Ice Cube Trays - A Versatile Kitchen Helper

It's time for another mom tip! I am so thankful for all of my friends and my family who have given me wisdom and advice over the years. Some wisdom and/or advice has become a staple in our home, and other advice has not. It didn't make the advice wrong necessarily. The advice usually just didn't work for myself or for our family. So, this blog is geared towards giving you something that works for me, and if it works for your family then that is great too!

In the age of automatic ice makers in refrigerators, the ice cube tray might not be an item you use anymore in your own kitchen.  It is an item I use frequently that helps me out in the kitchen.

One way I love to use my ice cube trays is to freeze cookie dough in them.  When I make cookie dough, I sometimes make a double batch to save time.  I will make half of the batch and bake them right away, but I will freeze the rest in ice cube trays. 

Once frozen, I pop the frozen cookie dough pieces into a plastic freezer bag.  When I have a hankering for cookies, I just go to the freezer, place the cubes on a cookie sheet, and bake as directed.  It does take a few extra minutes to cook the cookies over what the original recipe says, because they are frozen.

Another way I like to use ice cube trays is to freeze tomato paste.  When I buy a can of tomato paste, the recipe will always just call for one tablespoon or two.  What was left in the can used to go to waste.  Now, I will put the rest of the tomato paste in an ice cube tray.  Each cube is about one ounce or one tablespoon.  Once frozen, I will put them into a freezer bag I have marked "Tomato Paste".  That way when I have a recipe that calls for tomato paste, I just put in one cube for each tablespoon called for in the recipe.  For example, this week I made Sloppy Joes.  It called for 3 tablespoons of tomato paste.  I pulled my bag out of the freezer, plopped three cubes into my simmering sauce, and stirred.  Done.

My daughter and I love to freeze ice cubes in the summer with summer fruit.  We get Sprite (you could also use ginger ale or club soda) and freeze it in ice cube trays with raspberries, strawberries, or lemons.  You can also make ice cubes out of cherries and use the cherry juice in your ice cube.  You can put the ice cubes in lemonade, sprite, or make cherry cokes.  It is a fun summer thing to do.

I used to use ice cube trays all the time when my babies were little.  I used to make their baby food.  I can't express how easy it is to do and so much less expensive than buying it.  I used to buy frozen vegetables (look for no salt in the ingredients).  Steam or boil in as little water as possible to keep as much of the nutrients as possible.  Puree soft, cooked vegetables in a food processor or blender and add water to your baby's needed consistency.  Freeze in ice cube trays.  When frozen, store in freezer bags with the name of the vegetable clearly marked on the bag.  Each ice cube is one ounce so you will still be able to estimate how much your baby is eating.

If you don't have ice cube trays and would like to start using them, dollar stores usually sell them in sets of three for one dollar if you don't have any.  I have surely loved and used them.  They have been a versatile kitchen tool for me.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I know there are many that already have this recipe or a form of it.  I also know there are some who don't, and it is a must have.  I got this recipe from my friend, Melissa, right after I became a new mom.  It is so yummy, but most of all, it is so easy and economical with only four ingredients.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 box yellow cake mix
1 large can pineapple chunks or rings, drained
maraschino cherries (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter in a 13 x 9 cake pan in oven while it is preheating.  Prepare cake according to package directions and set aside.  In cake pan with melted butter, stir in brown sugar and evenly distribute on the bottom of the pan.  Spread pineapple chunks evenly around bottom of pan.  Pour cake batter on top of butter mixture and pineapple.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out of the center of the cake clean.  Butter will still look runny.  Run a knife along the edges of the cake and let cool for 30-45 minutes.  Flip cake and serve.  Refrigerate leftovers.

For many years, I did not flip my cake, because I did not own a rectangular cake container to flip it onto.  I would flip the individual pieces of cake when I put them on the plate to serve them.  I do flip it now, because I do have one of those now.  Just know that you don't have to flip it if you don't want to or if you don't have a rectangular cake container to flip it onto.  Also, it you want to use pineapple rings, you can put a maraschino cherry in the hole of each one of the pineapple rings.  If cost is an issue for you, you might want to go with just the pineapple chunks to be more economical, but you could also go with the rings and cherries if you wanted to go a little bit more fancy.  The choice is up to you.  Hope you enjoy!
 

A Mother's Love

I remember the day after I gave birth to my first child, Madison, my mother and I left the hospital with her strapped safely in the car seat. We made a stop at the drug store to pick up my medications as well as other miscellaneous items we needed before we headed home.  My mother had driven while I had ridden in the back seat with Madison to tend to her, if needed.

Madison, 2 weeks old

My mother got out of the car to go into the drug store.  I stayed in the car with Madison.  She lay there sleeping as streams of sunlight shone into the car and right on her face.  I remember marveling at how she could sleep like that.  I surveyed everything about her from her lips to her fingers to the color of her skin to her tiny feet.  As I sat and looked at her, I remember my eyes welling up with tears.  At that moment, my mother came back to the car.  She saw the tears welling in my eyes and concern etched her face.  She quickly and with concern said, "What's wrong?"  I am sure in her mind she must have thought something had happened while she was gone.  Something had happened while she was gone.  It had truly struck me the depth of my love for this child in those moments.  I said to her through my tears, "I just love her so much."  My mother's face softened, and she said with emotion, "I know.  I know."

Madison, 7 months old

A mother's love.  It was a love that transcended anything else I had ever felt before.  Over the next few days, I finally understood how much my own mother had loved me all of my life.  Amazingly enough, the feeling was the same with each of my three children.  There was no limit to the love or how much my heart could hold.

Nathan, 1 month old

More important than my love though, I finally understood how much God loves us as His children and His creation.  1 John 3:1 (NIV) says, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!"  I finally, as much as I could humanly possible conceive, understood how much God loved me.  I was His child.  This love I had for my child was stronger and bigger than anything I had ever imagined.  My love was human and imperfect.  My Father's love was not human but perfect.  It was almost too great to wrap my mind around.

Nathan, 6 months old

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love," says 1 John 4:8.  The only reason I love is because God made me, and He is love.  Without Him I would not be here and neither would I be a mother.  To Him be the glory and honor for my children and for being a mother.  I am so thankful to Him for giving me my husband and for the three precious gifts God has bestowed on us.

Lauren, 1 day old

My son, Nathan, has said to me several times, "Mom, I think I love you more.  I can't even put into words how much I love you."  I have said to him, "I love you too, but I know I love you more.  The day you have your first child you will realize that I love you more."  Maybe that is the wrong thing to say to your child, but I picture having the same conversation with God too.  I say I love God, but He says to me that I have no clue as to what love is and that He loves me more.  He gave up his only son so that He could be with me forever.  He loves me unconditionally.  I will stumble and fall and make mistakes, but He is love and loves me.  No matter what.

Lauren, 4 months old

"We love because He first loved us."  1 John 4:19

It's Official: I Am Running the Half-Marathon

Yes, it is official.  This flat-footed, non-athletic, middle-aged woman has joined the ranks of people from all over the world to pay their hard-earned money to run 13.1 miles.  If that weren't crazy enough, I am actually excited about it. 

I had written in a blog last year about how I had toyed with the idea last year, but had not trained for the race.  I decided instead to run a 5K instead.  I think that was a good choice for me at the time since I had not trained for the half-marathon.

I was talking with my friend, Shannan, who ran the full marathon last year, and we made an agreement to run the half-marathon together this year.  I was a little scared.  Shannan has been an athlete most of her life, and here I was a non-athlete for most of my life.  She encouraged me so much and let me know that I could do it.

As the Bible says, "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord."  Well, God's plan was to bring another precious baby into this world and blessed Shannan with another baby boy.  She proceeded to tell me she thought she could still run the half-marathon with me at 8 1/2 months pregnant.  What?  My response was something like, "Oh, no you're not."  Her husband put his foot down as well.  Thank God. 

So, I was on my own.  I started training over a month ago running three times a week after downloading a training schedule from online.  At first, I would run 1 mile or 2 miles on my running days the first week.  The miles I would run in a week would be 3 to 5 total.  Every week you run more and more as you build up your endurance and condition your body. 

This past week I ran/walked 10.5 miles total.  This past Saturday, I was supposed to run 5 miles.  I woke up and was dreading running the 5 miles.  Nathan wanted to go running with me until I told him it was 5 miles.  We agreed that he could bike along side of me.  I treasured the time we had together.  It was much better than going alone.

It was a gorgeous day.  No one could have asked for more beautiful weather or scenery to run in.  The temperature was about 50 degrees, a sunny day, and mountains with snow pack still sprinkled at the top in the distance.  Horses pranced and grazed in the pastures as I ran by.  Amazingly gorgeous.  I ran about 4 miles of the 5.  I was pretty proud of myself.  I am amazed at how God made the body, and you can train it to get stronger and how my endurance gets better every time I go out to run. 

After my run on Saturday, I came home and realized, for the first time really, that I could do this.  I could run this race and finish it.  I don't have ideas of grandeur here.  I don't need to be the first female to cross the finish line.  I don't have to run the whole way.  I don't have to make a certain time on my run.  My goal is to do the half-marathon and finish.  Whatever that takes.  If I run by myself or with a friend (another friend might run with me), my goal is to just get out there and do it.  In the words of Yoda, "Do or do not.  There is no try."

If you think about me in the next couple of months, if you could pray for me as I train for my safety and for no injuries.  I want to take care of the body that God has given me and not push myself too hard or too little.  I have been clinging to the following scripture from Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  God willing, I'll be able to do it!

Nutrimirror: A Way to Track Your Food, Exercise, & Weight Loss

Happy Monday everyone!  It is good to be back and among the living after fighting off what I not so affectionately referred to as "the black lung".  Lauren was so kind as to pass it on to me.  I, being the kind sharer that I am, shared it with my friend, Shannan, my husband, my son, Nathan, and my daughter, Madison.  Shannan went to her doctor who said it was Influenza B.  I am not sure what it was, but it was definitely in my top 5 of the sickest I have ever been.  I praise God for His healing and His continued healing for our family.  I want to thank each and every one of you who prayed for us.  Those prayers were felt and appreciated!  Now, on to the blog.

I have never struggled with my weight.  I have always been slender and eaten whatever I wanted to.  It didn't seem to matter if I worked out or not.  My weight, for most of my life, would stay the same.  Then a certain age came into my life.  It's name was Forty!  Forty said the rules were going to be different and what I ate did matter.  Forty said I had to exercise if I was even going to think about getting any extra weight off.  Forty said everything I once knew or believed about my body was different and new, and it was up to me to figure out the new rules. 

So, I started working out two to three times a week partly to build up more muscle and burn more calories, but partly to just be healthier.  The weight stayed the same.  I then decided to run this year in the half-marathon in July which required me to start training this month.  I was running/walking 5 to 6 miles a week, but instead of losing weight, I gained two pounds.  I know muscle weighs more than fat, but that is not the direction I wanted to scale to go.

I got online one night to see if I could find a free food diary or food log to keep track of my daily caloric intake.  What I stumbled upon was much better than what I was looking for.  It was Nutrimirror.  Visit Nutrimirror at wwww.nutrimirror.com. Nutrimirror is a website which is free to join where you can track your caloric intake, your exercise activity, your water intake, set weight loss goals, etc.

Every day on Nutrimirror, you can go onto the website and list all the foods you have eaten on the food log.  It keeps track of the calories, fat, vitamins, and minerals in each food that you eat.  You can enter foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack.  It keeps track of how much water you consume in the day.  At the end of the day, it will tell you how many calories you consumed for the day and whether or not it exceeds or is under your recommended calories for the day.  It will even give you reports and overviews of how you are doing for that day, that week, or that month.

You can also set weight loss goals.  For example, I set a weight loss goal of 5 pounds.  Every day it would give me an amount of calories I could consume to maintain my weight and an amount of calories for weight loss.  The weight loss goal will only allow you to lose no more than one pound per week to stay healthy.  Again, it will tell you whether you have consumed too many calories or not enough calories to meet your weight loss goals.

There is also an exercise log to track your exercise.  So, when I go for a three mile run and enter it, it will raise the calories I can consume that day by the number of calories I burned during my exercise.

The best thing I am getting though is an education.  For someone who has eaten whatever I have wanted to eat all my life, I have never looked at calories really.  I am shocked and amazed and frightened by the number of calories in some of the things I eat.  For example, this morning I sat down with my daughter and shared a Toaster Strudel (Cinnamon Roll flavor) together.  When I entered that one Toaster Strudel into my food log, it showed that I had already exceeded my total fat for the day.  One Toaster Strudel has more fat in it than I should have in a day.  What a shocker.  My favorite drink at Starbucks (the mocha) has the most calories.  I am now ordering the tall Caramel Macchiato nonfat which has only 90 calories. 

I still want to live my life and eat what I like to eat.  However, I can't eat everything I used to eat and not think that Forty will have anything to say about it.  It has been a great tool for me to keep track of what I am eating.  It has helped me to remember to drink more water or take my calcium or multivitamin every day.  It has educated me on food and making healthier choices.  If you are looking for some of those same things, I would encourage you to give it a try. 

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. 

Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it."  Psalm 81:10, NIV

Blogcation

It is with regret that this week I am going to take a Blogcation.  That is another term for a vacation from your blog!  I am sick and running a fever today, and it is just a little bit much for me today to write and be creative.

God willing, I will be healthy and raring to go next week to bring you another exciting edition of The Cross Eyed Blog.  Blessings.

My Daughter Thinks I Am A Whale

Weeks ago my oldest, Madison, came home to tell me how the students in her art class were asked to create a sculpture representing someone they admired who was a storyteller.  Madison told me she immediately thought of me.  She told me she had thought about me writing stories on my blog, and how I was always the one to tell the kids stories about my life.  Stories like how I ran the riding lawn mower onto my grandparents' bird bath, or how I had a crush on a guy named Chuck in 2nd grade and would write on my notebook, "Chuck is love" and "Love is Chuck".

She then proceeds to tell me she has chosen to represent me in her sculpture as a whale.  "What," I said to her, "I am not sure if I like that one."  She laughed as she waved her hands in the air in an attempt to clear up any misunderstanding that I might be the size of a whale.  She proceeded to tell me that her class had watched a documentary recently about whales.  She said that whales are good mothers and very protective of their young.  They are very intelligent, communicate with the other whales in their pod, and even discipline their young if they get out of line.  I was truly honored and touched. 

She brought home her sculpture when it was done.  It was a mommy whale and a baby whale.  The mommy whale had one of her fins over and around the baby whale.  It brought tears to my eyes.

Here was my teenage daughter thinking that her mom was an inspiration.  At this time in her life, when she is trying to find her own way and her own uniqueness, she showed me that she is still watching and learning.  Learning how to be a woman, a wife, a mother, a Christian, a friend, and a constructive human being.  The fin over the baby whale showed me she still needs my protection and love during this time even though she might act differently. 

The teenage years.  What a dance.  A dance between holding on and letting go.  A dance between protection and trust.  I am beginning to wonder if this will be the hardest challenge yet.  Knowing when to let go and when to hold on, is and will be, a constant challenge.  I will have to pray for wisdom and discernment along the way and read God's word for direction.  Also, to pray for my children and their relationship with Jesus.  Pray for us as parents to lead and guide them in the ways of truth.  I am excited about the road in some respects, but scared to death about that road in others.  God willing, with love, prayer, and lots of stories thrown in here and there, we will make it through it all by God's grace. 

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."  2 Timothy 3:16, NKJV