Keeping Creative Kitchens #4

I love to entertain! Something I've decided is really nice and easy is to have an appetizer or two for when people arrive at our house. It adds a gourmet feeling, gives you a little time to finish up the meal, is beautiful and just is that extra little thought - not to mention I love appetizers. :) I don't always manage this but when I do, it's always a hit! Here's the thing, it doesn't have to be expensive and it doesn't have to take very much time. So here are a few appetizer ideas and recipes.

- Cheese & Crackers - you can often find specialty cheeses marked down - especially at Kroger. You can garnish the plate with grapes.
- Fruit Kabobs - just wash and cut up a few different seasonal fruits and put them on skewers. Dip is delicious but optional.
- Hummus served w/vegetables and/or pita bread - you can buy the hummus or make it ahead.
- Baked Brie served w/sliced apples or pears, and bread or crackers - super easy and gourmet. I buy a large wheel of baby brie at Costco for $5.29. It serves many.
- Chips & Salsa - you can make or buy the salsa. Try a mix of blue & white/yellow corn chips for a pretty presentation. You could also do guacamole instead of or in addition to the salsa.
- Antipasti Platter - a little more work but can include olives, marinated vegetables (you can buy jars of this), bread cubes, fresh mozzarella balls, tortellini, meats (like prosciutto, summer sausage...). All of this can be done ahead and just arranged on a platter at the last minute.
- Fresh Veggies & Dip.
- Cream cheese & Jam w/crackers. This is super simple - spread a layer of cream cheese on a plate, top with preserves (we like cherry the best) and serve with crackers. It's Andrew's favorite and is SO easy.

There are so many other things you could do but the above are some of my favorites! I like that all but the baked brie can be served at room temperature - it frees up the oven and your schedule.

Now for a few recipes:
Guacamole
2 avocados
1/2 c. salsa
1/3 c. plain yogurt or sour cream
Lime Juice to taste
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 bunch cilantro
Mash avocado, add the rest of the ingredients. Serve with chips.

Fresh Salsa
6-8 tomatoes, diced
1/2 med. onion finely diced (I like red or sweet)
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
Combine all ingredients and serve with tortilla chips.

Honey Fruit & Nut Brie
1/2 c. dried cranberries or cherries
1/2 c. pecans, walnuts, or almonds, coarsely chopped
2 Tb. butter
1/3 c. honey
1 round of brie
Saute pecans in butter. Combine fruit, nuts, and honey. Cut rind off top of brie. Pour fruit & nut mixture over brie. Bake in oven until melted or can microwave. Serve with crackers, bread cubes, and/or fruit slices.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus - can be made ahead and refrigerated.
2 can garbanzo beans
2 Tb. olive oil
1/3 c. chicken broth
2 tsp. parsley
3-5 cloves garlic
1/2 jar roasted red peppers (could substitute sun dried tomatoes for a different flavor!)
Combine all in the blender. Adjust seasoning to your taste. Serve with pita bread, veggies, and/or crackers.

I hope to get back to entertaining soon - I'm already looking forward to our annual Christmas Open House! Planning the perfect menu (even a simple one) makes me so happy! Maybe you will enjoy some of these easy appetizer ideas for your next dinner or party or game night. Do you have a favorite appetizer?

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Happy Thursday, everyone! Thanks for stopping by Keeping Creative Kitchens! I'm looking forward to all your great ideas, recipes, and resources. Feel free to grab the banner for your post - you don't have to know me to play along and you don't have to participate fo comment or ask questions! :)

Here are just a few guidelines for participating in Keeping Creative Kitchens:
1) Leave a link to your post with Mr. Linky (I am fully aware that there will probably not be many - or any :) - participants but I think this will make participation easier!).
2) Your entry can include a new recipe (either your own creation or a new-to-you-recipe), favorite recipe, success, tablescape/centerpiece, short-cut, ingredient, tradition, book, magazine, tool or gadget, food photos, recipe website or any thing else that keeps you inspired in your kitchen.
3) Please link back here in your participating post.

Hope you have fun, meet new people, learn a few things, feel encouraged, and find inspiration as you prepare meals, care for your family, and entertain!

Too Scattered for a Title

You all are making me laugh - nice work! I'll leave it open until Saturday (I'm not sure I made that clear) so if you haven't entered, you have plenty of time - but seriously, what are you waiting for?! :) I'm re-thinking how to choose winners - perhaps Andrew and I will narrow it down to three for each picture and then let you all vote on the final winner. We'll see! It's going to be a tough choice!

Andrew will be working late tonight so perhaps I will get some more giveaways entered. :) I think there are over 1200 at the moment!

We have a couple of exciting things happening in the next few weeks so stay tuned! I can't stop smiling when I think about one of them! How's that for a teaser...

I never did get to blog about our weekend before last. What a GREAT and full weekend! We met up with my inlaws to go to a fantastic pumpkin patch (lots of fun things for the kids) on Saturday. Saturday evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner with Andrew's firm - we always have a wonderful time with everyone. Sunday, we had a chance to meet up with two families we met at Kazapalooza this summer. Thanks Muriel for inviting us to your inlaws (we loved meeting sweet & adorable Jack) and thanks Ann for arranging lunch! We had a great time with both of their families! We have been so blessed by all the new friends we have met through that excellent event this past summer. We can't wait for next year!

Despite my lack of blogging and creativity, I will be hosting Keeping Creative Kitchens tomorrow. Thank you so much to those of you that have been participating. I'm definitely still viewing it as a trial feature and will give it a few more weeks to see if it's something I want to continue long term. I've been so enjoying the participating posts, though! Being creative in the kitchen is something near to my heart. I don't want to get caught in a rut especially since that's one of my main creative outlets. :)

Finally, here are a few pumpkin patch pictures!

Go HERE to enter my photo caption contest! :)

Captions & Prizes

I haven't been much in the blogging mood lately - it's not for lack of ideas, perhaps just a little burnout. So, today there will be prizes. :)

I will offer pictures and you give the caption. If you write the winning caption (Andrew and I will choose), I will send you a prize. You may write a caption for one or all of the photos - just make sure you say which ones you are entering! How's that sound? I'll let you know the winners on Saturday - there could be as many as four. This is unrelated to Bloggy Giveaways...it's just for you, blog readers, lurkers, happened byers, family and friends! Be creative and make me laugh! :)

#1

#2

#3

#4 - I may regret this :)

Bloggy Giveaway!

**THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED - THANKS FOR ENTERING! 2 NAMES WILL BE DRAWN AND THE WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED!**

It's bloggy giveaway time!!! In honor of my new (trial :)) weekly feature, Keeping Creative Kitchens, and because they are my favorite and I always have to give them away, I'm giving away cookbooks again! For every 100 entries I will add another winner. Each winner will receive a cookbook -- no longer yet to be determined!

You will receive one of these hardcover, beautifully photographed cookbooks: Cooking from the Hip by Cat Cora (Iron Chef America) or Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson (also from the Food Network). I personally would like to own both of these! You will have a choice and I will try to honor it but no guarantees. I hope you will enjoy!

I may or may not have more than two times the amount of cookbooks on that shelf... :) And I may or may not read cookbooks recreationally... :)

Anyway, here are the rules (you knew there had to be some :)):
1) You have to have a U.S. or APO mailing address (if you live international, you are welcome to enter, I will just need someplace to send it here in the states - I'm sorry to have to limit it).
2) You do not have to be a blogger to enter but please make sure I have a way to contact you!
3) You may only enter once.
4) To enter, you must leave a comment and tell me your favorite thing to cook or bake or your favorite cookbook (not website).
5) Failure to follow the above will unfortunately disqualify you.

I will close the comments sometime on Saturday and randomly select the winner(s). I will contact the winner (s) via e-mail or blog as well as posting the results here and linking to the giveaway site.

That's it - HAVE FUN! I love entering all the giveaways and I have even won a few things. My absolute favorite win so far was a Sleepy Wrap baby carrier - so great and I use it all the time! So go join in all the fun at bloggy giveaways!

Menu Plan: 10/27 - 11/2

So much for blogging this weekend. :) I feel like we have been fighting illness (nothing serious) for several weeks now and have been so busy that we've had little time to rest...so yesterday and today we have rested. I didn't even do a menu plan last week but we missed it. I did make a big pot of soup and a big pasta dish - we ate on both for at least two meals. It was also Andrew's birthday so we enjoyed a night out at the Melting Pot! Yum!

Here's the menu plan for this week:

Meatloaf, Green Beans & Potatoes, Apple & Pear Romaine Salad
Burgers, Sweet Potato Fries (minus the dill :)), Fruit Salad
Butternut Squash Risotto*, Peas, Blueberry Muffins, Salad
Curried Split Pea Soup*, Biscuits, Oranges

I think that will do it - if we need another meal it will either be leftovers or breakfast for dinner. :) We will be with family on Friday night - I will probably take German Apple Cake and a salad. I'll be doing a giveaway tomorrow so feel free to stop back by! Have a great week and as always, thanks to Laura for hosting MPM every week!

* = new recipe :)

Sickies

I have several blog posts floating around in my head but all three boys have colds (we've all been passing it around). C & P are doing pretty well - they were on fall break yesterday which was good. They are just a little extra grumpy and have yucky noses. Poor Titus just wants me to hold him. He doesn't have a fever - he has a cough and a little bit of runny eyes and nose. This is his first time being sick and he just doesn't know what to do. So we are cuddling lots and playing - I'm still getting smiles and coos despite him not feeling very well.

All of that to say that I hope to blog some this weekend but today we are laying low. I'm pretty much catering to everyone's needs and we stayed in bed (piled in our king) late this morning. My sweet boys need some extra TLC! And I love giving it!

On an unrelated note...thank you so much SBP for the book - I've already started it!

Big Brother Love

Keeping Creative Kitchens #3

I'll admit that my brain has been mush this week. :) It's been a busy, full week leaving little time for blogging. One of the biggest projects was yesterday's applesauce making.

My mom and I started around 9 a.m. and finished around 11 p.m. We had periodic help but she and I worked almost non-stop - we took a couple food breaks and I had to feed and care for the baby and kids occasionally. :) It will be worth it! I love having a stocked pantry and the beautiful rows of applesauce and apple butter are so wonderful.

We started with 4 bushels (or 8 of these big bags). They were seconds from a local orchard but really they were very nice! We paid $15 a bushel.

We've used the same tools for as long as I can remember!

The beautiful result - bowls and bowls of applesauce ready to be canned. We sweeten it with a little apple juice concentrate but no sugar.

The water bath canner held 11 - 1/2 pints, 9 - pints, or 7 - quarts.

We also made apple butter! It baked in the oven for several hours before being canned. We did use brown sugar in this delicious treat!

I love hearing the pop of the jars sealing and to see the rows of completed jars.

We used 5 or 6 different varieties of apples including Jonathans, Golden Delicious, Jonagolds, Fuji, and Winesap. The different batches were various colors based on the random mix of apples.

The final numbers:
4 bushels
35 canned quarts applesauce (2 broke during canning leaving 33)
8 frozen quarts applesauce
34 pints applesauce
34 canned 1/2 pints of apple butter


The rows of applesauce and apple butter in my pantry will be awesome! We will enjoy the fruits of our labors and I can't wait! It makes a great side dish and is one of the most requested and most prayed for items in our house...yes, the boys love it. I like that it is sugar free - making it a healthy snack.


We love having the apple butter on fresh biscuits (Andrew makes the best!). My mom's tip is to make your biscuits with half whole wheat flour - they are delicious.

BISCUITS (not my very favorite recipe but my 2nd :))
1 c. flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 Tb. baking powder
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter
2/3 c. milk

Combine flours, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in center and add milk. Stir until moinstened.

Tuen dough oonto a lightly floured surfacee. Quickly knead dough by gently folding and pressing dough 10-12 strokes or until nearly smooth. Lightly roll dough to 1/2-in. thinkness. Cut dough with 2 1/2 in. biscuit or any cookie cutter.

Place biscuits 1-in. apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 10-12 min. or until golden. Serve hot. Makes 10-12 biscuits

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Happy Thursday, everyone! Thanks for stopping by Keeping Creative Kitchens! I'm looking forward to all your great ideas, recipes, and resources. Feel free to grab the banner for your post - you don't have to know me to play along and you don't have to participate fo comment or ask questions! :)

Here are just a few guidelines for participating in Keeping Creative Kitchens:

1) Leave a link to your post with Mr. Linky (I am fully aware that there will probably not be many - or any :) - participants but I think this will make participation easier!).

2) Your entry can include a new recipe (either your own creation or a new-to-you-recipe), favorite recipe, success, tablescape/centerpiece, short-cut, ingredient, tradition, book, magazine, tool or gadget, food photos, recipe website or any thing else that keeps you inspired in your kitchen.

3) Please link back here in your participating post.

Hope you have fun, meet new people, learn a few things, feel encouraged, and find inspiration as you prepare meals, care for your family, and entertain!

Zzzz...

Too tired to blog. 4 bushels of apples processed today. 14 hours. Out of town tomorrow. Be back tomorrow night or Thursday.

A Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my

amazing guy, Andrew!!!

I won't divulge his age (thiirrrttyyy-fffooouurr :)) but we love him so much! I am so blessed to have him in my life and I'm so glad he finally asked me out and that we hit it off and that he proposed and that we got married and that we have three boys! Andrew is an awesome husband and father. He is incredibly selfless and loving. I can't imagine sharing my life with anyone else! Happy Birthday, honey.

Okay, this is the last post for today, I promise! :) I'll tell you about our weekend tomorrow!

6 Random Things

My cousin Leslie tagged me to share six random things so here it goes!

1) Asian food is hands down my favorite despite the fact that I didn't like it as a kid. It's totally my comfort food - the spicier the better. :) We enjoyed an awesome ecletic Asian cafe in Chicago this summer (on another note, Calvin requested that we go to Chicago today :)). Anyway, I highly recommend Tamarind if you are ever in Chicago (south loop). P.F. Changs is my favorite chain around here and I have my favorite hole-in-the-wall take-out, too.

2) My favorite outside the home job ever was at a living history museum. I still do a little work for them but nothing like the 5-days a week every summer job. :) I loved dressing up and cooking over the hearth or wood stove. Butchering day was one of the best days! I made lifelong friends and I will always remember with a smile our totally fun summers.

3) I love ice. Period. Not only do I want my drinks very cold but I love to crunch it. Terrible and yes, I tell patients not to do it but I can't help it! It's an addiction. I've been told it could be an iron deficiency but quite honestly, I just enjoy it and would be sad if I didn't crave it. :) It keeps me drinking lots of water - I do my best to control my ice crunching when I'm with others but I'm not always (okay, often not) successful.

4) Snakes completely freak me out. I went into hysterics when my brothers hid plastic or rubber snakes in my room. I've been known to make my husband check the bed all the way down just to make sure there are no snakes (totally weird, I know). For my kids sake, I've managed to go through the snake display at the zoo - calmly. I don't want them to have the same fear...but the day they bring a snake home might not be pretty...

5) If I could pick any job in the world (besides my current mom job :)), I would want to do recipe development in a test kitchen, write cookbooks, do menu planning, design and tasting for a one-of-a-kind restaurant, or be an HIV/Aids researcher (and relief worker) in Africa. Those are in no particular order and I am aware that snakes might be an issue for me in Africa. :)

6) I love clothes - putting together outfits, finding the perfect pants or top or shoes. However, I do not really like to shop (unless I have money and nothing specific to purchase :)). I also do not like doing hair or make-up - I would be happy to have them do themselves.

So there you have it. Let's see, I'll tag Stephanie E., Jennifer T., Micah P. and anyone else who wants to participate! Have fun!

Thanks SBP!

We received an awesome package in the mail from my Secret Blog Pal. The boys love everything!!! Thanks so much!!!

Our Baby is Growing!

I can't believe Titus is 2 months old already! The time is flying by! He had his two month appointment yesterday and weighed in at a whopping 12 lbs. 2 oz and was 22 1/2 inches long. That put him in the 75th percentile in weight (up from the 25th at his first appt.) and 50th percentile in length. Overall he is doing great! He has decided he doesn't care much for his formula therefore he is not sleeping as long because he isn't eating as much so he needs to eat more frequently. That's a cycle we would like to discontinue. He is still getting up at night clearly hungry - he typically goes right back down after a bottle. It really averages only once a night - it just feels like more because 5 or 6a. is pretty early for us. :) His older brothers adore him and talk about him all the time at school. They take good care of him and do an awesome job calming him when he is crying. He loves them, too and is so happy when they talk to him and hold him. You can see some two month pictures on the boys' blog!

Keeping Creative Kitchens - Week 2!

I think one of the greatest ways to feel motivated and creative in the kitchen is to subscribe to at least one cooking magazine. The full-color pictures, recipes, stories, and information just make you want to cook! I especially love the pictures. It also makes the mail more exciting and I always look forward to their (I subscribe to more than my fair share - most are gifts :)) arrival.

There are several magazines that I enjoy but I'll just highlight one today. Food & Wine is an amazing magazine. Even if you don't like wine or don't drink at all, the articles are interesting and the wine country pictures are stunning. I love it for the recipes and pictures. It is gourmet without being impossibly hard. They feature various chefs and sometimes include recipes from well-known restaurants. They use ingredients in creative ways and everything always looks and sounds delicious!

The most recent issue has an article on how to make your own ricotta cheese and includes several recipes for using it - very interesting! It also took a look at the classic apple pie and gave variations on an old favorite. They recently had an issue that gave their top 30 recipes of the past 30 years - all seemed pretty easy and I can't wait to try some of them. So beat the dinner time blues by subscribing to a cooking magazine! Whether you make the recipes or not, I think you will enjoy it and find inspiration.


Happy Thursday, everyone! Thanks for stopping by Keeping Creative Kitchens! I'm looking forward to all your great ideas, recipes, and resources. Feel free to grab the banner for your post.

Here are just a few guidelines for participating in Keeping Creative Kitchens:
1) Leave a link to your post with Mr. Linky (I am fully aware that there will probably not be many - or any :) - participants but I think this will make participation easier!).
2) Your entry can include a new recipe (either your own creation or a new-to-you-recipe), favorite recipe, success, tablescape/centerpiece, short-cut, ingredient, tradition, book, magazine, tool or gadget, food photos, recipe website or any thing else that keeps you inspired in your kitchen.
3) Please link back here in your participating post.

Hope you have fun, meet new people, learn a few things, feel encouraged, and find inspiration as you prepare meals, care for your family, and entertain!

Ty is 2 Months!

Isn't he adorable?!!! Not that I'm biased or anything. :) As you can see from the first few pictures - he is definitely a spitter. It's hard to keep clean clothes on him - we average 3-4 outfits a day. His favorite things are bathtime, being undressed and dressed, having his diaper changed, being held, being tickled, and his brothers. His least favorite things are formula and being alone - sometimes sleep, too. :) We feel so blessed to have this little boy in our family!

Of Course

Isn't it just typical that your kids injure their faces the week of school pictures? :)


Hope you'll join in tomorrow for Keeping Creative Kitchen!

A What?

This morning we had an event in our house that I hoped would never occur. One of our sons started crying hysterically and pointing at his nose. Now, he very occasionally gets bloody noses so I thought that might be the problem. Upon closer investigation, I could see that a foreign, unknown object was just barely sticking out. He couldn't tell me what it was and he was very upset. A quick call to Andrew (who was just pulling out of the driveway) brought him to assist with the removal of said object. We discussed how best to remove it without it getting further jammed or being snorted up. We still couldn't figure out what it was... I held one nostril closed as Andrew pushed down from the top of the object and before too long it popped out. Would you like to know what IT was? A screw. Yes, our son had jammed a screw up his nose skinny end first. We have no idea where he found it.

We had a big talk about where we don't put things and tried to cover all the bases to avoid any confusion. Thankfully it all turned out okay and his nose didn't even bleed - it could have been much worse. I remember at least one brother getting a lego stuck up his nostril and it wasn't pretty. :) I guess we have officially entered a new parenting stage accompanied by many, many things you never thought you would have to say. :) Boys and their ideas!

Yummy Deliciousness

Yesterday was a rather difficult day after such a big weekend. Rather than focus on the difficulty of a day filled with grumpy, obstinate kids, crying baby, sick dog, and spitting-up/puking baby, I'm going to tell you about one of my newest food loves. :)

Several months to a year ago, Andrew and I watched a fascinating show about the creation of a new Haagan Dazs ice cream flavor. We watched with interest each step of the intense process. The show was actually a competition between various individuals. The winning combination? A flavor I had never heard of - Sticky Toffee Pudding. Ever since then, we've talked about trying the ice cream or at least trying the British dessert.

Recently, I attended a lovely English/Jane Austen themed shower (hosted by Heather) for my sister and one of the goodies was sticky toffee pudding. Let me just say, it was love at first taste! I'm not typically a big fan of dates (the fruit :)) but they were delectable in this dessert! OH MY GOODNESS...it was sooo good.

Then a couple of weeks ago, Andrew surprised me by bringing home a pint of Haagan Dazs Sticky Toffee Pudding ice cream. Friends, never have I tasted such deliciousness. Neither of us has stopped thinking about how wonderful it was. It totally deserved to be the winner of the competition and no other ice cream can even compare (and I should know - I love ice cream!).

Oh happy day when I met Sticky Toffee Pudding! Whether the dessert or the ice cream, my first tastes were definitely not my last. My food life will be forever changed for the better. :)

On a side note, should you decide to splurge on this completely-splurge-worthy icecream, do yourself a huge favor and avoid looking at the calorie count. :) Just enjoy and walk a little extra the next day - you won't be sorry, I promise! Oh and just to clarify - I didn't eat a pint by myself. :)

MPM: 10/13-10/19

Last week was pretty good - I made ALL the meals! Okay, I know there were only three but still... :)

This week, I'm in the mood to try a couple of new recipes and in my farm fresh bin, I received a giant leek and some yams (sweet potatoes) so I thought I would find new recipes to use those ingredients. Both of the new recipes are from Food Network and received rave reviews!

Monday - Sloppy Joes, Corn on the Cob, Chips, Grapes

Tuesday - Crockpot Sesame Pork Chops, Brown Rice, Salad

Wednesday - Potato & Leek Soup, Pear & Apple Romaine Salad (I will use some spring mix in addition to romaine & pecans instead of walnuts), Bread

Thursday - Flex day - Andrew will probably work late at least one night...

Friday - Sausage & Mushroom Pizza, Pretzels or Chips, Apples, Carrots, Cookies

Saturday - Dinner with Andrew's Firm

Sunday - Sweet Potato Pancakes w/Spiced Pecans and Peach Butter, Sausage or Bacon

I did it by day this week - based on schedule and the order some ingredients need used. This week will hopefully be a bit calmer than the last few! Check out orgjunkie.com for more menus!

Sleeping Angels Contest!

One of my friends posted about an awesome giveaway being held by 5 Minutes for Mom! You can win a new bedroom set for your sleeping angel! It's so cute and I would definitely choose the summer breeze set. It's so adorable! The contest ends tomorrow so go check it out.

Here is my favorite picture of my sleeping angels - I will treasure it forever! This was the first day our sons met - they had just become our sons and had just become brothers through adoption.

The Latest...

Patrick's Word of the Week: PERFECT!

Calvin's Current Obsession: CAKE! (a request for a little piece turns into a request for a big, BIG piece :))

Titus' Favorite Thing: Being TICKLED!

A Few Wedding Pictures

Some of these aren't the best but oh well. It was a wonderful celebration and a gorgeous day! I often don't have a chance to take any photos so I'm glad to have a few!

Okay, definitely not the best but we are all dressed up. :)

Nana & Papa reading to the boys while waiting for pictures.

Titus' main activity throughout the event. :)

A rare picture of all seven siblings...we were looking at the actual photographer.

Us - married 6 1/2 years

Liz & Luke - married 1 1/2 years

Stephanie & Jeremy - married 1 month

The handsome groom & beautiful bride, Elliot & Ashley - married 1 day

A Few Things

It's Friday! Thanks to those of you that participated yesterday - I'm so glad you did! I'll try to figure out a way to make the linking easier. I'm planning to host it again next week! :)

Our cloth diapers arrived today (I ordered a small number just to make sure we like them) - I can't wait to use them!

We will be busy with my brother's wedding this weekend! Andrew is doing a reading and ushering and the rest of us just get to attend which will be fun! It's kind of hard to believe my little brother is getting married - makes me feel old. He is 7 years younger than me. :) I'm excited that my sister and brother-in-law will be in town!

And finally, a few kid things:

Patrick said to his Dad last night, "What are you doing home, Andrew?"

Calvin recently put stickers on his upper lip and chin and said, "I have moustache and beard. Like Daddy."

Titus is smiling and adorable. He slept for 5 straight hours last night! It was bliss. :) Let's hope that continues...

Keeping Creative Kitchens: First Edition

Welcome to Keeping Creative Kitchens! Feel free to grab the banner and leave a comment with your link to participate (guidelines below)!

Apples are inspiring me lately! Something about going to the orchard and having so many varieties to choose from - not to mention just how fall-ish they feel. We've enjoyed Galas, Golden Delicious, and Jonaliscious so far. The latter is a new-to-me variety and a bit more tart than the previous two. I think it will make excellent pie since it is a firmer apple. I had hoped to make an apple crumb pie yesterday but that didn't happen - maybe next week! My kids really love having apples in their lunches, as a snack dipped in peanut butter, made into applesauce, or however I let them eat them.

I also think apples are great for decorating. They are a beautiful fruit with a variety of colors and they keep fairly well so keeping some of them in a clear glass bowl or decorative basket on the table is an inexpensive way to bring fall inside.

In honor of this most excellent fruit, I'm going to share two favorite heritage recipes - passed down through our family on my Dad's side. Thanks to my Grandma J. for these amazing recipes!

German Apple Cake (yes, we are actually German)
2-3 eggs
2 c. sifted flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. sugar
1/2 - 1 c. walnuts
4 c. apples, thinly sliced

Mix all ingredients together with a spoon (batter will stiff) and spread into a greased and floured 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
3 Tb. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Mix together and frost the slightly warm cake. Enjoy!

Grandma's Apple Crisp
2 qt. baking dish, 8x8 pan or pie pan greased
6-8 apples, thinly sliced
1 c. plus 2 Tb. flour
1/2 c. plus 2 Tb. butter
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/4 c. sugar

Blend together sugar, butter, flour, and cinnamon - work until crumbly. Layer a small amount of crumb mixture in bottom of pan, top with 1/2 of the apples, another layer of crumb mixture, top with remaining apples, pack remaining crumb mixture on top of apples to form almost a crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream- yum!

So sorry there are no photos today...the camera battery is dead and I'm not sure where the charger is or how to charge it and Andrew was out quite late. I'll work on it for next week!

Here are just a few guidelines for participating in Keeping Creative Kitchens:
1) Leave a comment with a link to your post.
2) Your entry can include a new recipe (either your own creation or a new-to-you-recipe), favorite recipe, success, tablescape/centerpiece, short-cut, ingredient, tradition, book, magazine, tool or gadget, food photos, recipe website or any thing else that keeps you inspired in your kitchen.
3) Please link back here in your participating post.

Hope you have fun, meet new people, learn a few things, feel encouraged, and find inspiration as you prepare meals, care for you family, and entertain!