Use 1 small potato per person or 1 sweet potato per 2 people. Chop potatoes and vegetables of you choice into bite sized pieces (I use carrots, onions, peppers, Chinese eggplant, green beans and asparagus and place in a bowl (I do the green beans and asparagus separately). Drizzle olive oil over and a good pinch of any herbs you want to use (I use an Italian herb mix most of the time). Toss everything until all are coated with oil. Transfer to cookie sheets (use two if you are doing more than 4 to 6 servings). Sprinkle salt and pepper over. Bake at 400 degrees about 45 minutes and then add any soft veggie like green beans, asparagus or summer squash to roast for an additional 15 minutes. If you like everything really caramelized add 10-20 minutes.

Dessert

For this time of year I'd do something hot. A great quick, fool proof desert is baked pears or apples w/ cream. All you do is core the fruit (McIntosh & granny smith are good varieties of apples to use) and place on a buttered cookie sheet (you may need to trim the bottom of pears so they will stand up) fill core cavity with cinnamon and sugar and bake during dinner at 350 degrees. Remove from oven after about 1/2 hour (fruit will be soft) and place on dessert plates or in bowls. Drizzle cream over and serve with a spoon.

Surviving the Holidays - Part 1

I was thinking about what to blog about this week. Should I share my favorite pecan pie recipe or talk about how to use hydrogen peroxide to get cranberry stains out of carpet? I could and maybe I will later, but what struck me as I thought about Thanksgiving next week and Christmas a month after is that even though I have been the mistress of my domain for 35 years just thinking about the holidays can raise my stress levels. I actually like the holidays and for the most part enjoy them but (and it's a big but) there are things about them that I never seem to quite get a handle on or get done to my expectations. I've been working on it and changing things - although dropping a "tradition" seems to be especially hard on teenagers for some reason. :-)

Below is a list for myself on how to get through the next six weeks or so with joy, money to spare and relationships intact.

1. Make a plan for days spent w/ company including menus, special decorations, shopping lists, activity ideas.

2. Check guest needs like towels, sheets, pillows, toiletries and restock now.

3. Stock up on healthy snacks for kids and adults.

4. Think through how to keep kitchen clean and house relatively neat even w/ company. If company is family ask them to rotate kitchen clean up duties. (we will be doing this this year :-).

5. Simplify Christmas decorations and make sure to update lights to newer low wattage bulbs to save electricity (unless doing so will stress you budget too much, if so try replacing one type a year).

6. Plan before hand whether you'll send cards, emails. If you decide you want to then plan a night to actually do it.

7. Keep a careful calendar of all events and parties w/ starting times and ending times if stated.

8. Keep a list of possible gifts and sizes with you everywhere you go (I do this all year long).

9. Think about your gift list. The keyword this year is simplify. Make something, recycle something or get adults to agree to give something to a charity.

10. Plan fun (for you) activities and enjoy the season.

11. Most of all do not forget why we have Thanksgiving and Christmas. Don't neglect personal time reading the Bible and praying (it's one of my first inclinations when things get crazy). A quiet spirit is incredibly attractive and life giving, but we can't be that person if we aren't "placing the oxygen mask on yourself first". There is a reason why taking care of yourself first is important and not selfish - we can't give out of what we do not have. I've tried - it just doesn't work.

Baby Steps - Organization That Works

If you have problems organizing your home or keeping it organized chances are at some point you've tried a major overhaul of you spaces and/or methods. Most of the time major changes do not last because you have not really thought through how to maintain the change once it has happened. If you change things using "baby steps" change is much more maintainable. I mentioned flylady last week. Using a site and system like Flylady works because it is about slow gradual change with visible results. If the idea of flylady is overwhelming or a bit silly to you it's easy to use some of the same methods yourself w/o signing up for reminder emails. Start with decluttering for 15 minutes a day. Set your timer and work from room to room. As you declutter think about how you use your spaces. Are things in logical places and grouped together according to how they are used. If things have a place they belong that is defined it is easier to remember to put them away and get other family members to do the same instead of just throwing them in a drawer or closet.

When a room is decluttered don't move on until what you have defined as not being clutter has been considered. Take the entry for instance. What do you want to do in the entry. Will it be a place to take off shoes or would you really rather not have any shoes in the entry. Where should they go? Is there an entry table that seems to collect mail and odds and ends? If you don't want it to collect mail where should the mail go when it's brought in (actually it is best to sort mail as it comes in and not put it down). Where should your purse and keys go? After you have those things defined keeping the space clutter free is so much easier.

Soup Weather is Definitly Here

I love soup. It's filling,inexpensive, warm and just right on a cold, rainy evening. I have lots of soup recipes that I like and use two or three a week during the fall, winter and spring. I try to make enough for leftovers for lunches and I'm always trying to find ways to sneak more veggies in. Here's one of our favorites;

Jalapeno Cheese Soup

3 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of unbleached flour

4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock

3 cups milk

1/2 cup half n half (or be daring and use heavy cream)

1 teaspoon butter

1 onion, diced

1 large carrot, shredded ( I also shred or grate a zucchini or yellow squash to add to the veggie content)

1 large bell pepper, diced

3 jalapeños, seeded and diced fine (if you don't have a fresh jalapeños diced canned or bottled jalapeños can be substituted)

1 cup grated swiss cheese

1 cup grated cheddar cheese (use smoked for a really nice flavor)

1/2 package low fat cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

Melt 3 Tablespoons of butter in large heavy stock pan over medium low heat. Add flour and stir for several minutes. Mix in stock and half and half or cream. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened about 10 minutes. Meanwhile in heavy sauce over medium low heat add teaspoon butter and cook veggies until soft, add jalapeños. Stir occasionally.

Add cheeses, cream cheese and milk to thickened cream mixture. When cheese and cream cheese is melted add in veggies. Season w/ salt and serve.

Serve with crusty garlic bread and a salad

Saving the Big Bucks on Cleaners

For several years I've been making almost all of my own cleaners. I admit that the advertising promises or a sale price makes me look at cleaners every once in awhile but as soon as I turn the bottle over and read the ingredients my sanity seems to flow back. Most cleaners are surfactants (detergent) mixed with scent and water. Many use petroleum based detergents and artificial scents and colorings. With about 5 basic ingredients I can make a variety of cleaners for different uses that 1. cost me pennies per quart because the main ingredient is water 2. Are kind to the environment and not detrimental to the health of my family 3. Work as well or nearly as well as the harsher chemical alternatives.

The 5 ingredients I keep on hand are;

Castile soap (or citra solve) - You can buy scented castile soap - usually peppermint for some reason or unscented if you will be using essential oils.

Hydrogen peroxide

White vinagar

Baking soda

Oxygen bleach

When I add essential oils to the above ingredients I increase their effectiveness and also scent the air so I keep several including tea tree, lavender and lemon on hand too.

I buy nice long lasting spray bottles from Home Depot and label them clearly. There are many formulas that can be made just with the ingredients I've listed such as toilet cleaner (pour 1 cup white vinegar in the toilet bowl, wait ten minutes add 2 tablespoons of baking soda. It will bubble, swish around the bowl w/ a bowl brush and flush) or all purpose cleaner (Pour 2 cups of water, 1 teaspoon castile soap, 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 5 to 10 drops of lemon (or other scent you like) essential oil in a bottle and shake.)

Finding Out What You REALLY Like

Years ago I use to have fun by helping people decorate their homes w/o spending much money to do it. I did it often enough to come up with a way to interview my prospective "clients" before I moved any furniture or made any recommendations. One of the first things I recognised when I started working with friends and family was that most of them really didn't understand what they liked and why. I also discovered that many couples have very different ideas about style and colors and really don't understand how they can compromise. Below are two of the methods I used to help people work through understanding their likes and finding common ground.

Start by quickly thumbing through some decorating magazines, a catalog or going to a furniture store. Without giving it any thought go through and pick your four or five favorite rooms. If you're married or have a roommate have your spouse/roommate do this too. When you have finished picking your rooms go back and analyze what you like in them. Are the lines the same, are the woods similar, do the colors all fall into generally the same scheme or are they warm or cool, etc. How do you feel when you look at the room (homey, orderly, clean, etc.)?Then talk about what you like and don't like in your spouses picks. If your spouse likes clean traditional lines and you love the curves and ruffles of romance you might have more serious work to do finding something in common but many people can easily find some sort of common ground - a color, a feeling, a line that they can work with.

There is one more exercise I use to use. Close your eyes. Think about your favorite place on earth. What do you see? What time of day is it? What is the temperature like? What do you smell? When you open your eyes write all of this down and it just might give you the inspiration you need to create a room you really enjoy.

Feels like Fall

I love Fall (almost as much as Spring) - leaves turning colors and the crisp, cool evenings are such a pleasure and are good for curling up with favorite books (I'm rereading That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis). In the fall I enjoy baking pumpkin breads and anything else with cinnamon that will fill my house w/ scent. This apple bread recipe is one of my favorites to do that. It's a wonderful moist bread that gets better with age and freezes beautifully.

Apple Bread

In bowl mix together;

2 cups unbleached or whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

In another bowl mix;

1 cup honey or agave

1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter

1 cup applesauce

2 cups of apple, finely chopped

2 eggs

1 cup raisins (optional)

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix together. Pour batter into 2 well greased loaf pans and bake 45 to 55 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven when tester inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool 15 minutes, run a knife around loaves and remove from pans. Cool completely on cooling rack and then wrap well in plastic wrap or foil and allow to age for 24 hours for best taste (one loaf never makes it that long in our house). Enjoy.

My Favorite Organizational Tips

Here are my top five favorite of all time organizational tips - you might be surprised.

1. Spend some time in a quiet place thinking about what you want to accomplish by working at organization. Write these things down and work at one thing at a time for about 15 minutes a day until you finish it and then go on to the next thing on the list. For example if my goal was to get rid of clutter and then organize my kitchen to be more efficient I'd spend 15 minutes a day going through the house room by room until I had all the clutter sorted into give away and throw away piles. When this is done ( and I had thrown away and given away the stuff) I'd spend the 15 minutes a day thinking through and then organizing my kitchen drawer by drawer and cupboard by cupboard.

2. Time is the most important thing for me to organize. If I know where I'm supposed to be and when life is so much less frantic. I keep apointments on my computer calendar but use an apt. book next to the computer and in pencil write down everywhere I need to be when I need to be there as well as things that need at happen at home. As an example here are tomorrow's entries on my calendar;

10:00 Coffee w/ J. at G.

Call Target and schedule eye apts. for twins

Call Clubhouse and cancel membership

2:00 guitar lesson for Noah - write ck.

4:00 Alyssa @ work until 7:30

7:00 Rocky @ practice so dinner early

Evening - work on Quickbooks

Hebrews study - don't forget!

I sometimes check things off as I complete them just to have the satisfaction of doing it.

3. For fun and ease of dressing, color organize all of your hanging clothing. I even have my colors arranged like the rainbow. :-) I know exactly where to look for my brown sweater or red polo. I've done this for all of my husband's clothing too. It just makes it easier to find things in a closet.

4. If you're absent minded like I tend to be (I come from a long line of absent minded types - my mother's favorite key chain would chirp when you clapped! She would walk around the house clapping her hands looking for her keys) then you can understand why I need a designated purse and key place and have taught myself to use them. Coping skills are wonderful things!

5. Simplify your surroundings by getting rid of things and decorations that you don't love or use regularly. The less you have to deal with the easier it is to maintain organization.

Supper Time

It may seem a bit schizophrenic but in thinking about how to write this blog and keep it interesting I thought I might attemps to assign topics to certain days of the week. For now I am going to attempt to do cleaning on Monday, family friendly food on Tuesday, organizing on Wednesday, baking on Thurday and home decorating on Friday. That's my goal, of course I'm sure there will be days that I won't get to post anything, but I'm going to attempt it all the same. BTW I'd love feedback, comments and additions to whatever I'm writing about.

Since today is on family friendly fare and I am making spring rolls this evening I thought I'd write about using them for a quick, easy and fun family meal or as part of a party. When my my husband Rocky and I went out to Seattle to visit our son Jonathan and his wife Esther last June they served us Spring Rolls one evening and we both liked them so much that we came home and introduced them to our kids here. I also experimented with several different ways to make them - they can be made with raw or cooked ingredients or a mix of both. One reason we enjoy them so much is that our 16 year old Alyssa has both wheat and corn allergies and the spring roll wrappers are made with Tapioca flour which she can eat with no problem.

Basic Spring Roll Wraps

Package of spring roll wraps (large or small) - These can be found at grocery stores or an Asian market.

Package of broccoli slaw

Red pepper cut into thin strips

onion, halved and sliced or use green onions, chopped

Chicken breast or boneless thighs cut in strips

Snow peas

asparagus

Bean sprouts

Fresh cilantro, washed and chopped

Short grain brown rice

Soy sauce (we have to buy wheat free)

slices of pickled or raw ginger

oil to stir fry chicken and other ingredients if you want them hot.

You can use as many of the above ingredients as you would like or add something else in. I've used shedded carrots, yellow squash, shrimp and thin sliced cabbage.

Make rice. I use about a tablespoon of soy sauce per cup of water needed make rice. I always make way more rice than I'll need. I put cooled rice in baggies and store in the refidge or freezer for other recipes or a quick side dish.

Stir fry chicken and anything else you want hot and place in large bowl. Place individual raw ingredients in bowls on table along with a heavy frypan. Pour boiling water in the fry pan when everyone is at the table. Dip spring roll wrappers in water for just a few seconds, turning the wrap to get all of it wet. It may still feel a bit stiff. Place on plate, fill down middle with whatever you want to fill it with starting with the veggies and ending with rice for prettier roll. Roll like a burrito - top down, bottom up and roll from one side to another tucking under as you go. Turn seam side down on plate if you are premaking them to serve instead of having people make their own. Serve with dipping sauces.

Clean House - more effect than you thought

I like a clean house. Although my house is almost never totally clean all at one time since by the time I've finished cleaning everything the first things I cleaned are most certainly at least slightly messed up again, but I do love those rare moments right before a big party or event when we do manage to get it all clean (maybe except for the closet we have stuffed the remainder of the odds and ends in). I generally use a method made popular by Marla Cilley at www.flylady.net . Marla uses a system that many of our Mothers and Grandmothers lived by. They had days with scheduled tasks (Monday laundry, Tuesday errands, etc.), as well as weeks of the month having a certain emphasis for deep cleaning. By following a plan like this you can make sure that things stay pretty well maintained.

I was surprised last weekend to read a research study that proports to have proof that a clean smelling space helps people make better moral choices. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33522872/ns/health-behavior/ . Interesting.