On September 26, 2013 I prepared to drive into to Nashville to meet a fellow Army Wife from El Paso. She was flying in so she could help me drive back to El Paso. I took my sister, my daughter, and my oldest son.
It was one of those days where it feels like this is forever but you could feel change creeping up all around you. It was a happy day for the reunion of friends, but a sad day because it meant saying see ya later to my sister and son was on the rise. My sister, son and I laughed a lot on this day. At one point my son and I left my sister in charge of my very fast crawling daughter and we hid behind a pole. We would peek at my sister and see that she was very focused on her phone. So after several minutes of doing this we returned to the waiting area. My sister then tells us that the Security Guard had to peck on the window to let her know that my daughter was escaping. My friend landed and all was well. On the way back to our hometown we swung through a fast food drive thru and my friend, who is from up North, asked for a pop. Everyone in the car started laughing because in the south a soft drink is either a coke or a soda.
Once back in my hometown we gave my friend a quick tour of some of the highlights, like the Mexican Restaurant where my husband and I met. We also went to the local Amish Store and to my middle son's school. The teacher was throwing him a going away party. It was all very touching but it had the air of finality to it. By moving away from my hometown once more, another chance for my children to go to school in my home town was gone. This particular fact made me sad.
In my hometown my kids were being seen at the same doctors office that my now fourteen-year-old had been going to since age six. They went to a pediatric dentist who was very kid and community focused. Many of the teachers, police officers, and other employees around town, I grew up with. I loved the downtown coffee shop and novelty stores. My church was like a family to me, but I knew it was time to move on. I also knew that when I left on September 27, it would be a very long time before I ever called my hometown home again. For now it is just my husband's home of record.
So that evening we get pizza, one of my dearest friends comes over and we decide now is time to load the car bag that will go on top of our tiny four door car. This proved to be quite a challenge as there were two Military duffel bags stuffed to the brim and a pack and play. The trunk was crammed full of other bags that contained toys and household items and personal papers. Behind one seat was a microwave, and behind the other was a footstool that you could put things in and it too was full. The ratchet straps were proving to be quite a challenge, and in the end my Dad and my friend's boyfriend and two friends came to help us get the car bag secured to the roof of the car. The next morning by the time we got the last of the stuff in the car, there was a very narrow way to see out the back window and the kids could not see each other.
That night my oldest son begged that we do a small birthday cake for my daughter because most of the people that wanted to be a part of her birthday were being left behind. So we did a very small cake and sang happy birthday to her. Things were starting to get exciting as much as sad. The time line for my husband's homecoming was confirmed. My middle son was now being told that we were driving far far away so he could see his Poppy again. Once things settled down my oldest son settled in on a pallet in my bedroom floor, my middle son and daughter were both sleeping with me. It was the last time I had all three of my kids under the same roof until May 2014.
The next morning was very hard. My Dad had come over to see us off. I got all of the kids up and got them ready for the day. We put the last of the stuff in the car. I gave hugs to my Dad and my oldest son and then I climbed behind the drivers wheel. There in the reflection of my tail lights I watched my oldest son wave and walk a little ways down the road.
The first day was full of uneventful driving, leaving my hometown and going through Memphis and onto Arkansas and all the way through that state and into Texas. We stopped in East Texas to stay the night with a friend whose husband was now stationed at another base. It was a short night filled with a little talking and then everyone went to sleep.
The next day we rolled out very early and did a lot of rural driving before getting onto I-10 and from there it was a straight shot back to El Paso. But my little car with its heavy load was taking its sweet time coming through the mountains. It was late afternoon before we made it to our destination. By this point I also knew exactly what time I would see my husband the next day.
This year on September 26, it will be a Friday. It will be the day that we leave our apartment with the spacious floor plan and great mountain view and move into a four bedroom town house on Post. It will be the day that we become a resident in a neighborhood where each building looks identical to the one next to it. We will no longer be living out in the community with the locals. I am both excited and sad about the change.
I enjoy being away from the main post. I enjoy shopping at the tiny grocery store down the road from my house. At this store it is quiet and has great produce prices. But I do a lot of things on main post. It will be closer to where my husband works and my son's school. It will have more room but less windows. It will be newer and it will have a yard.
I'm excited to begin a new journey one year after beginning this one. God is great and with us in all things.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Saturday, September 20, 2014
In the Span of One Year Part I
On this quiet Saturday night I am sitting here reflecting on where I was just one year ago. It seems so long ago, yet just like yesterday. I find myself wondering if I have cherished every moment properly, if I have lived fully, and took deep calming breaths.
September 20, 2013 found me in Tennessee. I cannot for the life of me remember if I was cold or hot, but I lean more toward warm. I had recently come through a turning point in my motherhood journey with my daughter.
On Friday August 16, 2013 I suffered a kidney stone attack. Lucky for me and my kids I had my Dad along with us in Nashville. I was so sick and hurting so badly. I was looking at my baby girl. My last little baby, my baby that through so many challenges I had made to 9 1/2 months of breastfeeding. I knew that when we headed to the hospital that odds were I was finished as a nursing mother. So while I am waiting for my son to finish his therapy I pick up my sweet baby girl and nurse her. I know for a fact it was 12:30 p.m. on that day. I remember holding her as tight as she would let me and cherishing the blessing of having almost made it to my one year goal. My heart was breaking just as badly as the pain was strong.
We got to the hospital and my Dad couldn't come to the back with me because he had the kids. But the plan was for him to take the kids back to our hometown and I would find someone that could help him out. I remember lying there in the hallway of that hospital. I was surrounded by other patients and doctors and nurses. I was crying and telling the nurses over and over that I was a breastfeeding mother. I was clinging to the hope that I could still nurse even though the pain was staggering and I knew this was going badly. This one nurse finally asked me how old my baby was and when I told her that she was 9 1/2 months she patted me on the shoulder and said "Honey you should be proud you made it this far, most women don't" Her words were only somewhat comforting. I appreciate how the doctor tried to find a way for me to continue nursing and how kind he was when he had to break it to me that it just wasn't going to happen. The infection in my kidneys was really bad. They had to give me an antibiotic through IV while I was there and would be sending me home with another one to take for ten days.
I ended up spending my birthday in a hospital an hour away from my hometown. It was an extremely depressing weekend. My husband was deployed during this time, and he was unable to be there with me. On that Friday our kids were shuffled from my Dad to our Pastor's home and finally to another family's home. I was so grateful to each of these families for opening their homes to my children until we could get them to my Husband's Aunt on that Saturday.
All of this lead me to getting a procedure done two weeks later that would leave me with a drainage bag for one week and the time frame was getting closer to my departure to Texas date. It was a crazy time. A time that taught me that there are many kind people out there who are willing to step in and lend a hand. During my last month in Tennessee because of the stint that was in my kidney until the procedure in early September I was very limited on what I could do. The hardest one for me was not to lift my daughter because she was over the weight limit I was allowed to lift. Several families from our church came with meals, they came to talk to me, they came to give my kids baths, to play with them, to help me clean my house. I was so moved by the kindness that was bestowed upon me and my family. This was a hard time for me, I was struggling with so many changes, with who I was and where I belonged. I was hurt by a person that had been like my family for so many years. But God was there for me and my kids during this dark time.
So the drainage bag was removed on Monday September 16, just ten days before my friend from Texas flying in to help the kids and I drive back to Texas. I remember the day that silly drainage bag was removed. My Dad rode with my oldest son and I. The youngest kids were staying with a very dear friend of mine. We had a little bit of a challenge finding this office that is going to remove the drainage bag. We get there and it is a very crowded office. Now my son was so excited, he wanted to see them remove that little hose thing from my back. He was really fascinated by that drainage bag, for me it was disgusting and annoying and it leaked so easily. One day he even had two of the neighbor kids come over to look at that nasty thing. But anyway, we get there and the receptionist cannot find my name on the books. Almost panic sets in. I'm worried because I have driven an hour to get here, I have only this day to get rid of this thing, I am leaving very soon. So they call me into the back and ask me to have a seat. I sit down with my son and we wait. We are chattering and I'm trying to send a happy birthday text to a friend of mine. My son starts grabbing the phone and somehow it goes out "Happy Birthday" but it had ended up texting a funny name. I was so embarrassed that I had called her a name and we were laughing. Well we heard two nurses arguing about how they do so much more work than another nurse and why should they be the ones that have to do this, it isn't there job, it isn't on the schedule and then one of them exits that room. Her stunned look at seeing us at the other end of the hall and realizing that we must have heard the exchange was priceless. My son and I couldn't help but bust out into laughter, deep belly rolling laughter. It felt so good. One of the nurses did end up pulling that cord out of my back. It was such a simple thing.
The nurse placed a bandage over that tiny hole in my back. She explained to me that it would leak for just a couple of hours and then it would scab over. By leaking we are talking urine. I am here to tell you that was one of the grossest experiences I have ever had. I remember that I was wearing yoga pants because they were easier to conceal a drainage bag, and I had on an Army physical fitness shirt. I felt so free when I left there, almost like I was floating on a cloud.
Afterwards my Dad took my son and I to Historic downtown Franklin. I remember when I got out of the car that my back was wet and I was horrified. But my Dad and Son being the men that they are, shrugged it off and said no one would notice that it wasn't that wet. Now I am beginning to feel the full effects of nasty. I mean it is bad enough to sneeze and leak, but to be leaking from your back, now come on that was a joke. Anyway, we head down the street and in this one antique specialty store I saw a sink in the back with paper towels. I also saw two sales ladies eyeing me and I finally approached them because I wanted one of their paper towels so badly. I wanted to stop the warm liquid that was rolling down my back and making me feel gross. They complied and let me have a few and I quickly made my exit. After we were done looking at the stores and my Dad had gotten my son a yoyo, we went to a specialty yogurt shop. It was one of those places where they give you a cup and you fill it up with the ice cream and toppings you like and pay by the pound. It is lunch time, but on this day, this is lunch. Oh it was so sweetly yummy!
This day was warm and sunny and had a melancholy feel to it. I dreaded returning back home because I knew it meant that the wheels of time were going to roll. That changes were coming and see you laters were right around the corner. I knew it was going to be hard on my sons more so than me. In so many ways I was eager to go, eager to flee the realization that this was our home of record, but not our home. The betrayal of a friend in late June made me angry and hurt and ready to move on. The hardest part was knowing that my last days of waking up with all three of my kids under one roof was drawing to a close.
During this time I grew so close to a friend that before I had known, but not really known. She stayed with my kids and I for a week. That week was one of the best weeks I spent in Tennessee. I remember how warm it was during the day, how the sun was so bright. She helped with my kids. We talked. She slept on the couch while my daughter slept in the baby swing next to the couch. She fed my daughter in the middle of the night. She cleaned up the baby puke that my own sister was reluctant to do. My oldest son and her were like oil and water and their exchanges made everyone around laugh. I dreaded saying see ya later to her and her sweet little boy. But I had to get back to Texas, I had to leave the home town comforts, after all we were going to have my husband back shortly after our arrival.
I took my son to our little down town. We looked in all my favorite stores, because this would be my last chance for a long time. I bought a metal bracelet that was made from a Tennessee license plate. I bought a T shirt from my favorite coffee shop. While there my son and I ate the best salads in that town and drank unsweetened raspberry ice tea, so very yummy.
Life was a mixture of slowing down and speeding up. I was ready, I wasn't ready. I was trying to commit all my favorite smells, and sights to memory. I was marveling how calm a small town Saturday night could be. I was trying to soak up every moment with my oldest son. To hug each of my three kids as much as possible because when I rolled out on September 27, that would be the last time I saw my son until very possibly the next summer. I was trying not to cry, I was crying. I was realizing that all of the things I took for granted would be a mere memory in days.
Excitement was also flowing through my veins. I had a time frame for my husband's home coming. It was all the craziness of Army. It was changing minute to minute and I was calling the FRG leader almost daily just to make sure I wasn't losing my mind, that what I thought was the ball rolling toward our home coming really was.
And so this was the just the beginning of the one year story. This was the moments before it all began before it all became like a fast moving dream. I was saying good bye to my favorite Children's hospital. The place where my daughter had her surgery, my son got tubes in his ears, a small heart catheter. To the ENT doctor who had helped diagnose and treat my daughter and then solved my son's speech issues and set us on the path to getting him hearing aides. This was the place where he did speech, occupational, and physical therapy. This was part of the same hospital that did my surgery. So I bought a T shirt from the gift shop. For months after returning to Texas I would wear that shirt to every single specialist and regular doctors appointment whether it was for my kids or myself. I wanted everyone to know that I was used to outstanding care for my children and would settle for nothing less. This is an area that God is working with me on. An area that to this day I struggle to find the calm and patience to deal with the difficult task of getting my kids set up with a new care plan.
But God brought us through ten months in Tennessee, we came back here and he is still here with us. I am so thankful for this experience. For all that God has done for us. For this journey over the last year where I have learned so much about myself and this place we are calling home.
September 20, 2013 found me in Tennessee. I cannot for the life of me remember if I was cold or hot, but I lean more toward warm. I had recently come through a turning point in my motherhood journey with my daughter.
On Friday August 16, 2013 I suffered a kidney stone attack. Lucky for me and my kids I had my Dad along with us in Nashville. I was so sick and hurting so badly. I was looking at my baby girl. My last little baby, my baby that through so many challenges I had made to 9 1/2 months of breastfeeding. I knew that when we headed to the hospital that odds were I was finished as a nursing mother. So while I am waiting for my son to finish his therapy I pick up my sweet baby girl and nurse her. I know for a fact it was 12:30 p.m. on that day. I remember holding her as tight as she would let me and cherishing the blessing of having almost made it to my one year goal. My heart was breaking just as badly as the pain was strong.
We got to the hospital and my Dad couldn't come to the back with me because he had the kids. But the plan was for him to take the kids back to our hometown and I would find someone that could help him out. I remember lying there in the hallway of that hospital. I was surrounded by other patients and doctors and nurses. I was crying and telling the nurses over and over that I was a breastfeeding mother. I was clinging to the hope that I could still nurse even though the pain was staggering and I knew this was going badly. This one nurse finally asked me how old my baby was and when I told her that she was 9 1/2 months she patted me on the shoulder and said "Honey you should be proud you made it this far, most women don't" Her words were only somewhat comforting. I appreciate how the doctor tried to find a way for me to continue nursing and how kind he was when he had to break it to me that it just wasn't going to happen. The infection in my kidneys was really bad. They had to give me an antibiotic through IV while I was there and would be sending me home with another one to take for ten days.
I ended up spending my birthday in a hospital an hour away from my hometown. It was an extremely depressing weekend. My husband was deployed during this time, and he was unable to be there with me. On that Friday our kids were shuffled from my Dad to our Pastor's home and finally to another family's home. I was so grateful to each of these families for opening their homes to my children until we could get them to my Husband's Aunt on that Saturday.
All of this lead me to getting a procedure done two weeks later that would leave me with a drainage bag for one week and the time frame was getting closer to my departure to Texas date. It was a crazy time. A time that taught me that there are many kind people out there who are willing to step in and lend a hand. During my last month in Tennessee because of the stint that was in my kidney until the procedure in early September I was very limited on what I could do. The hardest one for me was not to lift my daughter because she was over the weight limit I was allowed to lift. Several families from our church came with meals, they came to talk to me, they came to give my kids baths, to play with them, to help me clean my house. I was so moved by the kindness that was bestowed upon me and my family. This was a hard time for me, I was struggling with so many changes, with who I was and where I belonged. I was hurt by a person that had been like my family for so many years. But God was there for me and my kids during this dark time.
So the drainage bag was removed on Monday September 16, just ten days before my friend from Texas flying in to help the kids and I drive back to Texas. I remember the day that silly drainage bag was removed. My Dad rode with my oldest son and I. The youngest kids were staying with a very dear friend of mine. We had a little bit of a challenge finding this office that is going to remove the drainage bag. We get there and it is a very crowded office. Now my son was so excited, he wanted to see them remove that little hose thing from my back. He was really fascinated by that drainage bag, for me it was disgusting and annoying and it leaked so easily. One day he even had two of the neighbor kids come over to look at that nasty thing. But anyway, we get there and the receptionist cannot find my name on the books. Almost panic sets in. I'm worried because I have driven an hour to get here, I have only this day to get rid of this thing, I am leaving very soon. So they call me into the back and ask me to have a seat. I sit down with my son and we wait. We are chattering and I'm trying to send a happy birthday text to a friend of mine. My son starts grabbing the phone and somehow it goes out "Happy Birthday" but it had ended up texting a funny name. I was so embarrassed that I had called her a name and we were laughing. Well we heard two nurses arguing about how they do so much more work than another nurse and why should they be the ones that have to do this, it isn't there job, it isn't on the schedule and then one of them exits that room. Her stunned look at seeing us at the other end of the hall and realizing that we must have heard the exchange was priceless. My son and I couldn't help but bust out into laughter, deep belly rolling laughter. It felt so good. One of the nurses did end up pulling that cord out of my back. It was such a simple thing.
The nurse placed a bandage over that tiny hole in my back. She explained to me that it would leak for just a couple of hours and then it would scab over. By leaking we are talking urine. I am here to tell you that was one of the grossest experiences I have ever had. I remember that I was wearing yoga pants because they were easier to conceal a drainage bag, and I had on an Army physical fitness shirt. I felt so free when I left there, almost like I was floating on a cloud.
Afterwards my Dad took my son and I to Historic downtown Franklin. I remember when I got out of the car that my back was wet and I was horrified. But my Dad and Son being the men that they are, shrugged it off and said no one would notice that it wasn't that wet. Now I am beginning to feel the full effects of nasty. I mean it is bad enough to sneeze and leak, but to be leaking from your back, now come on that was a joke. Anyway, we head down the street and in this one antique specialty store I saw a sink in the back with paper towels. I also saw two sales ladies eyeing me and I finally approached them because I wanted one of their paper towels so badly. I wanted to stop the warm liquid that was rolling down my back and making me feel gross. They complied and let me have a few and I quickly made my exit. After we were done looking at the stores and my Dad had gotten my son a yoyo, we went to a specialty yogurt shop. It was one of those places where they give you a cup and you fill it up with the ice cream and toppings you like and pay by the pound. It is lunch time, but on this day, this is lunch. Oh it was so sweetly yummy!
This day was warm and sunny and had a melancholy feel to it. I dreaded returning back home because I knew it meant that the wheels of time were going to roll. That changes were coming and see you laters were right around the corner. I knew it was going to be hard on my sons more so than me. In so many ways I was eager to go, eager to flee the realization that this was our home of record, but not our home. The betrayal of a friend in late June made me angry and hurt and ready to move on. The hardest part was knowing that my last days of waking up with all three of my kids under one roof was drawing to a close.
During this time I grew so close to a friend that before I had known, but not really known. She stayed with my kids and I for a week. That week was one of the best weeks I spent in Tennessee. I remember how warm it was during the day, how the sun was so bright. She helped with my kids. We talked. She slept on the couch while my daughter slept in the baby swing next to the couch. She fed my daughter in the middle of the night. She cleaned up the baby puke that my own sister was reluctant to do. My oldest son and her were like oil and water and their exchanges made everyone around laugh. I dreaded saying see ya later to her and her sweet little boy. But I had to get back to Texas, I had to leave the home town comforts, after all we were going to have my husband back shortly after our arrival.
I took my son to our little down town. We looked in all my favorite stores, because this would be my last chance for a long time. I bought a metal bracelet that was made from a Tennessee license plate. I bought a T shirt from my favorite coffee shop. While there my son and I ate the best salads in that town and drank unsweetened raspberry ice tea, so very yummy.
Life was a mixture of slowing down and speeding up. I was ready, I wasn't ready. I was trying to commit all my favorite smells, and sights to memory. I was marveling how calm a small town Saturday night could be. I was trying to soak up every moment with my oldest son. To hug each of my three kids as much as possible because when I rolled out on September 27, that would be the last time I saw my son until very possibly the next summer. I was trying not to cry, I was crying. I was realizing that all of the things I took for granted would be a mere memory in days.
Excitement was also flowing through my veins. I had a time frame for my husband's home coming. It was all the craziness of Army. It was changing minute to minute and I was calling the FRG leader almost daily just to make sure I wasn't losing my mind, that what I thought was the ball rolling toward our home coming really was.
And so this was the just the beginning of the one year story. This was the moments before it all began before it all became like a fast moving dream. I was saying good bye to my favorite Children's hospital. The place where my daughter had her surgery, my son got tubes in his ears, a small heart catheter. To the ENT doctor who had helped diagnose and treat my daughter and then solved my son's speech issues and set us on the path to getting him hearing aides. This was the place where he did speech, occupational, and physical therapy. This was part of the same hospital that did my surgery. So I bought a T shirt from the gift shop. For months after returning to Texas I would wear that shirt to every single specialist and regular doctors appointment whether it was for my kids or myself. I wanted everyone to know that I was used to outstanding care for my children and would settle for nothing less. This is an area that God is working with me on. An area that to this day I struggle to find the calm and patience to deal with the difficult task of getting my kids set up with a new care plan.
But God brought us through ten months in Tennessee, we came back here and he is still here with us. I am so thankful for this experience. For all that God has done for us. For this journey over the last year where I have learned so much about myself and this place we are calling home.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Chile Relleno en Caldo
Today I experienced a new way to eat Chile Rellanos. I am sure I was driving mi Suegra nutty with all the pictures that I was taking, but I wanted to be able to capture the experience and share it, and then when I want to try to make it on my own I will have a guide.
This is how they looked after the long process which mi Suegra managed to do in about an hour.
First you must broil the Chilies in the oven, this is so that the skin will be easier to peel off. As seen in this picture when the skin starts bubbling up and the edges turn dark it is time to take them out of the oven.
After pulling them out of the oven she put them into a plastic bag and covered the bag with a cool washcloth. She left them like this for five minutes. You will hold the pepper with one hand and run the washcloth from the top to the bottom of the pepper and the skin comes right off.
Don't forget to cut forget to cut the side of the pepper and pull out the seeds.
She then opened them along the sides and put Queso Fresco, which is a type of crumble cheese, into the peppers. To hold them together she used a tooth pick.
She sprinkled flour over both sides of the chili, then she used four eggs, one can of evaporated milk, and a little cooking oil. First she mixed the oil and evaporated milk until it was a white fluffy mix.
Then she added the eggs and mixed it all together forming a white fluffy mix. She then dipped the chilies into the mix.
For this step you need a hot skillet with cooking oil. After both sides of the chili become brown you remove it from the skillet.
This is the chili relleno most commonly seen in a Mexican restaurant.
This is the mixture for the Chili Rellenos. Mi Suegra placed this in the Caldo, but it is also served to children because it isn't spicy.
First you must broil the Chilies in the oven, this is so that the skin will be easier to peel off. As seen in this picture when the skin starts bubbling up and the edges turn dark it is time to take them out of the oven.
She sprinkled flour over both sides of the chili, then she used four eggs, one can of evaporated milk, and a little cooking oil. First she mixed the oil and evaporated milk until it was a white fluffy mix. 
This is the chili relleno most commonly seen in a Mexican restaurant.
Next is the Caldo
Suegra started with just a little olive oil in a large pan and once it was hot she added just a little onion. Once those were good and hot she added four chopped tomatoes.
Next she stirred and smashed the tomatoes. This was about twenty minutes. Then she added 1 1/2 cup of water. Add some Cilantro and two chicken bullion cubes. Let this mixture come to a boil and after about five to ten minutes you can add the peppers.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Pumpkin Raisin Bread
Here is the recipe:
1 1/2 cup of flour.
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree (1 15 oz can)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream (I used sour cream)
1/3 raisins (optional) I did use them
Directions:
1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees I coated the pan in shortening and flour
2.) Combine dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, salt, and spices) and set aside
3.) Combine sugars, eggs, pumpkin, and yogurt or sour cream and mix until well blended.
4.) Add the flour mixture a third at a time; mixing after each addition.
5.) Fold in the raisins by hand and pour into prepared loaf pan.
6) Bake for 50-55 minutes.
If you decide to try this bread, I hope you like it as well as my family did. This will certainly be made again.
Pumpkin Cookies
Here is the recipe:
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (I just used the 15 oz can)
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups of chocolate chips (I used about half a bag or 1 cup)
1/2 cup of walnuts (optional)
Directions:
1.) Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda. Add flour mix slowly to pumpkin and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
2.) Drop by spoonful onto a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a sealed container.
The amazing thing was that they turned out just right. I am known for making bad cookies, cookies that are really hard, but these were soft, and perfect!
Pumkin Bread turned into muffins
Here is the recipe:
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons pumpkin spice
1.) preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and Flour two 8.5 x 4 x2.5 inch loaf pans
2.) combine pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, vanilla and sugar until well blended.
3.) In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined.
4.) Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour batter into the prepared pans.
5.) Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Notes: You can add chopped nuts, chocolate chips, or any thing else you might like to add
My family enjoyed these and they didn't last more than a day or two.
A little taste of Guadalajara
My Mother-in-law has come from Guadalajara to visit us, and when she comes to visit she will make my husbands favorite foods. It is always a treat to taste new foods. Now this is Mexican food at its finest in my opinion. She prefers to make it as close to the way it would be made in Mexico. I have watched her spend hours preparing meat or salsa for supper. I see why my husband has become such a great cook, it's because he learned from his mother. She taught him to cook with love. In the first years of our marriage he would tell me to cook it right/good or not at all. To cook with love, I was clueless, but recently I have figured it out. She says that one of the best ways to show your love for someone is to cook their favorite foods.
The first thing she made us was is called Ensalada de Sopa de Codito, which was translated as elbow macaroni soup.
In all honesty I was skeptical of it because it looked and sounded like regular old macaroni salad, and that is something I am not a fan of. This tasted fabulous. It had mayonnaise, elbow macaroni, chicken, lettuce, onion, tomato, sour cream. I really wish there was a way for my readers to sample this, it was awesome. She served it with Mexican chips and hot sauce.
She started with the flour and sifted it by hand so it would be very fine. Then she added the baking powder.
in a separate bowl she mashed all of the butter.
Then she added it all together and did more mixing by hand.
Finally she used a hand mixer to get it completely blended. Next she poured the mix into two small loaf pans and two large loaf pans and sprinkled walnuts onto the top of the mix.
The final result was four very yummy loaves of bread.
It is always a blessing to have her visiting because she teaches me little tricks to make my food taste better, and she is always willing to share and learn as much from me as I am from her.
The first thing she made us was is called Ensalada de Sopa de Codito, which was translated as elbow macaroni soup.
She also made Pan Casero which translates to homemade bread. This one also had me shaking my head because she used 4 1/2 cups of flour, 4 sticks of butter, 2 tablespoons of baking powder, two eggs, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. I was thinking that it was a lot of flour for bread, but it turned out lovely.
Then she added it all together and did more mixing by hand. 
It is always a blessing to have her visiting because she teaches me little tricks to make my food taste better, and she is always willing to share and learn as much from me as I am from her.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
The Fruits of my Labor Provide Love and Nourishment
Each day I wake up and cook a breakfast for my family. It may be eggs, hash browns, bacon, pancakes, pretty much whatever they fancy. Since it is usually just me and the kids during the day, I just boil them a cheesy hot dog, but then come supper time I cook a meal. Once upon a time I hated to cook, I didn't even know how to cook much beyond spaghetti, boxed macaroni & Cheese, you follow me? Well, after I was blessed with being a SAHM, I realized that I do enjoy cooking, I do enjoy feeding the family. So before I start cooking or baking, or whatever, I say a little prayer for my family. I pray that the food will give them nourishment, thanks to the Lord for blessing us with the food, and to bless them and that the Lord will reach them however he sees fit. The following is just a tiny example of what I have been putting on the table.  |
| Chili Rellanos Pie, made with my hubby |
 |
| Changing up the norm with Gorditas which are normally round, but wanted them to be fun for the kids |
 |
| A tweaked version of Classic Chicken Piccata |
 |
| Roast beef before the potatoes and carrots are added. I let it marinate in Garlic Cloves, Onion and Water overnight |
 |
| This is Enchiladas, Salsa, and a Chicken Spinach Lasagna |
This was my first attempt to ever make refried beans, they turned out dry, but now three times later I have this one in the bag.
 |
| Double Chocolate with Walnuts Zucchini Bread |
Potatoes sliced, then baked in butter, olive oil, salt and pepper and garlic powder 
Cevichi, a favorite summer food, which is light salad with tilapia cooked in limes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)