Chore Blocks

Chore Blocks--Elise Deeble

I basically made a stick for every chore I thought I would ever assign to the girls. I made some simple ones for them now like Make Bed, Put Laundry Away, and Clean Playroom. Then in the morning I put their chores for the morning or day in their block and them tell them what they need to do and they love moving it to the big stash when it is done. It has been fun.

Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti Sauce

Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti Sauce
from the kitchen of April Tebbe

ingredients
1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce. May need 2 jars if cooking for a large family.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (frozen or thawed - 1 per adult, 1 for every 2 kids)
Pasta
Cheese
Optional Italian herbs

directions
1. Put spaghetti sauce in your crock pot. 2. Add chicken. Chicken can be thawed or frozen. 3. Set crock pot on low if you have a few hours for the chicken to cook or high if you only have an hour. I have found it doesn't take that long for the frozen chicken to cook even if you have to put it on high for just an hour. 4 .Once fully cooked take chicken breasts out of sauce. Shred with a fork, cut into chunks, or throw into a food processor to grind a little bit (whatever your family preference). 5. Add chicken back to sauce in crock pot. 6. Heat through and serve over any style of pasta. 7. Add shredded mozzarella on top or Parmesan cheese.

**Extra add-ins if desired: at the start of cooking throw in some extra Italian spices for added flavor to sauce. You can also add in frozen spinach or frozen broccoli for an extra veggie boost to the sauce (just add them with enough time for them to cook).

Chewy Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

Chewy Raisin Oatmeal Cookies
from cooks.com (link found HERE) and the kitchen of Kyran Wilson

ingredients
1 c. flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 c. butter
1-1/3 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. oats, uncooked
1 c. raisins (sometimes I combine chocolate chips and raisins together to make 1c)

directions
Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth. Stir in oats and raisins. Drop by heaping teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Pork Tenderloin with Red and Yellow Peppers

Pork Tenderloin with Red and Yellow Peppers
from CookingLight (link found HERE at myrecipes.com) and the kitchen of Kyran Wilson

ingredients
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick medallions
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided
4 canned anchovy fillets, drained and mashed
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2-inch strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2-inch strips
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

directions
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork to pan; cook for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; turn pork over. Add 1 teaspoon rosemary, anchovies, garlic, and bell peppers; cook 7 minutes or until peppers are tender and pork is done. Drizzle with vinegar. Top with remaining 1/2 teaspoon rosemary.

Sandy Gluck, Cooking Light
January 2011

Visiting Louisburg Cider Mill in October

from Kyran Wilson

Since we moved to Kansas 4 years ago, our annual tradition is to go to Louisburg Cider Mill in October. I love going to pick out pumpkins and gourds. A little too much I think. And watching how the cider and donuts are made is a new favorite since my son Robert has gotten interested. The general store is a lot of fun...special treats unique to this farm. MMMM pumpkin butter. It is just fun watching Robert grow up each year, jumping off the haystacks and trying to pick up pumpkins that are too heavy for him. I can't get enough of those donuts....it is a dangerous tradition but oh so fun!

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Iced Pumpkin Cookies
from Just 1 FAMILY in a big world... blog (link found HERE) and the kitchen of Kyran Wilson

ingredients
(for the cookie):
-2 1/2 cup flour (I use half wheat and half all-purpose)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-3 tsp Pumpkin spice (OR 2 tsp cinnamon,1/2 tsp nutmeg and 1/2 tsp cloves)
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 cup butter, softened
-1 1/2 cup sugar
-1 cup pumpkin puree
-1 egg
-1 tsp vanilla

(for the icing):
-2 cup confectioners sugar
-3 Tbsp milk (maybe less, maybe more)
-1 Tbsp melted butter
-1 tsp vanilla

directions
(for the cookie):
- Preheat oven to 350* F.
- Combine flour, baking powder and soda, spices and salt.
- Cream together 1/2 cup butter and sugar. Add pumpkin, egg and 1 tsp vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture.Beat until creamy.4- Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet.
- Bake 15-20 minutes in preheated oven.
- Remove cookies from the oven and place on cooling mat or rack.

(for the icing):
- Combine confectioners sugar, melted butter and vanilla....add milk little by little until you reach desired icing consistency.
- Drizzle cookies with icing while they are still warm.

Joy of Cooking Banana Bread

Joy of Cooking Banana Bread
from GroupRecipes.com (link found HERE) and the kitchen of Kyran Wilson

ingredients
1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 ripe large bananas, mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

directions
Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. On baking sheet, bake nuts for 8-10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool. In mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts. Set aside. In another mixing bowl combine mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.With rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. DO not over mix. Scrape batter into loaf pan. Bake until bread is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Tasha's Banana Bread

Tasha's Banana Bread
from the kitchen of Tasha Cook


ingredients
1 cup organic butter
1 cup organic sugar
2 free range organic eggs
1 cup organic chocolate milk
4 ripe mashed bananas
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt

directions
Melt butter; add all ingredients and stir until well blended. Pour into 2 loaf pans sprayed with baking spray. Bake at 300 for 1 hour.

I make one for the kiddos with chocolate chips or peanut butter chips, and one for the grown ups with pecans or walnuts. Its great to have one in the freezer to pull out for company or to share with the new mommy on your street :)

Fudgy Chocolate Raspberry Bars

Fudgy Chocolate Raspberry Bars
from the kitchen of Liz Sears

ingredients
bars:
10 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 cup sugar
5 large eggs
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

glaze:
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

directions
bars: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9x2 baking pan with foil. Butter foil and dust with flour. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Add jam and whisk together until smooth. Cool slightly.

Using an electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in bowl until mixture thickens about 6 minutes. Sift flour and baking powder over egg mixture and fold in. Gradually fold in chocolate mixture.

Pour batter into pan. Bake until top of cake is slightly crusty, begins to crack and tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 45 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Gently press down any raised edges of cake to even. Cool in pan. Invert cake onto platter. Peel off foil. Trim 1/2 inch off each edge of cake.

glaze: Stir cream and jam in heavy saucepan over medium heat until jam melts; bring to boil. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and stir until melted. Let stand until cool but still spreadable, about 15 minutes. Spread glaze over cake. If you have fresh raspberries, you can arrange them on top of the glaze before it sets. Chill until glaze sets, about 10 minutes. Cut into 1 x 1 squares. Very rich so a little goes a long way.

Lemon Crumb Squares

Lemon Crumb Squares
from the kitchen of Liz Sears

ingredients
1 – 14oz. sweetened condense milk
½ cup lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 ½ cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
2/3 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oatmeal

directions
Blend milk, lemon juice and lemon rind in one bowl. Blend the flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl. In a third bowl, cream butter and sugar. Then add oatmeal and flour mixture to the butter mixture. In an 8 x12 pan (odd sized I know a 9 x13 might be thin, I would go smaller rather than bigger) pat 1/2 the oatmeal mixture into the pan, pour the lemon mixture over the top, then top with crumbles of of the oatmeal mixture. Bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

The Gobbler

I got this quick clean-up idea from the book, The Entitlement Trap, by Linda and Richard Eyre.  I highly recommend this book for all its great parenting ideas--they call this idea the Gunny Sack, but we've named ours the Gobbler.
Our house was getting really messy with little toys all over the floors that just couldn't make their ways back home to their baskets.  And so, our family adopted a pet: the Gobbler.  Whenever toys litter the floor, our Gobbler's belly begins to rumble.  The kids hear loud grumbles... the sound of chomping... and the Gobbler (a drawstring bag I sewed to look like a monster) comes out to feed on toys!  Quickly, the kids try to snatch up as many as they can before the Gobbler eats them.  They stay in his belly all week (sometimes, all month) until he regurgitates them, and then the kids have to grab the ones they want and put them away before he gets hungry again.
Our floors have never been cleaner (and what a great way to sort through old toys)!

Repenting Bench

A nugget of parenting advice I got from the book, The Entitlement Trap, by Linda and Richard Eyre, was the implementation of the "Repenting Bench."  When siblings squabble, it's a way to let them take responsibility for their row, and work through it together without a parent always having to intervene.

Here's how it works:

Mom/Dad says, "Go to the Repenting Bench!"

In order to get up, the kids must:

1) Admit what THEY did wrong (they are forbidden from telling what the other person did--this is about taking personal responsibility).

2) Apologize to the sibling.

3) Hug.

If one sibling is willing to do steps 1 and 2, but the other won't, then the first sibling can get off the bench and the second one has to remain until he's ready to admit responsibility, apologize and hug.

Note: Parents can be sent to the Repenting Bench, too!

We love our Repenting Bench!