Whats Cookin? Kettle Corn

We love Kettle Corn but it is hard to find and very expensive so I found a recipe to make it at home which I doctored up a bit and we are loving it. Actually so is my extended family and they have requested it for Christmas this year so here are the directions-

First you need one of these for it to come out like Kettle Corn rather than Carmel Corn. Its called a Whirley Pop and I luckily found mine at my friends moms resale shop for a couple bucks






In to the Whirley Pop you put-
3 tablespoons of oil--I found the best is the Smartbalance- it just makes the taste the best
and 1/4 cup of organic popcorn- again I have tried cheaper but the organic kept in the fridge just seems to pop the lightest.





Turn heat on high, close lid and start cranken
when you hear the first pop hurry and dump in 1/4 cup white sugar- I have tried it with organic and it just doesn't work, I think its because there is still some molasses and it tends to brown.
Now it will stop popping for a min. when you dump the sugar in but just keep cranken- not too fast, not too slow- and it will start poppin again real fast for about 30 sec. to a min. and when it stops hurry and remove from heat.





Take off lid and dump on parchment lined cookie sheets (2).
Hurry and sprinkle with salt while still hot. It will cool very fast and the salt wont stick if you dont get it on fast.





With the parchment it doesn't stick, clean up is easy and you can pick it up with the popcorn on it and funnel it into a jar.

Still Beautiful

Oh, even when he's screaming he's just still so darn cute!

Beautiful.....

Is this not the most beautiful sight in the world? A newborn baby sleeping peacefully. Why does it have to go by so quickly?

Time for Bed Spidey.

Well after a long day my big boy passed out. We didn't get everything done I wanted to but the list was just too long with a nb that nurses 23 out of a 24 hour day!
I did scrub the floor, wash and hang out my bed clothes, wash Manny's diapers, some clothes, run the sweeper, play in the leaves and food wise I made the breakfast, lunch, the braid for dinner and the pie crust..the pie will have to wait till tomorrow. I did make Antipasta bread and Monkey bread. The kids LOVE the Monkey bread. This is the 1st time I made it for them and I don't think it will be the last.
Oh, tomorrows another day.
I'll try to work on the list alittle more.

Manny's 1st Bath

At nearly 2 weeks old my little man got his 1st bath lastnight. Isn't he a cutiepie!
He didn't do too bad but I'm hoping to get him a Tummy Tub soon. He loves being bundled up and worn in the Moby Wrap so I think he will really like the Tummy Tub.




Anyway, here's my "to do" list for today, we'll see how much I actually get around to doing-

Prune raspberry bushes
Put Halloween decor away
Put clothes away
Wash and put away Manny's diapers
Wash and hang out bed clothes
Scrub kitchen floor
Take kids up Moms to play in leaves
Do some homeschool work

Okay, list is getting a little too long with a newborn to be realistic.

Menu-

Breakfast- Eggs, ham and biscuts

Lunch- Pizza buns

Dinner- Pampered Chef Chicken and Broc. Braid

Sweet- Pumpkin pie

Pampered Chef Chicken Broc. Braid-

Ingredients
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Pantry All-Purpose Dill Mix
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 packages (8 oz each) reduced fat refrigerated crescent rolls
1 egg white, lightly beaten
Optional: 2 tablespoons slivered almonds



Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place Chicken, broccoli, bell pepper in mixing bowl. Add pressed garlic. Add shredded cheese and mix. Add mayonnaise, dill mix, salt then mix. Unroll crescent rolls but do not seperate. Place both packages of rolls on a baking stone or cookie sheet end to end. Press ends together to form one long sheet of dough. Press all seams together so filling will not leak out. Along outer side of dough, along each of two opposite sides, cut 2 inch strips from end toward center. This will look like fringe along the two longer sides of the dough. Add filling down the center of between the strips. To braid, lift strips of dough, one at a time, across mixture tomeet in center, twisting each strip one turn. Continue alternating strips to form a braid. Tuck ends up to seal at end of braid. Brash with egg white. Sprinkle with almonds. bake 25-28 minutes or until deep golden brown. Makes 10 servings.

I have dug out all my Pampered Chef cookbooks and look forward to making some of my old favorites. For the kids I will leave out the almonds, dill and bell pepper for this one and do broc. in all except one quarter for daughter #1.

Lets Go Steelers!

My baby is ready for the big Monday night football game. Last week the Steelers had a by week so this is his 1st game. I hope they make him proud because mommies favorite- the Pittsburgh Penguins- have stunk it up so far in November but they had the best start ever in October. It doesn't help the Pens that they are missing very key players because of injury. Gonchar, Malkin, Kennedy and Letang are all out right now. Oh wow, I forgot about Max Talbot, he's been out since the begining of the year!

He's Here!!!

Actually he's been here since 1:43 am last Wednesday morning- 10-28-09 - I just have been too busy to post. Everything happened very fast. Last Tuesday, after being told the day before I was pretty much getting no where fast, I decided to take my other children to the movies for the afternoon. I maybe had one or two condtractions while we were gone. Then later on that eventing at home I did start to get stronger ones but they were still far apart. At about 9:00 pm I told my hubby I was going to call the midwives just to see if they were at the hospital with anyone else just incase I would need to come in but they weren't and since I had no physical- visual- signs- my water never breaks but I do get the show- and the contractions were still so far apart I was just probably just being hopeful and I'd probably see her in a few days.
So we got the other children to bed at 10:00 pm and they were gaining strenght but staying about 9-13 mins apart and even skipping to 20. So I lay there for an hour trying to fall asleep but getting really annoyed by the strenght of them so I thought I would go down stairs to watch alittle tv and get something to eat and all it took was walking down the steps and I called my mom, called the midwife and walked right back upstair to wake up my hubby because they were now 4-5 mins apart and soooooo strong.
Luckly, my mom just lives a few streets away and was here in no time and my hubby had already laid his clothes out just incase. We were at the car with in 10 mins and I couldn't get in till a strong contraction passed. Now we have an hour drive in the dark, rainy night on the Turnpike that is full of construction- no fun. I didn't think we were going to make it there because they were so strong and close together. I had such a hard time just sitting there. With every contraction I just prayed for the Virgin Mary's help to get me through and I know this may sound silly but I just pictured my new little one home in all the cute, soft little cloth diapers I've been collecting over the past month. That really helped!
When we finally made it there at 12:30 am I told the guard in the ER I need to go up now. They wanted to do paperwork but I said this is my 5th and I know what I'm talking about! Up stairs they took me right to a room and let me go pee- there was finally a little blood but just some spotting. The midwife checked me right away and said I was between 8 and 9 and needed to start the antibiotic right way because it took an hour to get in and we weren't sure if I could hold off that long. After a long hour in bed with an IV and fighting any urge to push they said it was in and she was going to check me again. I was ready- which I knew- and she broke my water to make sure it was clear. Now I was finally allowed to push. Two pushes and his head was out but I was told to stop. What! How can I stop, he's half way out. But I had too because the cord was tight around his neck and she couldn't slip it over so she had to cut it which was also hard because it was so tight she was afraid to cut his neck but with in a few mins. it was done and I was allowed to finish pushing him out. One more push and our sweet little boy was here safe and healthy. 20 1/2 inches, 8lbs 9 oz, our heaviest baby yet. Also our longest to stay in.
He's nursing great, growing everyday. And is very sweet. He went to see our chiropractor on Friday and is all straighted out. He did very well and barely cried. He is a pleasure and a blessing and I am reminding myself ever night when he has me up with nursing and a dirty diaper to just enjoy it because I'm getting older- 36- and he may be my last little blessing. That makes me sad to think about but what ever is God's will will be. I'm just so happy he's here and safe and beautiful.
Here he is in the little hat my 9 year old daughter made him.