surrounded by cute faces

Babies are like little love-sponges and so kissable, as you can see.

Israel took photos of the children at Butler's Orchard. Then they got to run around!

This is the annual hot cocoa series!

Eyes always on her big brother.

She was loving her yummy mug.

Quinn is an old pro.

All done!

Beef and Barley...dare I say SOUP?

photo credit www.the kitchn.com

My husband is not a fan of just having soup for dinner, but will certainly eat it as a side.  He works out big time and needs a lot of calories and substance to fill him up, and soup doesn't cut it! In fact, I have not met a guy who IS a fan of just eating soup for dinner.  And this video assured me of this.  Anyway, I still crave homemade soup and get urges to cook it for my own sake.  But I try to find recipes that are so thick and hearty that you could disguise it as a meal, if you had to, by serving it on a plate!  Well this healthy and hearty stew (adapted from www.thekitchn.com) certainly fit the bill as I served it in a bowl, and Israel dumped it on a plate as that made more sense to him.  With homemade buttermilk biscuits (with fresh roll butter from a local farm and strawberry rhubarb jam from farm as well) and steamed veggies, this meal was quite satisfying.  Quinn really enjoyed it and thanked me for dinner.  (Awww.) I think the Dutch Oven is the key here.  Anything cast iron will really bring out the flavors!

Beef and Barley Stew
Makes 6-8 servings

2 pounds stew meat, bite-sized pieces
1 large onion, diced
4 celery stalks, sliced

5 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup red wine (I used sherry)
2 cups beef stock (I used 3 beef bouillon plus 2 c water as I didn't have beef stock)
2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cup barley
salt and pepper

Film the bottom of a large dutch oven with canola oil and set over medium-high heat until the oil is hot. Working in batches, add a single layer of meat to the bottom of the pan. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes until the cubes loosen and are seared golden-brown. Flip the cubes and sear the other sides. When all sides are seared, remove the meat to a clean bowl or plate. Sear the remaining meat in batches. If there is any liquid in the pot after the last batch is finished, pour it over the meat.

Heat one teaspoon of canola oil in the pan and cook the onions with a pinch of salt until they are translucent and brown around the edges. Add the celery and carrots and cook until just softened.

Clear a space in the middle of the vegetables and sauté the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the thyme and bay leaf, and stir all the seasonings into the veggies.

Pour the wine into the pan to deglaze, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan as the wine bubbles. Let the wine reduce down until most of it has evaporated or been absorbed by the veggies.

Add the meat and any drippings back to the pot. Pour in the stocks and top with enough water to cover the meat and veggies about about a half an inch. Bring the stew to a boil, then reduce the heat to very low.

Cover the pot and let it simmer for 1 hour. Add the barley and cook for another 45 minutes or so until the barley is cooked and the meat is almost falling apart (check by piercing it with a fork or knife. There should be no resistance and the meat should flake apart with pressure). Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

3 Peas in a Pod

There has been so much personality coming from my children these days.  Dakota got to try food for the first time today.  He literally thought it was hilarious.  We could almost read his mind, and he was wondering why he was sitting in his Bumbo seat (as he had only been in it one other time) and why dad was watching mom stick gooey warm stuff in his mouth.  He got a real kick out of it.  

My children love snuggling with each other, so I will let these photos speak for themselves.  I think Dakota knows he is a loved little boy.

Quinn and Cora wanted to do silly faces, so I let them.  This is what they came up with.

I love Dakota in this old shirt of Quinn's. Quite the handsome boy!  It is hard to believe that he is almost 5 months old!  It is such a clique, but so true.  Children grow up TOO quickly.

My life is going at warp speed these days

I sheepishly ask, "Has it really been 2 months since I posted on my blog?"  Well, you can be rest assured that the less I post on the blog means the more full our lives have become.  Three children under five need quite a bit of tender loving care, and I am happy to give it!

Dakota is a plump 4 month old now, and already busting out of 6 month clothes.  Preemie?  Yeah, right.  He is very low-key, and patient with his busy mom.  He loves to smile and giggle at his family members, and is just a good companion to have around.

Cora has become quite a fun little friend.  She is very lively and outgoing.  She will climb anything she can, and loves playing with Quinn and kissing Dakota's cheeks.  Her style of play has really developed.  She loves pretending and reading books out loud to her brothers.  Cora told me yesterday that she is going to be a mommy and have 5 children.  An hour later, she said she was going to have 2 children.  So the standard deviation is +/- 3 children.

Quinn, what a character.  He is very silly and so smart that it is a bit scary.  He is reading so well now and is currently working on words with double L's like "windmill" and "hilltop".  Cora knows her letters and sounds and will now start sounding out words for the first time.  I decided to teach them the alphabet in sign language and they have really been enjoying that.  Our school lessons in the morning are such a nice time, as we all sit on the couch together and get to learn new things.  We work on learning Scripture, reading the Bible- learning about King David currently, and then each child gets 1-on-1 time with Mom with reading and sometimes writing.  I think this structure really helps the children with the rest of their day and they seem to really enjoy it.