Thankful Tuesday (Spinach and Sour Cream Quiche)

Today I am thankful for the rain.

I am thankful they are having VBS again this week at a nearby church. It was nice to have something planned for the kids today since going swimming at the lake was not happening with the rain.

I'm thankful my oldest son is enjoying soccer camp this week.

I'm thankful for Hillsong United. Have you heard their music? You should.

I'm thankful for chocolate chip cookies. I made a batch tonight while my son was at camp. Holy crap they're good.

And no I don't really think crap can be holy.

I'm thankful my toe, and foot in general, are doing better today. It became a little infected over the weekend and was very painful but I have been keeping it clean and open and the infection is lessening. As well as my foul mood. And cursing.

It's funny how such a little tiny body part can cause so much pain. But maybe that's a metaphor for life or something. Or maybe it's just because smashing your toe with a chicken tractor hurts!

I'm thankful for tonight's dinner. I'd like to call it let's-use-up-what's-left-in-the-fridge but instead we'll call it a Spinach and Sour Cream Quiche. Most quiche recipes require only four eggs. Which is fine, but since we usually are plentiful in the egg department, I thought I'd make a recipe that calls for more eggs. I also thought I'd just throw together what I had on hand in my fridge and I had some sour cream that needed to get used, so in the quiche it went. So here goes, and let me say, this dinner was delish!

Spinach and Sour Cream Quiche

1 cup of cooked spinach (cooled)
8 eggs
1/2 cup of whole milk
1 cup of shredded cheese (and maybe a little more. One can never have enough cheese)
1/2 cup of sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Cook your spinach and set aside to cool. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Mix the eggs, milk, sour cream and salt and pepper in a bowl and combine thoroughly. In a pie pan spoon your spinach on the bottom to form a 'crust'. Then add the egg mixture on top. Sprinkle with your cheese and bake for about 35 minutes or until the eggs are set.

I don't cover my quiche with foil because I like the top layer a little crunchy, but you may want to cover your quiche for the first 25 minutes and then uncover for the last 10 minutes. It's just a personal preference, but either way your quiche will turn out wonderful.


I hope you had a great Tuesday too!

~ Sarah ~

Lessons Learned

When I began taking pictures this afternoon, I had a much different blog post in mind than the one I am about to write. I had planned on telling you of the lilies that are blooming....

...I had planned on telling you how nice it is to see butterflies in the yard...

...I had planned on telling you that we will soon have wild blackberries.

But instead I am going to share a few lessons with you that I have learned this weekend.

Lesson #1: Don't get tattoos. Just don't do it. I went in last night for another round of laser tattoo removal. I won't show you a picture (because it's gruesome). The things you think you like now, you won't like so much ten of fifteen years from now. So just don't do it. Don't put a permanent fixture on your skin. Because you are going to change your mind. And then you'll have to endure laser tattoo removal when you do change your mind.

And it is exactly no fun. None.

Lesson #2: Flip flops are never appropriate on a farm. Never. This was a painful lesson today. After arriving home from running a few errands I thought I'd move a few chicken tractors real quick.

Well there I was in my fancy new sandals and somehow I slid the tractor funny and it landed on my big toe and pulled the darn thing right off except for two small pieces. Which I then tried to remove myself thinking it needed to be done.

And I'll tell you what, it hurts. Bad. I birthed three kids naturally, have had ten tattoos put on, and five lasered off, been in a car accident and broke a rib, and pulling your toe nail off is right up there in the pain department.

I will never, ever wear flip flops on my farm again. Ever.

Lesson #3: Always be prepared. Awhile back I threw out all or conventional medicine because we are trying to be chemical free and all. Which is great and fine. But sometimes, like I don't know, when you rip your toe nail off, you want to drown yourself in pain medicine! My poor husband was working today, so I was on my own with three kids and no way to ease the pain. My toe hurt so bad that I didn't even think I could drive to the store to get some medicine so I have had to wait all afternoon for my sweet Micah to bring me some.

So even if you think you aren't going to need something, you will. Just have it on hand. Just in case.

Lesson #4: Kids need to get out and play. I'm not proud of this, but I was a horrible person to my children today. I was short and grumpy and mean and I didn't want them playing outside unattended so I made them stay inside with me while I laid on the couch writhing in pain. In hindsight, they would have been fine outside. It was a beautiful day and I should have let them play outside and release some of their energy. Instead they were cooped up with a mean mommy and they destroyed the house and broke a picture frame (on accident).

Lesson #5: You don't have to be a drinker to have alcohol on hand. Micah and I don't drink. It's just a personal preference, but on a night like tonight, I can see the appeal of having a glass of wine (or ten) just take the edge off.

I think I'll go into town tomorrow after church (you know because I have to ask the good Lord to forgive me for all the cursing I did today!) and stock up on pain medicine and wine.

I hope you had a great Saturday and I'm hoping tomorrow goes a little smoother for me. :)

~ Sarah ~

Black Strap Molasses Cookies

Our summer has arrived.

School finished on Friday and it was wonderful. It was an early dismissal day to boot, so we headed down to the nearest town to catch a movie. We watched Epic in 3D and it. was. awesome. I mean it's a movie that I would watch again (even without the kids).

After the movie, I took my kids out to dinner and let them indulge in foods that we don't normally eat. My oldest son decided on two corndogs, fries and hush puppies. I think he's trying to tell me he misses junk food. :)

Anyway, while it's technically our summer vacation now, I had lots on the ole to-do list to accomplish. First off was the garden. We have had a TON  of rain, which I am by no means complaining about, but I hadn't been out to weed in awhile and let's just say it was a forest out there. A literal forest.

I pulled most of it and hoed under the rest. It was back breaking work and even though the promise of flowering squash and cucumber plants kept me going, I needed something else to award my efforts.

I had picked up a jar of black strap molasses from our local country store after reading of all its health benefits. It has a very distinct flavor and smell so I wasn't quite sure how to coax my children (or myself) into consuming it.

This was the solution to my problem.

So far in my 24 years of existence (okay 30) these are hands down the BEST cookies I have ever made. I made four dozen thinking I would freeze some.

Right. Yah. They're almost gone. There will be no freezing of these cookies. I hope you try them and enjoy them as much as I we do.

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup turbinado (raw) sugar
1 duck egg (or 2 medium chicken eggs)
1/2 cup black strap molasses
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or whatever flour you have on hand)

Combine the first four ingredients and mix well with a blender. Next fold in all the dry ingredients. Cover and chill for about an hour and a half. Preheat oven to 350 degrees then roll the chilled dough into small balls. Roll the balls in sugar. I rolled mine in organic sugar crystals (which are bigger) and I think this really added to the cookies, but refined sugar would work too. Bake for about 9 minutes and then let cool completely on a wire rack. Try not to eat them all before your husband gets home from work! Enjoy!

~ Sarah ~

June 6th

June 6th is a big deal around here. My handsome hottie of huth-band and I met on this day 11 years ago. We had our first date on June 15th and by October of that same year we were married. I can't even imagine how my life would be had I not met him on that fateful day.

June 6th is also D-day when allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy in World War II.  That was a big turning point in the war. June is also happens to be a big month for the Marines.

"June marks the 95th anniversary of the Battle of Belleau Wood where German forces gave Marines the nickname devil dogs for their tenacity in combat.“Teufel hunden” is German for devil dogs"- United States Marine Corps. We loved this term of endearment so much that we named our farm after it.

Aside from this meaningful date in history, today was a good day. I came home from school and found a package at my door. (Happiness is getting items in the mail.)
Happiness is also having your children entertain themselves for hours with the box that your happiness arrived in and two other boxes they found. The kids took turns running with the boxes on their heads, climbing in the boxes, and anything else they could think of. It was really entertaining. I think for Christmas this year we're just going to give our kids boxes and bubble wrap. :)

The kids were excited about the box, but I was excited about what was in the box.

I had purchased a waffle maker online and it finally arrived. We eat breakfast for dinner at least once a week at our house and have pancakes and eggs in the morning often as well, so I thought my family would enjoy a little variety.

I found a waffle maker with a good review and a good price off Amazon and voila, homemade waffles a la me.


I hope you had a great Thursday too and here is the recipe I used, enjoy!

~ Sarah ~

Thankful Tuesday

I'm thankful for blueberries! My kiddies and I went and picked blueberries last summer and we are just now finished with them. I froze most of them and through the year we used them in smoothies, pancakes, and muffins. With the last remaining 10 cups I had left, I decided to do something a little different.

The left-over chunks

I made blueberry syrup for pancakes and waffles. It was fairly simple. I just boiled them down, mashed them with a potato masher, then strained out the chunks (which the hogs happily gobbled up).

Then I added sugar and lemon and let it boil for a while. I think we'll go through these pretty quick so I didn't give them a water bath and am just storing them in the fridge.

Aside from blueberries, I am thankful for my oldest son. He had his awards ceremony today at school, and yes we are STILL in session. I am just so proud of who he has turned out to be. He's such a joy, and I may have teared up a little today. Just a little.

I'm thankful that we only have three more days of school left! Like really thankful.

I'm thankful that I have an awesome huth-band who is very involved in our children's lives and was able to come to the award ceremony today too.

My daughter's ceremony is tomorrow and Micah will attend that as well. Which I am completely thankful for.

I'm thankful that 11 years ago this week I met Micah at a church in San Diego. I knew when he walked in the door that I had to talk to him. Once I spoke to him, I knew I would never be the same. It's been a crazy 11 years, but I can't imagine going through this life with anyone else.

I'm thankful my grandma left me with so many memories. :)

I hope you are having a great week too!

~ Sarah ~