Butternut Squash Soup

I tried butternut squash for the first time ever this week and I really did like it!  It's kind of a lot of work peeling, seeding and cutting one up, but it was worth it--and they're super good for you, too.  I really enjoyed this soup recipe that I adapted from one I found on Pinterest.

Butternut Squash Soup

3 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 tsp. dried sage

2 to 2-1/2 lbs. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
4 cups chicken broth
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 slices of bacon
1/3 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste

*****
Melt the butter and olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until soft, 4-5 minutes.  Add garlic and sage and saute one minute.  Add squash cubes and saute 5 minutes.  Add the broth and cayenne pepper.  Cover and simmer on low for about 25 minutes.  

In the meantime, fry the bacon crisp and drain on a paper towel; set aside.

Puree the soup, either with an immersion blender (I recommend this) right in the pot or transfer to a food processor or blender in batches.  Return to pot and stir in cream.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  

Serve in bowls with crumbled bacon on top.

Serves 4-6

The Weekly Plan {Jan 23rd}

If you make a weekly plan, how did yours go last week?  I was just looking over my weekly plan from last week (which I made and promptly forgot..just keeping it real, folks) and I think I got about 50% of mine accomplished.  I guess that's not too bad, especially since I forgot to look at it once I made it.  

How things really went: we didn't make it to the library until today, I didn't get the sheets changed, I took The Princess to sell Girl Scout cookies on Wednesday instead of Thursday because I found out at her meeting on Wednesday that her orders were due THAT day (oops!), Wednesday's dinner never happened (thank goodness for those Christmas gift cards for Subway), I blew my special Saturday morning breakfast because I ran out of eggs and working in the garage or cleaning my car never even entered my mind after I typed those words.  Oh, and I did get caught up on the laundry and the kitchen got cleaned...but of course that all needs to happen again now.  {sigh}

But this week is off to a good start and I'm determined to just keep building on that!  {thinking positive thoughts, thinking positive thoughts} 

Monday: 

-Co-op classes with our homeschool group

-Lunch at home

-Trip to the library

-Dinner: Pinto Beans & Cornbread

Tuesday:

-School

-Lunch: Butternut Squash Soup (didn't get made last week..ahem..)

-Hang valances on windows

-Work at the church

-Dinner:  Hamburgers Diane, Roasted Carrots, Baked Potatoes

Wednesday:

-School

-Finish preparing for church class

-Housework

-Dinner: French Dips (crockpot)

-Church (teaching children's class)

Thursday:

-School

-Sit around eating bon bons (haha...just seeing if you're still reading this!)

-Dinner: Tacos

Friday:

-School

-Something fun in the afternoon, to be decided

-Dinner: Stromboli

Saturday:

-Breakfast: Baked Egg Boats (this week I have plenty of eggs!)

-Family time!

-Dinner: probably leftover buffet

I would imagine that this plan may morph and change a bit, but it's a good start!  

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

We Choose Virtues: A Review

 We've recently been enjoying the products we received from We Choose Virtues.  They graciously sent us their Virtue Clue Cards, Teacher's Handbook, Family Character Assessment and Kids of Virtueville coloring book.

We Choose Virtues is not a short-term study but rather continuing lessons in positive character traits that are reinforced throughout each day.  You introduce the virtues one at a time and then reinforce them through catch-phrases, capturing teachable moments and demonstrating them.

I was immediately impressed with the Virtue Clue Cards.  They are about the size of a business card and come in a set of 12.  Each card shares about a virtue, for example: *I am Attentive*, then it tells you what that means and what that does not mean.   On the back of each card is a challenge, for example on the *Attentive* card it says "choose to go the whole day without someone needing to remind you "Listen!" or "Don't forget!".   These are colorful, cute little cards which my children really enjoyed--and so did I.  We have been using them each day in our homeschool.

There is an abundance of tools available from We Choose Virtues with which to help you teach these important character traits to your children (or class).  We received a sampling of these:  The Teacher's Handbook is a 48-page, full-color book (available as a download or a hard copy) full of simple steps and ideas for teaching these virtues.   The Family Character Assessment is designed to help you determine how you are doing on developing these traits in your family and to motivate you to reach goals to improve.  The Kids of Virtueville Coloring Book is also a downloadable book that features each of the kids in Virtueville.

We Choose Virtues has a many different classroom kits, homeschool kits and church kits available.  They also have posters, flash cards, sticker charts and more on their site.

My favorite thing about We Choose Virtues is their list of *The 3 Rules*:  1. Obey  2.  Be Kind  3.  Be a Helper.  Each of the virtues falls under one of these rules:

1. Obey
-I am obedient
-I am attentive
-I am self-controlled
-I am honest

2. Be Kind
-I am kind
-I am forgiving
-I am patient
-I am gentle

3. Be a Helper
-I am helpful
-I am perseverant
-I am diligent
-I am content

I love way that list works!

If you are looking for a way to teach your children these "vital civil responsibilities"  We Choose Virtues would be a great place to start.  I encourage you to head over to their website and see what they have to assist you in your endeavor.

You can read all about their products here. They even have some great products on clearance .  There are even some free downloads!    

They also have some specials on for January and February: The 100 Days of Virtue Poster and Stickers will be included for FREE with any purchase of a Homeschool Kit.

And you may also use these codes each one time only:
-VIRTUE15 for 15% off your shopping cart
-FAMILY to get the Kids Virtue Poster for only $3.00
-SHIPFREE for free worldwide shipping

Disclaimer: I received these products through The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew and We Choose Virtues free of charge in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinions.  

Check out what other homeschool parents had to say about We Choose Virtues here.  

The Weekly Wrap-up: Sprouts, Romans and Country Ham

This week has had its moments, but it's really been a good week!  I like those!

Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, of course, and was a school holiday for us.  I hadn't intended to take the whole day off, but I was still getting the house back in order after a weekend of company so it was a laid-back day.  We did watch Dr. King's speech on Youtube and did a couple of fun printables about him.

Tuesday brought back our regular schedule (whatever that is, right?).  We got every thing done on my lesson plan, so that is always a successful day!  One highlight from this day was the conclusion of our *bean seed project*.  In science we are studying botany with Apologia's Exploring Creation with Botany and are really enjoying it.  For the 12 previous days we had been charting three bean seeds, each in a ziploc bag with a wet paper towel.  However, one was placed in the refrigerator, one was hung in the window and one was placed in the closet.

It has been a fun experiment!  We confirmed what we had been studying: that seeds don't need sunlight to begin growing.  Our seed from the closet was *off the chart* in growth.  The one in the window had barely started to sprout and the one in the fridge had done nothing (or so it seemed).

It was fun to open up the sprouted seed and compare it to our drawings of the parts of a seed--a great visual lesson!  Oh--and the kiddos promptly bagged back up the other seeds and put them both in the closet:)

Our light box with our herbs is doing very well, too.  Well, I should say the basil and cilantro are doing well. The dill not so much.  It was fun this week to pick basil right out of our box with which to make a fresh batch of bruschetta for dinner!

We have been studying Julius Caesar this week in history--so interesting!  The kids would beg for me to continue reading (I love that!).  They really enjoy coloring pages or doing activities from the SOTW activity book while I read to them.  

Wednesday wasn't too eventful.  We got all of our work done, made it to The Princess' Girl Scout meeting, hit the neighborhood to sell some GS cookies and had an awesome night at church (I teach a kids' class on Wednesday nights).  I go to bed exhausted on Wednesdays-ha! 

Thursday brought us another busy day.  The Princess wrapped up her first Total Language Plus study.  We really are liking those and can't wait till next week to start the new one.  I have to brag a bit on Mr. B, too, he's doing so well in Language Arts as well.  He also started a new reader this week.  We continued to read about Rome and made Roman-style mosaic art work during history.  (Can you tell Mr. B loves FlyGuy?).

Friday was Field Trip Day!  Whoo hoo!!  While I hated to lose two days of schooling at home this week, we hadn't had a field trip in a while and those are so educational and fun that I wasn't about to pass it up.  We toured Broadbent Hams in a nearby town.  They specialize in Kentucky country ham.  We were able to learn about the curing process and even see it in progress.  It was really fun!  

I have to say I splurged on some amazing bacon in their gift shop:)  They had these awesome different flavors like sun-dried tomato and apple wood!  Plus they had nitrite-free and I just couldn't pass that up, it's hard to find here.  Besides I like to support local businesses.

This was such a productive week!  I am actually looking forward to sitting down this weekend and lesson planning for next week, I'm anticipating a great week.  

This post is linked to the Weekly Wrap-up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

So I Finally Roasted My Pumpkins From Last Fall

Remember these Fall beauties from my front porch?  Well, I'd almost forgotten about them myself!  I bought them with the intention to roast them in the fall, but never had the time.  So I stuck them in my pantry and promptly forgot them...until this week.  

I was browsing through my Pinterest boards and suddenly saw the blog post I had pinned on how to cook a pumpkin in a crockpot.  "Hmm.." I say to myself, "I should really roast those pumpkins before they rot!"

So that's what I did this week.  I only had two of the above three left (I guess the other one got carved): the Long Island cheese wheel pumpkin and the neck pumpkin.  

So I followed the instructions from here and roasted the cheese wheel pumpkin in the crockpot and put the neck pumpkin in the oven (because it was huge!), following these instructions.  Both recipes are super basic: just cutting up the pumpkin, being sure to remove the seeds and pulp, placing the pieces cut-side-down with a little water and roasting until tender.  Boy, did my house smell good all day!  

After they were roasted, I let them cool a bit.  Then I scraped the flesh from the skin, pureed the flesh with a hand blender and bagged it up in 2-cup portions (basically the same amount as what comes in a can of pumpkin).  

I got 14 cups of pumpkin to put in my freezer!!  I am already looking forward to pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin pie.....

Yummy Italian Appetizers

Tonight we enjoyed cheese-stuffed pasta shells for dinner and while those were yummy, it was the two accompaniments that were the stars of the night!  

Pesto Bites
(inspired by Pinterest)

1 can of crescent rolls
basil pesto

***
Roll out the rolls into one piece of dough, pinching the seams together.
Spread just a light covering of pesto onto the dough.
Roll up the dough from one of the long sides and then slice it, 

cinnamon roll-style.  I baked mine in a mini muffin pan--it was just 

the right size.  You could also bake them in a pie dish or cake pan.  

Bake @ 350F for 15 min or until browned.  

Tomato Bruschetta

2-3 medium-sized tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 Tbls. fresh basil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. lemon juice
***
Place all in a bowl and refrigerate for an hour or so to let the flavors blend.

Serve with Italian bread or garlic toast.  

My Reading List for 2012 {so far}

I have been thinking lately about all the books I want to read this year and there are always too many to count, it seems!  I LOVE to read!  In recent years though I have to let something go--at least temporarily--in order to get some reading done (usually it's a basket laundry waiting to be folded).

I got quite a few new books for Christmas and now my stack of waiting books is getting pretty tall!  I thought I'd share with you what I'm working on reading right now.

{in no particular order}

• Experiencing God the daily journal, by Henry Blackaby (a re-read)
• Celebration of Discipline, by Richard Foster (a re-read)
• The Power of a Praying Parent, by Stormie Omartin (a re-read)
• The Charlotte Mason Companion, by Karen Andreola (currently reading)
• The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide to Romance, by Heidi St. John
• The Distant Beacon, by Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn
• The Solitary Envoy, by T. Davis Bunn and Isabella Bunn
• The Innocent Libertine, by T. Davis Bunn and Isabella Bunn
• The Night Angel, by T. Davis Bunn
• Falconer's Quest, by T. Davis Bunn
• The Acts of Faith trilogy, by Davis Bunn adn Janette Oke
• Unlocked, by Karen Kingsbury
• Rome and Jerusalem, by Martin Goodman
• The King's General, by Daphne DuMaurier
• The House on the Strand, by Daphne DuMaurier
• The Glass Blowers, by Daphne DuMaurier
• Crazy Love, by Francis Chan

Do you have a current reading list?  Do you have any really amazing books that you want to recommend to me?  I'd love to know!