Comfort Food: Tuna Pea Wiggle

Frosty, snowy days call for comfort food. I have many childhood favorites: tuna sandwich and tomato soup, grilled cheese and tomato soup, spaghetti and meat balls with a ton of parmigiana cheese, and tuna pea wiggle. The first time my Mom made it for daycare and my husband was there he said: "Tuna What?" The best and easiest way to explain it is that it's the sauce you put on tuna noddle casserole, only better.

Tuna Pea Wiggle
(serves 4 adults)
Ingredients:
3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
2 1/4 Cup Milk
3-4 Cans of tuna
1 lb cooked frozen peas
2 sleeves of saltine crackers

1. Make a rue: melt butter over medium heat remove from heat to add flour and mix until creamy. Add milk all at once.
2. Stir milk, flour, and butter until thick and bubbly. Cook one minute more. Remove from heat
3. Add tuna and cooked pease

Serve over crackers (we like them crumbled). I would estimate that we use 10-12 crackers per serving.


When we feed this to the daycare kids we omit the peas and serve them on the side. They also like their crackers whole and they eat the rest of the wiggle like gravy dip.

Free Pattern: Sweet Pea Sleep Sack

My son never keeps his blankets on for long at night. We live in
an old drafty house and I worry about him getting cool and
waking up. I looked around at the stores for a sleep sack that
would fit him, but none came in his size. Since I don't sew it
occurred to me that I could knit one up in a jiffy. I used the yarn
I had on hand, and since I thought this was never going to be
seen by people outside the house, I didn't care what it looked like. I decided to make it a little roomy so that he had space to skirm while sleeping and so that it would fit all winter long. 


This pattern will be free on Raverly until August 2012, at that time it will be available for $2.50. Anyone who knits one between now and August 1, 2012 can be entered into a drawing for a $10.00 gift card to yarn.com. To be entered send me a photo of your finished Sweet Pea Sleep Sack to my email: deliasknittedthings(at)gmail(dot).com

click here for the pdf file

Year in Review Part 1: Personal

January 2011

This past year has been quite and adventure. You never really know where God is going to take you. Last winter found me alone most days with a teething infant and so I sought out friendship with an old friend. I really enjoyed getting to know her all over again. It was awesome to go to her home, have her love on my son while I we worked our yarn crafts, eat a meal not made by myself, and watch our children play. 

In the spring, along side my husband, we planned and planted a larger garden than the year before, while my growing baby boy played in the dirt and ate grass. Summer came and our garden grew, then grew sick due to our own inattention, but we did manage to bring in a nice crop of snap peas. Next year we will do better, this year we did better than last year, and next year we'll be a little better. 

This summer we also provided respite for some family members and I taught at the 2's and 3's class during VBS. Jason's sister got married, and of course we all took part. Jason was the best man, I was a bridesmaid, and Stomper the cutest baby groomsmen. Summer of course led to fall and fall always brings harvesting. 

May 2011

In the fall we were given a load of cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini and tomatoes; we had a crop of green tomatoes (they had to be harvested due to blights); we bought apples; and we picked pears and blueberries at my mothers. Cucumbers were made into pickles, summer squash in to casseroles, zucchini shredded and frozen, tomatoes into sauce, green tomatoes in to relish, apples into sauce, pears into sauce, and blueberries were put in the freezer. My mother and I got together quite a few times to put food up and I think it is something we will continue to do. It is so much easier to preserve the harvest, we found, when there is someone to help bear the burden. Stomper had his first birthday with

First Birthday
photo by Nicolelee

lots of family and friends. We are slowly gathering enough money to build him a swing-set this spring, and our family and friends helped with financial gifts for his birthday. This fall Jason and I were blessed to go to a marriage conference at our church. It was so very helpful, it was more about how to have devotions together (at least that is what I took out of it) in order to grow closer to Christ together. I think that if we hadn't gone
through the conference, then what happened next would have been even harder. Early October we were given a call to warn us that we might be asked to take on an infant for Foster Care. Fostering an infant and then watching her leave my home was one of the harder things I have done. If not for my relationship with my husband and for my faith in Christ I think it would have been a lot harder.

We ended our year with family and friends at our house for Taco and Quelf Night, not a bad way to end a year.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. via Amanda

Yarn Along: Orange and Black

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~ via Ginny

Not a whole lot of book or nook reading going on these days. I spent last week cleaning up from our week away when we were snowed in at my mothers and recharging our family batteries. The first part of this week we spent at my mothers house, where there is internet (still none at my house as of right now), so I've been catching up with my usual blog haunts and meeting new (to me) bloggers. I spent the last half of RED reading this one last night. The only real books I read these days are a page or two of Stompers. The only ones he'll sit for are lift-the-flaps. I had to take Find Spot away from him because he ripped half the flaps off. He got a handy-me-down for Christmas called Dirt is Delightful that he's been rather attached to, it has flaps. So far the flaps are all in tact. My friend gave me a few of her daughters lift-the-flap books from when they were little (the youngest will be 5 this spring) some are already missing flaps so I won't feel so bad if when he rips off the flaps.

My knitting projects keep increasing. I have never had so many projects on my needles before. I put them in a three day rotation. Day one I work on #1, Day two I work on #2, and logically day three I work on #3. I'd like to skip project #2 all together, but since I finished the first gauntlet I might as well do the second. The first project in the picture is the gloves from Knitting Year-Round, I am almost to the fingers of the second glove. The instructions are very clear and I will probably use this pattern as my go-to for gloves in the future. I don't think I'd recommend buying the book, I got it for a song at a used book store Twice Sold Tales and will probably only use it twice. The second project is the second glove--second!--of the gauntlets. The first is at home, where I am not, and I will take a photo of it on my sisters hand as soon as glove and sister are together with fresh batteries in the camera. The third project is a finished one, I just need to weave in my two ends. It is an adaption of this scarf. I was looking for a leaf pattern to make a cowl and I found this through a fellow bloggers pintrest board. I worked 2 1/2 repeats with 4 rows of garter stitch on the top and and bottom. You will probably see this cowl again in a give away this February. Unless, of course, I fall madly and deeply in love with it before then. I do wish I had cast on more stitches as it's a little tight, but I think it will loosen with wear. This is not the same cowl seen in my last Yarn Along. That one I messed up so bad on that I worked four rows in garter and bound off. I wear it constantly, it could be taller, but it works all the same.

I think the next projects I will work on in my second fingerless mitt and a Valentines cow for Stomper. I finally got the Spud and Chloe at the Farm book and the yarn that I wanted to use to make some of the animals, so now I just need to knit.

I didn't used to keep more than one project going and didn't understand those that did, but now I get it. The gauntlets I've been working on for months, and I hate them. I keep putting them down to start other things like the orange gloves, but then I get bored of just knitting so I want something interesting to knit that's not hard (unlike the gauntlets) so I start something new, hence the cowl. I've been itching to write my own pattern again so I may cast on for a fourth before too long. I have a love/hate relationship with having so many projects, it's good that I can knit with my mood, but I feel so unaccomplished and that is hard to deal with at times. Oh well, knit on my friends!

Maple Snowcones

Two weeks ago when I was working at the daycare we had a lot of freshly fallen snow. The kids were sneaking bites of the newly minted crusty snow. I said to them: "Do you want to try and make some maple candy in the snow?" They answered: "We can eat the snow?" I nodded, "The snow is new and clean enough to eat." They shouted in glee and grabbed up huge slabs of crusty snow and started munching.

I filled a baking sheet with snow and had my sister heat up some syrup (my Dad still has gallons of syrup from last year) in the microwave. Did I mention that I've never made maple candy? Apparently you are supposed to boil it down some more, oops.

I poured the hot syrup over my pile of snow and did not get the candy I expected.

We dished the maple snow into small cups and bowls and ate it like ice cream. It was quite delightful, I'd do it again.

Maple Snowcone

large pile of freshly fallen snow
1/4 - 1/2 cup pure maple syrup warmed
a handful of giddy children

Pour syrup over snow
Dish and serve immediately

Photo Happy

I realized that I haven't given you any updates on Stomper.

• Walked at 14 months, right before Christmas. There was a Christmas party at church and one of Stompers little friends (she's about 7 or 8) walked behind him while he walked up and down the hall. Every time he'd fall she'd scoop him up and set him back on his feet. Ever since that night he's been walking. He bends over to pick up a toy with out falling down, but still uses something to stand. He's very fast and he keeps me on my toes.
• He's been practicing a lot with a spoon.
• Uses a straw
• Climbs on everything
• Falls off of things 
• Had his first bit bottom lip when he fell off the coffee table
• He is not talking, but is increasing his sounds daily
• Watches football
• Loves Yo-Gabba-Gabba
• Won't sit for a book unless it has lift-the-flaps
• Dances all the time
• Still learning what "gentle" means
• Thankfully...NO Teething!...finally

Now for some unrelated photos from our week.....

My little brother had a birthday. 

 The cats seem to be adjusting to the snow just fine.

 There is a kitty highway in our backyard.

 Jason bought me some flowers, just because he could.

 Ugly Kitty seems to be getting healthier.

 Stomper loves toy baskets.

 

This foolish flower lives beside the wood stove in the living-room at my parents. The stem appears dead. this is the second time it has flowered.

Kitchen Reno Part1

Something very exciting happened in my kitchen over Christmas break. The day after Christmas while Stomper and I were away with family unwrapping the final tree and Jason was at work, the Renovation Fairies came to my house!

My parents came over and moved my stacked washer/dryer out of my kitchen and into the bathroom.

WOW!

It's like a whole new kitchen. I can see the window, the counter is closer to the sink making washing the dishes so much easier, and I feel like I can cook! I didn't really gain that much more counter top, but it sure feels like I did.

I am so thankful for my family for helping me out. My Dad just happened to have two base cabinets in his shop that he wasn't using, and a counter top that fit over the top of it. The counter top isn't finished, there are plans to move the sink over in front of the window, and rearrange the larger appliances.

I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's finished!

Handed Down

I am proud to say that I come from a long line of crafters and re-users. The perfect example is this console that my Great Grandfather Harry Blidberg made sometime around 1930. I don't know what it looked like then, I don't remember what it looked like before my brother and his best friend (who I would later marry) painted it black and white when it belonged to my parents; but I do remember when my Mom and I got a hold of it and removed some drawers and painted it white. My Dad then, a few years after that, put some flooring over the top of it because it was falling apart or was hard to clean (I don't remember). It now resides on our porch and has held fishing gear, Stompers toys, and now the barn cats food.

My Grammie Winnie, every year, would crochet all of her grandkids mittens. The other day we were getting Stomper dressed to go out in the snow and my Mom pulled out a pair or crocheted mittens. "Arn't those Ben's?" I asked. Somehow "Grammie Mittens" had survived a toddler and probably daycare kiddos, to make it all the way to her Great Grandson's hands even though she's never met him.

When I was two my parents made me some blocks from some wood I'm assuming they had kicking around. They were painted in vibrant colors of orange, green, black, brown, blue, yellow, and red in shapes of triangles, squares, arches, semi-circles. After I used them Ben and his best buddy (my future hubby) played with them, then my sister, and finally the daycare kiddos. This year I passed them on to Stomper, who doesn't quite know what to do with them, but enjoys them all the same.

This year my Dad took the desk he had made for my brother when he was little and turned it into a tool bench for Stomper (pictured above). It is so awesome to know that this bench has history. When Stomper out grows it we'll pass it back to my Dad for him to recreate something for my siblings kids (assuming either of them marry and have kids some day) or maybe for a future sibling of Stomper's.

I love having these re-used and passed around objects in my home. It's like a little part of the family is with us at all times. I see Stomper's tool bench and I think of my parents, I see Stomper's mittens and I think of my brother and my Grammie who made them, as I pass by the old console on the porch I am reminded that even though people pass on the memories remain.

I am looking forward to when I refurbish and revive my advent calendar in a few weeks for Stomper. Stomper can show his children his advent (assuming it survives) and tell them, "This was my mothers, now it is yours. It was made by a Great Great Grandmother and Great Great Aunts that you have never known but loved you just the same." 

Take a moment to stop by my advent contest blog post to send me your ideas on how to help my advent. I really do need some insight, advice, and a bit of encouragement as I tackle this task.

Yogurt

I know this is my third post of the day, but I just couldn't resist.

Ketchup Cookies

The day before the snow storm my parents, my siblings, my husband, my son, and I were sitting around the table eating pizza, hot dogs, and other leftovers when Jason picked up the ketchup bottle and studied the back for some time. Curious, I picked up the ketchup bottle and read these words "Tic Tac Toe Cookies". I thought to myself, "How strange to have a recipe on the back of the bottle. Usually when a company puts a recipe on their package it's to use their product." I read the ingredients of the the cookies and there, right before 1 egg and just after brown sugar were the words 1/4 Cup Heinz Tomato Ketchup. "Oh," I said, "we are so making these tomorrow with the daycare kids."

That is just what we did during Thursday's snow storm. After the kiddos came in from the snowy cold we gathered at the island and whipped up a batch.

The cookies received two sideways thumbs, but one of the kiddos did eat two, so they were at least yummy enough for a second helping. I have to agree with them, the cookies don't taste awful, but they aren't that great either. There is peanut-butter in them so that is what you mostly taste, but there is this faint taste of something--else.

Ketchup Cookies (from the back of Heinz)

Preheat oven to 375

Mix together and then set aside:
1 1/2 Cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Cream with electric mixer:
3/4 Cup Peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
1/2 Cup softened butter or marg
1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup brown sugar packed

Add In:
1/4 Cup Ketchup
1 Egg

Mix in the flour mixture

Drop by tablespoon on to baking sheets.
With floured fork make a # over the top of each cookie.
Bake for 8-10 mins or until tops are slightly browned.

Startle your friends when you say: "Like them? I put ketchup in them"

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. via Amanda

Snow Day

We are spending some time at my parents house this week. I have been working at the daycare few days a week for her when there are more two year old boys than her. Today, during the storm, she went to the doctor to "rule out" strep-throat, as she has been experiencing some throat pain. To her surprise she has strep-throat, so it is a good thing that I am here. She has been sent to bed (not that she went, she's stationed her self in front of the TV watching the DIY Channel) with a big bowl of ice cream and a loving hubby to keep her warm. She was instructed to not go back to work until Monday, but, unfortunately when you are the boss, the workers, the chef, and the teacher of your one-woman-daycare that is hard to do. My sister and I are "holding down the fort" for today and tomorrow I'm on my own most of the day, as I told her that since we are stranded here anyway due to the storm that I'd just work for her tomorrow.

The kids went outside and enjoyed the snow, despite the 23degree temp outside. Apparently the horse is of like mind as the kids because he won't come in when it snows either. The small pup though has sense, he went out did his business and begged to let back in.

Happy Snow Day!

Muffins

Recently mini-muffins have become a staple in our house. I'm not sure which came first the Pampered Chef Mini-Muffin Tin or the desire, but it is good to have both on hand. I make a batch a week and by the end of the week they are gone. I often give Stomper two (one for each hand) first thing in the morning while I am getting a diaper and other necessities ready for him, so I wanted them to be healthy. Also, I wanted to use what I usually have on hand.

The following recipe is an adaption of one that my Mom found for me on-line (I don't know from who). It uses baby cereal and baby food so it is great for using up any leftovers. I noticed that these muffins don't crumble which is great when I give them to Stomper in the car. I gave some to church on Sunday that were made using banana, sweet potato, and carob chip and they were gobbled up in a flash! Since they get all the flavor from the baby food the possibilities are quite endless. I have added cranberries and carob chips to mine, and I intend on using shredded zucchini in the next batch. If you use a fresh banana I suggest using just one as the banana comes through quite strong even when diluted with other fruits. I have made them with and without sugar and there is no taste difference.

Happy Baking!

Baby Food Muffins

ingredients:

Dry:

1 Cup of Flour

3/4 Cup of Baby Cereal

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 - 1/3 Cup sugar depending on the sweetness of the fruit you are using

Wet:

2 4oz jars of Stage 2 baby food

or 8oz/1 Cup of pureed fruit/sweet vegetable

or 1 mashed banana PLUS enough of pureed fruit ti equal 1 Cup

2 Tbs milk

3 Eggs 

Extra:

1/4 Cup carob chips, chocolate chips, nuts, shredded zucchini, or dried fruit (optional)

1. Pre-heat oven to 400. Spray mini-muffin tin with oil

2. Mix dry ingredients together.

3. Add wet ingredients and stir. Mixture may be lumpy if you used mashed bananas

4. Stir in the Extras if any

5. Fill muffin tin with all the batter. There should be just enough batter to make 2 dozen mini muffins. The batter will be rounded up a bit, which is fine. The muffins don't raise or spread very much, so it is all right if they are a little full.

6. Cook for 8-10 mins until tops are slightly browned.

7. Remove from tin and cool on a rack.