Busy Weekend

This past weekend, we hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for our neighbors. I had taken them some pumpkin pie last year to sample, but I wanted to share the whole meal with them. The husband can't eat gluten, which provided some challenges. I prepared regular food for the rest of us, but I tried to make a gluten-free version of stuffing, gravy, and pumpkin pie crust.

The stuffing I made from some store-bought gluten-free bread, but the texture was definitely different than regular stuffing. It tasted good, though, and I was encouraged to make my own stuffing from scratch next year.

The gravy was a big fail. I added too much gluten-free flour and it turned transparent instead of the opaque pale brown I associate with turkey gravy. It wasn't like I had a whole lot of extra drippings to thin it out since I used them for the other gravy. Lesson learned: I hope. I should have used corn starch, but I didn't have any on hand.

The pumpkin pie was made with buckwheat flour, and I thought it tasted nasty at first. With the pumpkin filling, though, it was pallatable. It lacked the flaky, buttery texture I associate with a delicious crust, though. I only made one pumpkin pie, so everyone was stuck with the buckwheat crust. The pumpkin cheesecake was a different story. I used gingersnaps for the crust and gluten-free flour in the filling. I baked some of the filling in ramekins with no crust, and I baked the rest in a mouth-watering gluten-full concoction of deliciousness. :)

Overall, everyone enjoyed the food, and the kids had a great time playing with one another. AJ and the boy played the Wii, and K and the girl played doctor and school. Poor H was the only one left out.

SUNDAY, I got up early to get to church in time to practice my violin for the worship service. Timo came later with the kids, and this was the day when we finally became members of our church. K brought her camera, and she took a picture of me playing during the service. Enjoy the rare footage, if you can tell where I am. :) I really enjoyed playing, even though I could have used more practice time (and it had been at least a month since I had touched my violin... whoops!)

This was our last weekend home as a family this year, and I think we made the most of it.

Excuses

So I never made it out to go running. The day seemed to be consumed with one errand or activity followed by another.

After lunch, we bought the kids snow boots and shopped for food for dinner. I had seen this recipe when I was online looking at the doughnut recipe this morning, and I decided I had to make it. I was going to run when we returned home, but it started to rain. So, we went to IKEA instead. I thought I would have time to run in the evening, but that didn't happen.

While I made dinner, Timo and the kids put some of the IKEA furniture together. This was H's first IKEA experience, so, of course, I had to document it. :)

Everyone helping

H's first power tool experience

He loved it.

Then, it was dinner time. This was so absolutely scrumptious. I will definitely make it again -- fresh tortellini with tomato cream sauce, ham, peas, and fresh basil.

This was another Pioneer Woman recipe, and I think I'm addicted. With two mouthwatering successes in one day, I found myself browsing her website for more ideas.

So, those are my excuses for delaying running one more day.

Applesauce

Yesterday, I took the kids up the road to pick some apples from a tree that no one seems to own. The apples aren't beautiful, but they are free. They aren't so great to munch on raw, but they work for baking.

Today, I kept my promise to K to teach her how to make applesauce.

I peeled the apples, then K cut them in small pieces and put them in the pot.

We found a friend on one of the apples. :)

H decided to carry the apples around

After she was finished cutting the apples, she poured a little water in the pot.

All ready to go.

Once the apples cooked a little, it was time to add the cinnamon and vanilla sugar.

Adding cinnamon

When the apples were soft enough, she mashed them.

All done!

Now, the final step is to eat it.

H at first refused to try it. Once I forced some in his mouth, he couldn't get enough.

Chicken Fried Steak Chef

My sweet girl is at it again. She is developing into such a great cook. We made chicken fried steak last night, and she did a marvelous job as my assistant. She has the method of preparing the meat down pat. When I first attempted to make this southern dish, it tasted good, but it was a long ways off of restaurant quality. Last night was our best so far. It's funny that I learned how to make this while in Sweden, but it sure is nice to have a taste of "home" once in a while.

Good job, K. You are such a talented girl, and I am proud of you.