Finer Things Friday: New Year’s Bash!

Almost 20 years ago I married in to this crazy family/clan of people who LIKE to play games together—a lot.  Pre-marriage the game I played the most was solitaire.  So going to a New Year’s Eve party where all they do is play games and eat was umm… sorta overwhelming for a few years.  Now I wouldn’t miss it.
Changes over the years
There are more of us—like just over 40(28 of those are grandkids of varying ages)
The kids are getting married or bringing girlfriends/boyfriends
The aunt/uncles are older(& some still act like teenagers)
Sometimes extended family shows up

Traditions 

Grandma’s punch

Little kids playing

Two people taking pictures of each other

Nancy’s cheese ball

Big kids playing games

Dan’s sausage balls

Crackers/cheese/meat

Sweets & yummy stuff

Confetti at midnight(messy but fun!)

New Years’s cinnamon rolls--I am in charge of breakfast New Years morning—because as many who can stay the night.  So I am working on a huge batch of cinnamon rolls and the Sausage Egg Quiche is in the freezer.  We always have a SLOW morning & play games all New Year’s day too.  By the time we go home everyone is TIRED.  It is a blast though!

The recipe I am using is based on Pioneer Woman’s recipe.  I don’t use her frosting & I used white wheat flour.  Not much of a healthy improvement but there are things that cannot be changed!
Cinnamon Rolls(makes a huge batch!)
1 qt milk
1 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 packages Active Dry Yeast
8 cups white wheat flour(plus 1 cup set aside)
1 tsp baking powder(heaping)
1 tsp baking soda(scant)
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 to 1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
cinnamon
Heat milk, oil & sugar until scalded(heat until just before it boils).  Turn off heat and leave to cool until lukewarm to warm—about an hour.  Sprinkle 2 packages of yeast in to milk mixture & let sit for a minute.  Gradually add 8 cups flour & stir.  Cover and let rise for at least an hour.  After hour, add one cup flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt.  Stir mixture together.  You can put this in the refrigerator(overnight or a day or two) at this point if you don’t have time to roll it out.   Just punch it down if it starts to overflow your pan.
Take half your dough & roll it out to form a rough rectangle.  This will be pretty thin.  Drizzle 1/4 to 1/2 cup melted butter over the dough.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup of sugar over dough followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.  Starting on one of the long sides start to roll the dough in a neat line.  Keep the roll pretty tight as you go.  Pinch the seam to seal it.
Spread 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a foil cake or pie pan.  Cut the rolls about 3/4 to 1 inch thick & lay them in the buttered pans.  Repeat with the rest of the dough.  Let the rolls rise 20-30 minutes, then bake at 375 degrees until light golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.
Traditions in a family are important. 
They draw us together & keep us close. 
To me this is a truly finer thing.
To post your finer things go to Amy’s Finer Things
Weekend Hops

Simple Lives: Rag Rug part 4

The new location of this post is

Making a Rag Rug Part 4

This blog has moved.  Sorry for the inconvenience!!!

Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3.

Wonderful Wednesday!

Hope that your day is Wonderful!

Wordless Wednesday: Sneak Attack

Oldest daughter vs youngest daughter

and

meanwhile

up on the deck

I love snow

Makes perfect bombs

Here they come!

 

Linked up at

Wordless Wednesday @ Beautiful Mess

Top 10 Things Homeschooled Children will Tell their Kids(mine anyway)

10.  My classroom was on the couch, at the table, outside, on my bed, on the deck under a sheet. . .

9.  PE = bowling, riding bikes, soccer, swim team

8.  My teacher had parent teacher conferences in the bathroom.

7.  I walked to school barefoot.

6.  I played a games, dressed up and did my phonics worksheets at the same time.

5.  I cried in class & sometimes my teacher cried in class.

4.  Field trips were really cool.

3.  Every summer at the library we would have scavenger hunts.

2.  I cut a frog on the kitchen table.

1.  I had snow days in September & April.

 

Linked up at

Top 10 Tuesday @ oh Amanda

Batch Cooking for College: Sloppy Joes

Life is resuming its normal pace around here.  We aren’t baking dozens and dozens of cookies for friends.  The frig is empty because of the snow over the weekend and I MUST go to the grocery store soon. 

Michael heads back to classes in a couple of weeks & he’s requested some frozen meals to take along.  I have been trying to involve Elizabeth in the planning stages of meal preparation more so she can work towards doing this on her own down the road.

We brainstormed this morning & here is what we came up with for this weeks menu & the batch cooking we will do.

This week

Sausage Egg Quiche & Spice Muffins x 2

  —1 family meal & 12 individual size portions

Sloppy Joes(recipe below) x 5

  —2 family meals & 18 individual size portions

Taco meat x 3—18 individual size portions

Taco Soup x 3—1 family meal & 10 individual size portions

Next time Chicken is on sale

Broccoli Chicken Pie

Turkey Noodle Soup

Chicken Quesadillas

This will allow Michael to take a stash back to school.  I also plan to share some meals with another college student who attends our small group at church.  It will also give me a few meals in the freezer for the days ahead.  It is nice to have a quick meal available for those CRAZY days when I don’t have time to stick something in the crockpot.

My Sloppy Joe recipe is not one I have in a recipe book—this has frustrated Elizabeth & dear hubby so I wrote it down for them(and you).  Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes  serves 6

1 lb ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1-8 oz tomato sauce

2 T quick cooking oats

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp garlic salt

6 wheat buns

Brown meat & onions.  Add remaining ingredients except buns.  Simmer until the mixture isn’t runny.  Toast buns &  top with meat.  Yummy with fresh vegies & fruit.

 

Linking up at

Tasty Tuesday @ Beauty & Bedlam

Delectable Tuesday @ Home Sweet Farm

Kid Power or Teaching Life Lessons

Lately life has had me on the couch or sitting in a cushy chair more often.  I DON’T like it.  I am an active person. So I am making the best of it.  However life rolls on and with an active family of 6 and that means

. . . food must be fixed.

. . . laundry must  be done.

. . . and dishes must be washed.

I have been asking myself where the lesson is in this situation.  I have learned a lot of things but there is a lesson in this for my children as well.  There is no dishwasher in our house.  So someone has to wash them by hand.

My mom told me on Christmas that it took 3 dishwasher loads to get the dishes done at her house.  I looked around on the internet & found conflicting reports on whether hand washing or electric dishwashers were more efficient.  But my point is not about saving water or electricity.

What I like about not having an electric washer is that my kids KNOW how to take care of a big job.  From 5-6 years old they are taught to clear the table & get the dishes done.  Boys and girls. 

Everyone helps. . . well sort of. 

There are so many life lessons in this.

-You dirty something. . .you clean it.

-The job isn’t done until it is all put away.

-We can have fun while the work goes on.

-Many hands make light work.

So my Money Saving Monday post is probably not really saving money but it is teaching a lesson that is worth it’s weight in GOLD for my kids.  What life lesson are you teaching your kids?  What is IMPORTANT to know before you are out of the house?

Linked up at

Money Saving Monday @ Family Friendly Frugality