Night Back Home

Well, I finally got an IPhone and so far I am loving it!  I just got it on Friday so I have a lot to learn.  This  afternoon we loaded up our crew and headed to our old house.  We spent a couple of hours there yesterday afternoon doing yard work. The kids had so much fun being back home that we all agreed we should come back today and have a cookout (we really just roasted marshmallows and the kids ate their leftovers from lunch).  While there I had fun playing with Instagram on my new phone.  Here are a few pictures from our night at home (number 1).

Bringing in the Fall

Somehow at the beginning of our marriage I started the tradition of inaugurating fall with Pumpkin Pies. It always happens in October, but it is always a surprise to Murray.  He never knows when it is going to happen.  One evening he walks in the door and is greeted by one of his favorite smells, pumpkin pies cooking in the oven.  It is not something that Murray would want to eat every night, but there is something so comforting about that first pumpkin on a cool crisp October evening!

I say that it somehow became a tradition because it was not something that I started intentionally.  Pumpkin Pie holds a very special place in my heart.  I love Pumpkin Pie and I especially loved my Granny's Pumpkin Pie!  Every time I went see my grandparents, Granny always had a Pumpkin Pie waiting on me.  We would walk in the door and I would see it cooling on the kitchen counter.  My whole life I knew she made it for me, but I also thought it was just one of those desserts that she always had on hand (just like you could always count on a a sour cream pound cake in the cake holder on the counter in her kitchen).  It was not until her funeral this past January that I realized how special that Pumpkin Pie was.  As the grandchildren were talking we realized that it was something different for each grandchild.  For my brother and cousin it was a chocolate torte, for another cousin it was chocolate cake.  And for me, it was my Pumpkin Pie.  And that is what she called it, she would pull it out and say, "Kimberly's Pumpkin Pie."  She never made a big deal about it, she just always had it waiting for me when I arrived.

As I have said before, when it comes to dessert, Murray prefers chocolate.  So, when we first got married, I did not know how Murray would feel about Pumpkin Pie.  But I knew I wanted Pumpkin Pie!  I knew if there was going to be a chance of Murray being somewhat excited about having Pumpkin Pie instead of something chocolate (we were so poor in seminary that we rarely had dessert, so to have dessert and it not be chocolate was a big risk!) it would have to be in the right season.  When I heard Murray pull in from work that evening I was a little nervous about his reaction to smelling those very aromatic Pumpkin Pies cooking away in the oven.

To my great surprise, he was thrilled.  And from that night on, it has been one of our favorite fall traditions!

This year, after 9 years, I decided to take a bit of a risk.  When it comes to Pumpkin Pie, our favorite way is with a big dollop (ok, maybe 2) of cool whip.  I know to some people it is almost sinful to prefer cool whip over whipped cream, but we do.  No apologies about it.  We love cool whip.

In the move(s) a lot of old magazines resurfaced.  For the past 2 months last year's Thanksgiving issue from Southern Living has been sitting on the side table in our kitchen.  It has a beautiful Sweet Potato Pie with Marshmallow Meringue on the cover.  I could take it no longer.  I just had to make that meringue.

And that is where the risk came in.  Changing up the thing that Murray looks forward to every year is a big risk.  Luckily when you make Pumpkin Pies you make two.  So, I made one with meringue and one without, just in case Murray was not on board with the change.  As I guessed would happen, Murray went for his usual Pumpkin Pie with Cool Whip the first night.  But finally last night he broke down and had a piece with meringue (you can only look at beautiful meringue for so long without giving into temptation!).

And he really liked it!  Now I don't know that he is giving up his Cool Whip, but he did love the meringue.  I, of course, loved it!  I thought I would share the recipe of the meringue with you if you are looking to kick up your Pumpkin Pie up a notch this year.

Marshmallow Meringue 


3 egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow creme

Let your pumpkin pie cool completely.

Beat egg whites, vanilla and salt on high with heavy duty mixer until foamy.  Gradually add in sugar 1 Tbsp at a time (4 Tbsp), beating until stiff peaks form.

The meringue should stand up like this in the mixer.  If it peaks and then falls, you need to mix longer.

Beat 1/4 of marshmallow creme into egg white mixture; repeat 3 times with remaining marshmallow creme.  Beat until the mixture is smooth.

Spread over pie.

Bake at 400 for 6 or 7 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned (it may actually need to be a little bit more brown than this picture.  When I cut into mine the meringue was not cooked all the way and I had to put it back in the oven for a few minutes.  That is what happens when you do not pay attention to the clock!)

Enjoy!  It is delicious!!!

Happy Fall!

Our Columbus Day

I don't know how I missed it, but until last Friday, I did not realize that the kids had Monday off and it was "fall break."  So unfortunately, I did not plan anything fun to do on their day off from school. It was my normal Monday grocery store run for the kids.  I felt bad about it, but I figured they would be really unhappy with me Monday night if we had NO food to eat.  Even though we only went to the grocery store, I cannot tell you how great it was to have Ella home on Monday!  Don't get me wrong, I do love my mornings when the kids are at school, but we miss having Ella with us!  It was such a treat to have a lazy morning and all be together.  

Speaking of treats, while at the grocery store I did get something fun for us to do during Sara Wells nap time.  Two things the kids love: rice krispy treats and candy corn.  So, I thought in honor of the fall, lets make candy corn rice krispy treats.  

In my mind, this was going to be a very easy, kid friendly project.  There is only one picture of the making of the rice krispy treats because it was not quite as easy as I anticipated (isn't that always true).  I made rice krispy treats and then cut them into triangles.  I should have (and ended up doing after the first disaster) shaped the rice krispy treats into triangles so that they would be more dense.  As soon as we started dipping the first attempt triangles into the candy coating, they just fell apart.  

I used the Wilton's Candy Melts for the candy coating.  They are actually very easy to use.  I anticipated that we would be able to dip every layer, but it did not work for the middle layer.  We ended up spreading it on with a knife.  The kids did the top and I did the back and the sides.  Then we dipped the top in the yellow candy coating.  Although my quick afternoon project turned into a couple hour ordeal with the time in between to let the candy harden and fixing dinner, the kids had a blast.  And they loved the candy corn that they made!

Especially Sara Wells!  I found her in the fridge sneaking bites when no one was looking.

The biggest problem is that now we have all the candy corn rice krispy treats!  I am happy to let the kids have one to celebrate the fall and maybe even one the next day, but twelve is a different story.  So we wrapped them up and took them to their teachers.   Both Ella and Miller were so proud of what they had made for their teachers!  They could not wait to share their candy corn with their teachers.

We still have a few left that I am trying to give away before the kids remember they are in the fridge:)

If you are looking for a fun project to do one morning or afternoon with your kids, this is definitely fun!  And the end product is pretty good too.  I would suggest making them smaller than mine because they are VERY sweet!  It would be a fun Halloween treat to share with all of their friends at school.

Visitors

We have had a few visitors at our house this weekend...

A Dragon

A family of Bats

The Lee kids love to decorate for any occasion!  This past week, every time we have gone into a store Miller asks all of the workers if they are getting ready for Halloween.  I thought my pumpkins (that the kids picked out) and candles on the dining room table were going to be enough to satisfy the kid's decoration desires.  I was wrong.  They kept asking for more and coming up with lots of suggestions for me.  Trying to think of something easy, inexpensive and (hopefully) already on hand, I remembered this idea from a blog from last year.  I remember thinking, "I would never cut out all those bats."  But, when you know how happy your kids will be, it does not seem like a big deal.  (It really only took about 20 minutes, including tracing time.  And I just cut them out while sitting outside while the kids played in the driveway)  I wish I could have cut out more, but that was all the black construction paper I had.  

Batman

A Pirate

A Fancy Lady

Sara Wells wanted to make sure that all of our guests were adequately fed.

Sara Wells has learned how to open the refrigerator.

It is about to drive me crazy!!!  This is how I find her most of the time.

Old Baker's Farm

Yesterday I went with Miller on his class field trip to Old Baker's Farm.

 We had so many people praying that Miller would be able to go on this trip.

 The beginning of last week Miller's asthma really flared up.

When he first got sick I thought, "I hope this does not keep Miller from his class field trip."  But it seemed so far away and there was plenty of time to recover.  When Miller was still sick Saturday, Sunday and then Monday, I began to get worried for him.

 Miller's class theme this year is The Farm, so they have been talking about 

their trip to the farm since the first day of school.

Miller has been talking about the trip to the farm non-stop since then too.

 Miller has had to miss a lot of things because of his asthma, but he has never really 

known that he was missing anything.

He would have known he missed the trip to the farm.

 Praise the Lord that he got to go!

 I think I was way more excited about Miller going on this trip than he was.

 Miller had a great time, with no coughing!

 He searched hard to find that perfect pumpkin.

 And ended up finding 2 perfect pumpkins.

 This little cowboy brings so much joy to my life!!!!

Argentinean Pork

If you are like me, you are always looking for new ways to have the usual suspects, pork or chicken.

In a moment of desperation, I ordered Cooking Light and have never regretted my impulse buy.

Every month I add at least 5, most of the time more, recipes to my recipe book.

I think the following recipe is from 2 months ago.  It has quickly become a favorite!

And, it is quick and easy!

Argentinean Pork

Ingredients:

olive oil

1 cup fresh parsley (I used flat leaf)

2/3 cup cilantro

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (may want less if you do not like spicy foods)

1 (1 lb) pork tenderloin

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon fresh oregano

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (I used red wine vinegar bc it was all I had)

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

Salt and pepper pork.

Combine 2  tablespoons olive oil with 1/4 cup parsley, 1/3 cup cilantro, cumin and red pepper flakes.

Cover pork with the rub and refrigerate for one hour.  I like to use a ziplock bag, you can throw the mess  away and it is easy to get the pork adequately covered once in the bag.

Grill pork on high heat, turning once, until internal temperature is 145 degrees.  Let pork rest for 5 minutes before slicing on the diagonal.

Combine 3/4 cup parsley, 1/3 cup cilantro, salt, oregano, and remaining ingredients in food processor.  Pulse 10 times.  Drizzle about 1/4 cup olive oil in food processor while processor is on.

 Drizzle over pork.  Enjoy!  I served it with roasted carrots and onions and mashed potatoes.

Here is my little helper, sneaking rice crispy treats while mommy is not looking.