Recipe: Peach Pie

Today, I made a pie. I made a peach pie. It's not QUITE peach pie season in my opinion because later in the summer the peaches are better. But this pie was delicious anyways.

First of all, the crust. I prefer to use a homemade crust, but I'm also kind of lazy, so this time I still had my mom's food processor so I use the food processor to cut in the butter - so much easier! My pie recipe comes from Pam Anderson from her Pie Tutorial on Pioneer Woman. I prefer to go with all butter instead of using any shortening or lard. The recipe that she has about halfway done the page calls for 3/4 cup of butter and 1/4 cup of leaf lard. I just used 1 cup of butter.

I'm not sure where my Peach Pie recipe came from. I printed it from somewhere, but I failed to keep track of where.



You need to end up with 5 cups of peeled & sliced peaches. Since all they have right now are these fairly small peaches, I ended up using 10. I didn't actually measure the peaches when I was done, but I think I got about half a cup of peach slices from each of these...maybe?



Jenni's Peach Pie

2 9" pie crusts (this recipe makes two)
5 cups peeled & sliced peaches
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 egg - beaten
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ginger
1/4 tsp Salt

Put peaches & lemon juice in large colander and toss carefully.

Carefully put one pie crust in the pie plate lifting the edges of the dough to push it down into the bottom corners of the pie plate - try not to trap air bubbles under the dough. Brush with some of the egg (helps the crust not get soggy while baking).

Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a large bowl. Add the peaches and mix gently until all dry ingredients are wet.

Dump peach mixture into prepared pie crust. Carefully lay second pie crust over the filling and press the edges together with the tines of a fork (or however you want to do it). Brush top crust with remaining egg. Cut slits in the top crust to allow the steam to escape.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 30-35 minutes. If crust browns quickly, cover with foil, or a pie shield, for remaining cooking time. Pie filling will probably be bubbling through slits when the pie is done.

Allow to cool, this pie is best warm instead of really hot. When it's really hot the filling will burn your tongue - trust me!



I meant to take a few other pictures in there. One of making the pie crust, one of the peaches with the sugar mixture, one of it BEFORE it baked, and one of a piece served up on a plate (with cool whip). But it's hard enough to bake a pie with a toddler running around causing havoc, forget trying to take pictures!

50+ Things

50+ Things I am Grateful For...

1. my house
2. my job
3. justin
4. my amazing new printer
5. olathe - because i love it
6. country music
7. music in general
8. claire
9. my friends
10. facebook
11. my camera
12. birth control
13. books
14. kindle app for my phone
15. shortyz app (crossword puzzles)
16. my phone
17. my car - that doesn't wobble
18. the internet
19. my parents & brother & sister-in-law
20. shorts with an elastic waist - yes, i'm special
21. the library
22. allegra
23. iced tea
24. my ipod
25. anaya
26. surewest
27. the blogs i read
28. joco infant & toddler services
29. olathe school district
30. claire's awesome teacher
31. claire's awesome paras
32. advil
33. dr rita
34. whoever that doctor was who was on his way to deliver twins (via c-section) when claire decided to be born
35. my 401k & ira
36. all of my extended family
37. my in-laws
38. point loma
39. midamerica
40. my church
41. air conditioning - it's seriously HOT
42. that i live in the united states
43. pioneer woman - she taught me to cook
44. project life by becky higgins
45. our trampoline
46. heater - not right NOW but during the winter obviously
47. my computer
48. my fresh produce skirts
49. our pool passes
50. target
51. the cows on my way to work
52. starbucks
53. that people will bring me starbucks at work (mom & justin)
54. my co-workers
55. did i mention my phone, because that thing seriously keeps me sane some days
56. anaya's friends' parents that watch out for her after school
57. suburbia
58. news websites
59. jenny meyerson & ali edwards & becky higgins - i don't know any of them personally, but their blogs have been so encouraging recently
60. itunes
61. all of justin's doctors that have gotten him this far
62. my mom's sewing machine
63. justin's lawyer - kind of
64. our dvr
65. tv shows online
66. the cats - when they aren't peeing on the carpet
67. carpet cleaner when they are peeing on the carpet
68. email
69. disney channel
70. blogger & it's ability to schedule posts to post later...  :)

I kind of randomized the list a little so that people wouldn't think I'm more grateful for some people than other people. Obviously somethings are more serious and some are a little more humorous.  But I am actually grateful for all of these things, whether they are necessities to life or just the little nice to haves that I am lucky enough to have.

Maybe I'll come up with some more...but I'm actually typing this on Thursday night and I'm tired.

Oh, and this post was inspired by Jenny Meyerson, she's having a gratitude link-up today so if you want more to be grateful for go check it out.

Summer Vacation 2012

Claire and Anaya are both going to summer school, so it hardly feels like summer is starting. Claire is going to the Extended School Year program to continue with her Speech Therapy staring next week through the end of June. Anaya is attending what is called Journey to Summer, in fact, today was her first day. In the morning they do "real" school stuff, in the afternoon they have fun classes - science experiments, cooking, art and pe. I'm not sure what all she will actually do, but she was excited to be going.

I pulled out a piece of paper today and just started writing down some things that I want to do this summer (and things I know the kids want to do).



The different colors don't mean anything, it was just the pen that I happened to pick up when I started writing. I stopped and started a couple of times. I still need to figure out how I want to display this. One year Anaya and I made little books that we each filled in with things we wanted to do. I also like how eighteen25 has made summer lists using a picture frame. Since Claire doesn't read, it might be fun to have pictures of things we did last summer so it is easier for her to show us what she wants to do. I definitely want it out where someone besides me will see it. Well...most of it. The things with question marks that might not work out would probably stay on my personal list - that way I don't have to listen to whining if we end up not being able to do some of the things.

Inspired by: Ali Edwards' Summer Manifesto

UPDATED: See follow-up post with how I displayed it.

Recipe: Enfrijoladas

Earlier this week I made a new dish, Enfrijoladas.

Mine did not turn out looking like the pictures in the recipe. We also change it a little bit because my husband likes to have meat in every meal. After looking through the recipe again, I think the main issue is the fact that I used medium tortillas and they are using small (although the recipe says either will work). My Enfrijoladas were swimming in the bean sauce at the end.



I thought they were REALLY good. And I definitely liked having the taco meat in them; they might've been a little bland if not for the taco meat. They were swimming in bean sauce, which might not have been a problem if we had tortilla chips to dip in the bean sauce but we were all out of chips. I will definitely make again, maybe not pour ALL of the bean sauce in the baking dish and maybe use smaller tortillas and have some chips on hand to use for dipping.

Enfrijoladas in progress:



Again, find the recipe over here at Tasty Kitchen, the only change that I made was browning a pound of ground beef and adding taco seasoning and adding a large spoonful to each Enfrijolada.

Project Life Week 19

Week 19: May 7 - 13th

Due to all the issues that I have had finding a local printing place that I like, I decided to see how my HP 6510 Photosmart printed pictures looked. All of the pictures this week were printed at home. I ended up using two types of paper - HP Advanced (about 10 sheets came with my printer) and some Kodak Soft Gloss paper that I've had for a long time. Definitely like the pictures printed on the HP paper. The Kodak paper is flimsier and the colors don't seem as bright. Although the paper is at least 4 yrs old. I ordered more HP paper from Amazon, so I'm waiting to do Week 20 until the paper arrives.





Since it is staying light so much later, I keep meaning to take pictures of my pages before it is dark. It just seems like I get home from work, eat dinner, play with the kiddo and suddenly it is her bedtime and it's dark outside.

Menu Monday

We followed most of last week's dinner plan. The only change we made was on Sunday because we went to Justin's parents house for lunch and none of us were very hungry at dinner time. I ended up heating up some frozen corn dogs and having fruit and leftover cupcakes from lunch.

Monday - Chicken Tenders, Tots & Peas
Tuesday - Enfrijoladas*, rice, corn
Wednesday - Pork Chops, boiled taters, Green Beans
Thursday - Breakfast Casserole (sausage & hashbrown), fruit
Friday - Pizza (frozen)
Saturday - Pan-fried or grilled chicken, Veg&Pasta side
Sunday - Fried Egg Sandwiches

Items with * are new recipes, so we'll see how it goes.

So I made the menu plan, then I came home sick from work on Monday and collapsed into bed and didn't feel like making Enfrijoladas, so Justin ended up making Chicken Tenders, Tots and Peas. Which meant everything else on the plan shifted down a day. Oh well.

Tell Your Story - A Photography Challenge 1

Jenny Meyerson recently offered up a photo challenge to tell our story through photos.

The assignment was to take 5 photos of:

1. Your morning routine.
2. The contents of something you carry around on a frequent basis.
3. A thing that you pass everyday that you have never taken a picture of.
4. Your happy place.
5. Someone who makes you smile.

I LOVE this idea. I may or may not succeed each month that she throws out this challenge, but I like the idea of it. It helps me with ideas of things that I take for granted that I might want to include in my project life album. And without further ado, here are my pictures:

Your morning routine
I had a couple of ideas of what to take a picture of, I almost went with the snooze button my alarm clock because that is DEFINITELY part of my morning routine - a part I would like to change, but still a part of it. Instead I went with the meds Claire & I take in the morning. Yay Allegra!


The contents of something you carry around on a frequent basis
There are only a few things that I carry around with me on a frequent basis, and I really don't want to show you what my purse looks like right now - it's kind of overflowing with receipts. Instead, here's my phone and my most frequently used apps.


A thing that you pass everyday that you have never taken a picture of
For the past 3 years, almost everyday on my way to work I pass this field of cows. Sometimes that cows are there, sometimes the cows are in another part of the pasture and I can't see them from the road. But for some reason, I really like these cows. I wish I got a closer picture of them, but this week they have been hanging out fairly far back from the road. This also reminds me of when I first started driving down 159th Street to get to my old job - back before they built subdivisions down the entire thing. Back then it was a donkey (that seriously looked like a zebra) that I really liked to see.


Your happy place
I had a really hard time coming up with a happy place. I'm not one of those people where places make me happy. People and activities make me happy. So, since I'm already including Claire has a person that makes me smile, we'll go with walking in a park/woods/trail. I don't do it very often, but I enjoy it when I do. Maybe that means I should try to make the time to do it more often.


Someone who makes you smile
No explanation needed...she just makes me smile.


Jenny Meyerson is awesome. I don't actually KNOW her, but I enjoy reading her blog: http://www.jennymeyerson.com/.

Black-Pepper Chicken

Tonight I tried a new recipe - Black-Pepper Chicken. I had NEVER had this dish (or particularly even heard of it) until last week when I decided to try it from HyVee's Chinese counter.

I did a Google search to find a similar recipe, most of them called for coating the chicken and frying it (more like general tso's), then I found this recipe on Bo's Bowl. It seemed the most similar to what I wanted.



I thought it was pretty good...although a little spicy for me - I added a little "Taste of Thai: Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce" so next time I might not do that. Justin did not care for it...too much black pepper in his opinion, although the recipe is called BLACK-PEPPER Chicken. Claire liked it, she ate 4 pieces of the chicken and all her rice.

The Recipe

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, cut into 1" pieces
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2 tsp soy sauce - divided
2 tsp black pepper, preferably freshly ground
1 tsp sugar
2-3 tbs vegetable oil
a couple splashes of Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce

Season the chicken with 1 tsp of soy sauce and allow it to marinate for a few minutes. Meanwhile combine the hoisin sauce, 1 tsp soy sauce, black pepper, and sugar. Then set the sauce mixture aside. In a skillet over a high heat add the oil. Then add the chicken and stir-fry until the chicken is browned. Add the onion. Continue to stir-fry for a couple minutes. Then add the sauce. Cook for about 1 minute more. Serve with steamed rice & egg roll.

Here's the original recipe.

What I would do differently

I probably should've sliced my chicken a little thinner, at least some of the pieces. After comparing the ingredients of Hoisin Sauce and Oyster Sauce, the Hoisin has a lot more sugar so if I make this again I'll probably leave out the additional sugar or I'll just take a chance and get the Oyster sauce instead. And probably use a little less pepper.

On my shelf

I *love* to read. Books...are probably one of my favorite things. They say all great writers start out as readers, but so far that hasn't worked out for me. Mostly because I don't want to put my book down long enough to actually WRITE anything.

Anyways, here are some books that I have read recently:

I Am Four by Pittacus Lore
Every since I read Hunger Games, when I go to the library I make a point to look at the recently released young adult books. Sometimes they are good. Sometimes they are not. But quite often I can find something interesting to read there. I Am Four was a random library find. To be honest, until I just now looked on Amazon to get a link, I didn't even realize that second book was already released. I enjoyed 90% of this book, the oh-my-gosh-i'm-in-love parts got old and the fighting just didn't flow with the rest of the book. I will now be heading to the library website to reserve the second book, The Power of Six. So, it was good enough that I spend another evening reading the second book. But not good enough for me to run out and buy them. Even if the library wait is super long.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Now this book, I went out and bought the day it was released. I have the first book, Divergent, on my Kindle - I will eventually buy a paper copy for ease of letting my step-daughter read it eventually unless we buy her a Kindle first... Anyways, this series is awesome. It is also a variation on the whole young adult, dystopian world trilogy that seem to be so popular now.

Ascend by Amanda Hocking
Ha, again with the young adult trilogies! This is the final installment in the series about the Trylle clan of trolls. The first book I bought from Barnes & Noble because I had a gift card and needed to spend a little more to (1) use up the gift card (I hate it when I have less than $10 left on a card) and (2) get free shipping.

Next up:
Pure by Julianna Baggott
I can't remember how I heard about this book. But a while back I put it on my library list and it is available for pick-up now.

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris
It pains me, but I'm addicted. But I refuse to buy it, so maybe I'll read it eventually; I'm number 203 in line at the library... Although the "limited loan" copy is available at my preferred library if I can get there tomorrow before someone else checks it out. :)

Obviously, I do not read high quality literature most of the time. I enjoy my silly predictable fluffy books for the time being.

The links to Amazon do not actually generate me any income. In fact nothing on this blog does at this exact moment. Just to let you know.

Hop Skip Splash

Claire does not like to have grass stuck to her feet. In 2010, when she was 1.5 and I tried to get her to experience the joy of playing in a sprinkler on a HOT day, she threw a hissy fit about the grass on her feet until I finally just turned the water off and gave up. Last year we tried again. She still hated the grass on her feet more than she enjoyed the sprinkler. But I kept at it, although we did get her a blow-up pool so there weren't quite as many attempts at sprinklers.

Early this year, I was at Target and I found this Dora the Explorer: Hop, Skip & Splash thing. She doesn't watch Dora, so that didn't really matter much, but she loves hopping. We draw hopscotches on the driveway and she jumps on them, plus, if she was on it then she wouldn't be getting grass on her feet. Well, she did get grass on her feet, but then she figured out that this was FUN and got over the grass on her feet. Plus I showed her that if she would splash through the hopscotch it would wash the grass off.



We had so much fun. Yes WE. Because she came up to me and said, "Mama turn". So I had to go run through it...then I did it again...and again...and again. My neighbors might think I'm crazy. But that's okay, because my toddler & I were having fun. Together.