Take Me Back in Time This Summer (Week 2)

This past week we filled our Spontaneity Bucket with ~

* new pajama shopping for myself.  (What a treat!)

* someone got her ears double pierced.  (Sarah's bucket list)

* spending time with another teen daughter on her lunch break

* woke up one morning and said, "Let's go to the lake for a couple of hours."

* enjoying these from our garden

* entertained by Miss Mabel as she created her Queen of Hearts costume for a mystery dinner party

* special snacks (created by Ester for co-workers)

* pie and ice cream for dinner  (What time is it??  It's summertime!)

* Swimming.  Lots and lots of swimming.

* naps after swimming

* staying up late watching movies

* early morning walks

* praying the Rosary on those morning walks

We are really enjoying filling up of summer bucket.  Beside the pool party, we have embraced the down time and spontaneity.  Looking forward to seeing what week #3 has in store for us!

Spontaneous Summer Bucket List - Week 1

~  Patty  ~

His Baptism Birthday

With all the craziness going on, Stan's Baptism birthday came and went without much fanfare.  It was actually the same day as Miss Mabel's Confirmation.  We did look at photos of his Baptism day (he was SUCH a cute baby), but I had forgotten to pick up a small, faith-based gift to give to him.  I told him I'd do that at another time.

So the other day...

It's a true story, a narrative, based on the Acts of the Apostles (written for children).

These small, faith-based gifts add up quickly over the years, arming the kids with tools to continue growing in their faith and knowing how to defend their Catholic faith.

It's is a rare occasion that we purchase a faith-based gift that is not Catholic.  So every Bible (did you know that Protestants have a different Bible?), prayer card, and almost every book we gift them with is Catholic.  Our thoughts on this are simple: why try to teach them  their Catholic faith from a resource that is not Catholic?

He really likes this book!  I plan to read it when he's finished.  (You are never to old to learn something new!)

~ Patty  ~

A Pool Party Fit for a Lifeguard!

Last Sunday, Miss Ester  celebrated her Sweet 16th with a fun pool party!   (She turned Sweet 16 last March.). We had this party planned for some time and it wrapped up our insanely busy spring.

She did not want to exclude anyone, so she waited until summertime when we could rent a city pool, the perfect spot for a bunch of teenagers to have fun and stay cool at the same time!

And since Miss Ester is a lifeguard...

We had a lifeguard-themed pool party!

It was so much fun!


* Waves of Blue cupcake wrappers found on Etsy,  here.

* Lifeguard (fondant) cupcake toppers found on Etsy, here.

* Shark fins - Oreo cookies cut with a serrated knife ;)

* Neon cupcake wrappers found on Etsy, here.

* Neon cupcake toppers found on Etsy, here.

* Pool Party water bottle labels found on Etsy, here.

~ Patty ~

New Summer Book Additions

Last summer I created this summer book list.

For the past few weeks, we've been adding to that list with these.

I love books!

~ Patty ~

Easy Crumble Cherry Pie

My girl Mabel checked this off of her Summer Baking Bucket List.

This scrumptious recipe was a perfect beginner pie for someone just starting out.

Ingredients:

Crust -
1 frozen 9" deep pie crust (take out when preheating the oven)

Topping -
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp almond flavoring
1/2 cup butter (cold, cut into chunks)
2/3 cup of sugar

Filling -
1 (21 ox) can of cherry pie filling


Instructions:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Stab the bottom of your pie crust with a fork about 5 random spots.  After the frozen pie crust has sat out about 15 minutes, dump the pie filling into the crust.

2.  Put crumb topping ingredients in a bowl and use a pastry blender or fork until the butter is crumbled and everything is mixed.  Sprinkle the crumb topping over the top of the cherry filling.

3.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly around edges.  If you want you can cover the edge of the crust with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning for the first 15 minutes of baking.  You're looking for a golden brown crumble topping.

4.  Let cool 30 minutes and enjoy!

~  Patty  ~

Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce

Another amazing recipe Miss Mabel recently made for dinner.  This Chicken Enchiladas recipe is a welcome addition to our Mexican food round up!

When there are no left overs, you know it is a success ;)

Ingredients:

10 small, soft, flour tortillas
3 tbsp flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
2 1/2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (use a rotisserie chicken)
3 cups Monterey Jack cheese - shredded
3 tbsp butter
4oz can diced, green chillies

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Combine shredded chicken and 1 cup of cheese.

3.  Fill tortillas with the mixture above and roll each one, then place them in a greased 9" x13" baking dish.

4.  Melt butter in a pan over medium heat.

5.  Stir flour into butter and whisk for 1 minute over heat.

6.  Add broth and whisk together.  Cook over heat until it's thick and bubbles up.

7.  Take off heat and add in sour cream and chilies.  (Be careful it's not too hot or the sour cream will curdle.)

8.  Pour mixture over enchiladas and add remaining cheese to top.

9.  Bake in oven for 20-23 minutes, then you will want to broil on high for 3 minutes to brown the cheese.

Enjoy!

~  Patty  ~