Settling in and Solar Car Project

I'm having trouble adjusting to a new routine. That's why I'm not blogging regularly. My kiddos are getting up before the sun since the move and that was usually my time to write. I'm hoping to find a regular writing time soon - I miss it.

I'm sneaking in a minute to write while the kids are outside playing with the solar car we just built from this kit Solar Car Book (Klutz) . It was fun, easy and the kids had fun working with circuits again. My oldest has already claimed the solar cell to use on the robot we built last week :o)

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Moving - Blogging Break

We're down to the wire on the move and I have not been online much for the last week. I know that I will not be online much for the next week either. I'll try to post once we're settled.

Our Indoor Cat - update

Well, Kisa has still not come home. This is the fifth day she's missing and we've not even seen her since Thursday afternoon. While we're pretty sure this means she's not coming home, the fact that we're moving in less than two weeks concerns us, too. What if she does come back after we've left :o( Honestly, though, that's not very likely. She is a pure bred (we adopted her as a rescue) who has spent all of her life indoors. I don't think she is going to be able to survive long outside. We keep putting food out for her every night and hoping.

Recipe: Shrimp and Corn Chowder

Easy, easy, easy!

Shrimp and Corn Chowder

Boil about a pound of russet potatoes, rough cubed, until tender. Drain. Saute about 1/2 onion and butter in dutch oven over medium heat until onions are tender. Add a few tablespoons of flour (it will bubble) and blend. Then add milk or cream (about 1 cup) and stir to blend. Continue stirring until mixture thickens. Add chicken stock (about a quart), potatoes, creamed corn (one can - or 2 cups if homemade) and about a pound of shrimp (season shrimp with salt and pepper before you start cooking). Cook, stirring occasionally until shrimp are cooked through and soup is the consistency you want. Salt and pepper to taste.

Pumpkin Pancake Recipe

I make a double batch of pancakes when ever I make any - they are so easy to freeze and make a quick breakfast when all you have to do is heat and eat.

Pumpkin Pancakes:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup quick oats or oat flour
1/4 cup corn flour
1/4 cup flax meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1.5 cups buttermilk
1 cup cooked pumpkin

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine eggs and butter and mix. Once thoroughly mixed, add vanilla, buttermilk and pumkin and stir. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just to combine. Allow mixture to rest for about 5 minutes, then cook pancakes on a lightly oiled surface.

We love this with butter and maple syrup - yummy!

MONDAY: Menu Plan Monday, Sept 22, 2008

I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, that we will be moving (again) in the next few weeks. This weeks menu will be a two week, use-it-up menu. We have a lot to do (pack, clean, garage sale) and a rather large stockpile of food items, so we're going to try to only hit the stores for milk and fresh produce. Here's our menu, including a few family favorites (denoted by ***):

Breakfast:
***Pumpkin Pancakes
***Sausage, egg and cheese biscuits
Bacon and eggs
***Baked Oatmeal (this will be our "quick meal" as one pan usually lasts for 4 breakfasts-I usually freeze leftovers after the first meal)
***homemade cinnamon rolls

Lunch:
Ham, cheese and fruit chunk kabobs
PB sandwhich
Grilled Cheese
Turkey roll-up (turkey wrap - my oldest, who does not like "real" sushi, cuts these into "rolls" and calls it his sushi)
***Broccoli cheese soup

Snacks
Peaches
Apples
Carrot Sticks
hummus and pita
corn bread with honey butter
coconut macadamia nut cookies
smoothies (strawberry, peach and/or blueberry)
banana nut bread
pumpkin bread

Supper
Teriyaki Salmon (marinate salmon in terikayi sauce for 30 minutes then bake) with Soba noodles and Mixed veggie stir fry

Grass Fed Beef burgers on dressed bun, California blend veggies (salt, pepper and butter)

Sushi, edamame

***Shrimp/ corn chowder, homemade bread, green salad

Italian Sausage spaghetti, garlic bread, corn

Chicken and cheese stuffed shells, alfredo sauce, cucumber salad

Chicken Florentine over pasta, Asian broccoli slaw, Parmesan bread sticks

Chili with cornbread and green salad

Baked Chicken, mac n cheese, broccoli

Meatloaf (locally raised, grass fed beef), new potatoes, glazed carrots


See what everyone else is cooking at Menu Plan Monday on I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Our Indoor Cat

Somehow, last night, as we opened and closed the back door, our indoor cat "escaped". She spent the night outside before we discovered her absence. We've seen her a few times today, but she is very frightened of all of the noises and dogs in the neighborhood and only runs away, so she is still at large. This is the first time she's spent more than a few minutes outside (and we're closing in on 24 hours). I pray she comes home soon.