Summer veggie goodness!

SCD Yellow Squash Casserole

You’ll Need:
(NOTE:  measurements are approximate, as I didn't measure as I tweaked the original recipe, which called for Ritz crackers, milk, etc.)
2 lbs of yellow squash (I did 1 large & 2 medium), chopped

1 large onion, chopped
Salt, pepper, turmeric, smoked paprika, garlic, fresh parsley and basil

1 1/2 c. Pecan meal, divided

1 1/2 c. of finely grated cheddar and Colby cheeses, divided
 
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. SCD yogurt
3/4 cup of melted butter, divided


How to:
Steam the squash and onion lightly.  Place the squash and onion in a large bowl and add seasonings to taste, along with 3/4 c. pecan meal and 1 c. shredded cheeses.  Fold gently to combine.  Whisk the eggs and yogurt together in a small bowl then pour over the squash mixture along with half of the melted butter, folding in gently.  
Spread the squash mixture in a 9x13 pan.  Mix remaining butter and pecan meal and put dollops over top of squash mixture, then spread it out thinly and sprinkle with remaining cheeses and a bit more parsley for color. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes.  Turn oven to broil, keeping casserole on normal shelf and broil 2-3 minutes to crisp up the topping.  Enjoy!

The absolute best cinnamon rolls ever!

I have been unable to find the cinnamon roll recipe that follows below anywhere online to be able to share with others that request the recipe.  My folded and worn printed recipe page was printed out in January of 2010, and most likely I may have found the recipe a while before that.  I figured it was long overdue for me to take the time to type up this recipe and get it saved somewhere electronically, in order to have a backup copy should I ever lose the printed recipe paper.  This is one recipe that I do not want to misplace, as I don't think I will ever try another cinnamon roll recipe again.  It is one of those recipes that once you find it, there is no need to try any different versions!  I have made this both in the bread machine, and without, using my Kitchenaid mixer to prep the dough and let it do a first rise before forming the rolls.  I wish I could give credit to the original poster, but alas, I cannot find online at this point. (The poster had a sense of humor, also, so as I cannot find who to credit, I am going to rewrite the recipe in a bit more boring fashion.)


Cinnabon Clone (bread machine)

Dough (2 pounds)
1 cup whole milk
1/2 tbsp. salt
1 beaten egg
4 tbsp. melted butter
4 tbsp. water
1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix (3.4 oz.)
4 cups bread flour
2 tbsp. sugar
3 tsp. yeast

Filling
1/2 c. softened butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon

Icing
8 oz. butter
8 oz. cream cheese
16 oz. powdered sugar (about 3 3/4 c.)
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Take the butter and cream cheese you will be using for the icing out of the fridge to begin softening.

DOUGH:
Place all the ingredients into your bread machine in the order required for your machine, and set it to its dough setting.  You will not be baking it, just using the bread machine for the mixing and rising process.  Depending on your bread machine, this process could take 1 1/2 hours or so.  I have also just made the dough in my Kitchenaid mixer instead, and let it rise for a while in a warm place, covered with a clean towel.

FILLING:
While your dough is mixing and rising, mix the 3 filling ingredients together, making sure you do not have too many lumps of brown sugar.  Set aside for when you are ready to actually fill and form the rolls.

ICING:
Mix the softened butter and cream cheese together in mixer until thoroughly combined.  Add powdered sugar and mix for another 12 minutes.  This is important as it seems it whips the icing and makes it light and fluffy...a wonderful texture!  Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract when the 12 minutes are just about up.

When your dough is ready, put it on a floured surface.  Punch it down and knead it for a little bit.  Use your rolling pin to roll it  into a 12x18 inch rectangle (actually, I like to make it even longer than 18 inches if I have the space to do so).   Spread your butter/brown sugar/cinnamon filling all over the rolled out dough, spreading to the edges.  Begin rolling up the dough from one of the long sides towards the opposite long side, working your way side to side, rolling a little at a time.   Once the dough has been rolled up, use a long string of dental floss to cut into approximately one inch lengths.  Slip the middle of the floss string under the end up your cinnamon "log", about an inch in from the end, bring the two ends up around to the top, criss cross them, and pull to cut your cinnamon roll.  Place gently in the lightly greased pan, beside each other, but not overstuffed (see picture below), so they will have room to rise a bit.  You may need to use more than a single 13x9 to fit them all in, depending on how big or small your cut rolls are.  Set oven to warm setting, and put your roll filled pans inside.  Turn the oven off when it is warmed, and let the rolls rise in the pans for 30 minutes or so.  Remove the pans, preheat the oven to 350, and then put the rolls back in to bake for about 15 minutes or so.  Remove them when the edges are golden brown, and ice.  I usually always have extra icing when I have followed this recipe even when being generous while icing the rolls, so keep that in mind.  Three-fourths of the icing recipe would probably be the perfect, and still generous amount (so 6 oz. or 1 1/2 sticks butter, 6 oz. or 3/4 of 8 oz. cream cheese package, 12 oz. or slightly more than 2 3/4 c. powdered sugar, 3/4 tsp. lemon juice, and 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.)  Enjoy! 

Mothering ebook and $100 Paypal giveaway

This new ebook looks very interesting...even if every chapter is not of interest or does not apply, there is probably something in the book that should be helpful to read. Go here to check it out!

All natural deodorant giveaway

I have heard of the negative effects of using antiperspirant, and we have not had it in the house for years.  I have thought of trying to make my own all natural deodorant, but have not gotten that far yet.  When I came across this giveaway for all natural deodorant, I just had to enter.  I have looked at their website and this deodorant sounds quite promising in terms of delivering the desired result.  The giveaway ends in a just few days, so get over there to enter fast!

You can do speech therapy at home!

(I was privileged to receive this product in return for my honest review of it after using it with my 5 year old son.  The product in the following review can be found at Amazon or at the author's own site here, where you can also find free tips on her blog.)

I am a homeschooling mother of 9 children, and they have all developed at different rates as far as their speech ability was concerned.  However, as my son grew older, I knew he was harder to understand than any of his older siblings had been at that age.  I found Superstar Speech Expanded Edition by Debbie Lott, read the reviews, and thought it sounded like a perfect fit for us.  The troubles with understanding my son's speech were founded in his articulation issues, not in any physical impediments, which would have instead required visits with an expert instead of self-tutoring at home.  Superstar Speech Expanded Edition contains several tools to enable a parent to help their child work to correct articulation errors, all within the comfort and privacy of their own home.  Debbie Lott is a licensed speech pathologist, so has applied her expertise and knowledge to give parents a tool to work with their child on their own, or to give extra home practice for what their child may be learning with a speech therapist already.  Her own homeschooled daughter drew the illustrations for the book, so while not professionally drawn in nature, they are something that a child can relate to!

There is a section that has a speech articulation test with clear instructions for the parent to narrow down which errors are a struggle for their child.  I found this interesting as I had not considered whether my son struggled with a certain sound more or less depending upon its position in a word (beginning, middle or end).  I appreciated that the book also laid out what age a child should typically have mastered each of several trouble sounds, so that I knew that some of my son's articulation errors should not be as much of a concern yet, and also knew which ones to concentrate on first.

There is a wonderful variety in this book.  For each sound or pair of sounds that may need to be worked on, it has specific instructions and suggestions for helping your child understand how each sound is formed, a word list using those words, a practice section, phrases or sentences, and activities to make it fun.  There are also many, many pages at the back of the book that contain an interesting collection of different games and picture cards, that can be pulled out to use as is, or photocopied for lamination if desired.  I was able to tailor some of the games to the sounds my son needed to work on, even though not originally intended for those sounds.  This book is versatile and easy to adapt.

My final assessment is that I would definitely recommend this speech therapy tool to other parents to use on their own or as a supplement.  My son's speech articulation errors have been improving, and I can see it will only progress with more practice.  Like anything else, it will take time and effort, but it will be worth it as your child is able to communicate more successfully.  My son enjoyed picking which game he wanted to try next after doing his practice activities.  He was having fun, and did not even realize we were "working" on his speech...he would even come to me in the morning and beg to be able to "play his games"!   Another thing worth mentioning is that this book can work for more than one child if there is a need, as it can be tailored to fit each individual's needs.    The cost is very reasonable for what is contained in this one book...I highly recommend it!

Giveaway time!

Yay!  It is Apple Valley Naturals giveaway time again!  They are having a Labor Day giveaway here for two $25 gift coupons to their online store.  I have bought a few soaps from them before, but they do have other products that I have used and love...natural bug repellent, creamy butter lotion bar, and herbal salve (great for bites, stings, diaper rash...you name it!).  Hop on over and enter the giveaway!

Betty Crocker children's cookbook giveaway!

Go to the Munck's family website for another giveaway today, this time for a reprint of a vintage Betty Crocker's children cookbook.  If you have any aspiring little cooks in your household, it sounds like a wonderful giveaway to give them something new to try in the kitchen!  The giveaway ends at midnight.