Beauty

 

A mark for every breath you took, every blink, every sleepy yawn. One for every time you sucked your thumb, waved hello, closed your eyes, and slept in the most perfect darkness. One for every time you had the hiccups. One for every dream you dreamed within me. It isn't very pretty anymore. Some may even think it's ugly. That's OK. It was your home. It held you until my arms could, and for that, I will always find something beautiful in it. ~ Cassie Fox

I saw this somewhere on the internet and it just spoke to me :]

Belly cast!

35 weeks and 6 days!! (Oct.15th 2011)

 Today I got sooo much done! I am really proud of myself! I went to the grocery store, put away all my groceries, picked up the kitchen, visited Jordon at work, visited the In-laws, and last... me and Jordon did a cast of my belly!  We weren't going to do the cast at first but then we were just sitting here watching TV so I told him we had to get it done. I mean how hard could it be right? Well just so everyone knows casting is extremely messy, time consuming, and I was just about ready to pass out by the time I got it off of me. haha! It is really neat to look at though. The reason we wanted to do a cast is so we can show Austin how big my belly was when he was inside it. I would like to do this for everyone of our children. It is just so neat!!

Update on my life and an easy dinner that is delicious.

Jordon and I. (35 weeks and 4 days)

Okay so I have been put on bed rest from the doctor and so far everything has been going good with the baby. Although I have been unusually tired and have very little energy/drive to do anything. But then yesterday Jordon had the day off so we went to Pocatello and visited my family. It was really nice to get out of the house! Unfortunately while we were out and about I must have picked up some sort of cold. I woke up this morning with horrible ear aches, a cough, and a sore throat. Needless to say I am bummed out.  I haven't made dinner in a week and my cupboards are in serious need of a trip to the grocery store.

  I've decided that this weekend I am going to make a dinner that is really easy and delicious. The first time I tried this was at my aunt's house. It was so yummy and I begged for her to give me the recipe so now I'm going to share it with you!

Mango Peach Salsa Pork Roast!

You can buy this salsa at winco. I use the small one seen in the picture.

What You will need:

1 Pork roast (thawed)

1 thing of Mango Peach Salsa

and Your crock pot!

Place the thawed Pork Roast in the center of your crock pot then pour the entire thing of Mango Peach Salsa on top of the roast and around it. (focus more on the top). Do not add any water, the roast will make enough broth by the end. Put the crock pot on low and leave to cook for 5 hours. I typically put the roast in at 1 and then it is ready by 6 when my hubby gets home. When the roast is done, Cut it into 1/2 inch slices and top with the salsa.  (I make Rice a roni to go with this dinner and usually some sort of veggie) This dinner is super easy! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Pumpkin Pie with fresh pumpkin and a homemade crust!!

• 1 cup sugar
• 1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• one half teaspoon ground ginger
• one half teaspoon salt (optional, I don't use any)
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups cooked pumpkin (the stuff we made earlier)
• 1.5 cans (12oz each) of evaporated milk

Mix well using a hand blender or mixer.

Notes: The vast majority of people tell me this is the best pumpkin pie they've ever had. It's light and fluffy - however... if you want a heavy, more dense pie, use 3 eggs instead of 4 and 1 can of evaporated milk instead of 1.5)

Step 11 - Pour into the pie crust

I like a deep, full pie, so I fill it right up to about one quarter to one half inch from the very top.Don't be surprised if the mixture is very runny!  It may start as a soupy liquid, but it will firm up nicely in the oven! * I place my pie pan on a cookie sheet before pouring mixture into crust so it is easier to move from the counter top to the oven.

 

 

Step 12 - Bake the pie

Bake at 425 F (210 C ) for the first 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350 F  ( 175 C ) and bake another 45 to 60 minutes, until a clean knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Here is the finished pie, right out of the oven.

I use a blunt table knife to test the pie. It should come out pretty clean when the pie is done.

Step 13 - Cool the pie

And enjoy! Warm or chilled, with whipped cream , ice cream or nothing at all - it's great!

Flaky Homemade Pie Crust!

What You'll need:

makes 1 deep dish 10" pie shell

• 1.5 cups flour (about 6 ounces by weight) - plain flour, not self-rising.
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1/6 cup COLD vegetable shortening -  Here's a useful conversion: 1/6 cup = 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
• 1/3 cup COLD butter
• 1/4 cup cold water

Step 1 - Mix the ingredients

Mix the flour, sugar and shortening first. About 15 seconds in a food processor is by far the best way, since it is fast and the ingredients don't warm up much.  Don't make it too smooth or uniform.  Little pea sized granules makes a flaky crust.

Note: Alton Brown on the Food Network suggests using 1/6 cup vegetable shortening and 1/3 cup butter (for a total 1/2 cup of both together); because they will melt at different temperatures.  It makes a a lighter, flakier crust.  Another key is to keep all the ingredients, especially the butter, shortening and water are very cold.

 

Step 2 - Mix and add water as needed

Then sprinkle in the water, just enough water to make it hold together; a good dough consistency. A pastry blender (see photo) works very well to mix, but some people prefer a few seconds in a food processor instead. Just mix it enough to make it into pieces that hold together about the size of a pea.  We don't want to overmix it!

Chill?

If you have time, put the dough (wrapped in plastic wrap or a ziploc bag) into the fridge to rest and chill for a half hour or more. If you don't have time, don't worry, just move on to step 3. 

Step 3 - Roll out the dough

I use a pie crust bag (a circular plastic bag that zips up around the edge, but two pieces of waxed paper will work). A couple of tablespoons of flour shaken in the bag will help to keep the dough from sticking to the bag.

Roll it out to an even thickness, and just an inch or two wider than your pie pan.  My crusts are about 1/8 inch thick.

Step 4 - Put in the pie pan and shape!

Place the dough into the pie pan.  Don't worry if it breaks.You can easily fix it.

 

Press the dough into the pan, seal any broken areas, and shape the top edge in any pattern you like; just for appearance's sake.

It's now ready for you to add the pie ingredients! It is also time to start preheating the oven.  Turn it on and set it to 425 F.

Next I'll post the recipe for the actual pie! Soooo Delicious! 

Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkins for Delicious Pies!

Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin

 Have you ever bought a Jack-o-lantern pumpkin and intended to carve it but just never got around to it? Well here is a little tip! You can use that pumpkin to make pies! Normally you would use what is called a Pie pumpkin, which is smaller and sweeter but I'm going to show you how you can use a regular Jack-o-lantern pumpkin! (Never "recycle" a pumpkin that has been carved or has been gutted and sitting at room temperature for more than a few hours. Mold and other bacteria will have started to grow!!!)

1. Wash the exterior of your pumpkin (just water no soap) then cut the top off and gut the inside. You can keep the seeds if you plan on roasting them.

2. After the pumpkin is clean (inside and out) cut into small manageable sections that will fit into your cooking pot.

3. Cook your pumpkin. There are many methods to doing this but here are the two I use;

 Method 1: Microwave! Place pieces of pumpkin in a microwave safe bowl with 1 to 2 inches of water in the bottom, cover it, and put in microwave. (20-30 mins)

Method 2: Stove top! Place pieces of pumpkin in a double pot steamer for 20 to 30 mins.

 Either way you choose continue to cook pumpkin until it is soft enough to scoop the innards away from the skin.

4. Let cool then begin to scoop out the pumpkin. Once the pumpkin is cooked it will be easy to scoop away the innards from the skin.  Place the pumpkin in a bowl. 

(Pumpkin too watery??  let stand for 30 minutes then pour off any free water)

5.Puree the pumpkin to a nice smooth consistency. By blending it you will give the pie a smooth, satiny texture.

You are now done with the pumpkin! You can place the fresh puree in baggies and freeze it. You however cannot "can" pumpkin for health reasons!

Next I will show you how to use this pumpkin puree for homemade pumpkin pie! and I will post my favorite recipes that call for pumpkin!

4D ultrasound & a trip to labor and delivery!

Austin Dean Jay!

This last month we had a 4D ultrasound done and here is some of the pictures of our little man! 

Saturday I had been having cramps all day and that night around midnight I noticed that I was having contractions every 1-3 minutes so we decided it was time to go to the hospital. We were so unsure of everything that we forgot to grab my hospital bag! Jordon did grab the baby's car seat and his bag so we were partially ready to go. When we arrived at the hospital they put us into a labor room and hooked me up to all the monitors. After about 30 minutes of monitoring my contractions and the baby's heart rate  they nurse decided to check me. I was dilated to a 1 and 80% effaced! I was super shocked and very glad we decided to go in. I was then given a series of three shots to stop my labor.

 

After three hours of waiting to see if they worked, they checked me again and I was a loose 2 and still 80%. My doctor then admitted me and treated me for pre term labor. Needless to say we were starting to get nervous!! They put in an IV of fluids and penicillin. After about 4 hours of waiting they checked me again. I was still at a 2 and 80 %. They followed my contractions and seen that they were beginning to slow. They then released us to go home! What an adventure!!!