Thursday Thoughts

ONE- This past week something really big happened in our small county- we sent a tree to the U.S. Capitol! Every year, a national forest is chosen to supply a live tree for the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and this year the Colville National Forest was chosen! The tree they selected is an 88 foot Engleman Spruce, over 75 years old, and grew just a few miles from where we live in the county! Hubby and I joined in the festivities as our community celebrated the cutting of the tree and its send-off on the journey it will take around the country before finally making its way to D.C. in early Dec. At the send-off there were carolers, street performers, food vendors, and LOTS of people- it made me feel so patriotic, Christmasy, and proud of our community! What an honor to have a tree from our local forest grace the lawn of the Capitol for Christmas! You can see the top of the tree in the background of the above photo.

TWO- Speaking of Christmas, we had our first snowfall of the season this week! It was only a dusting, and it lasted only a few hours before it melted, but it was lovely! I'm not generally one to hurry in the snow season because, well, once it arrives, it stays. For a long time. So I'm in no rush. But I have to admit, I love the way it looks and it does make the house feel snug and cozy.

THREE- Speaking of cozy, I am in love with my new fleece pajamas!! Hubby got me an adorable set for my birthday and I practically live in them (as much as I can respectably get away with). They are so soft and warm- perfect for these nights that are now dropping frequently into the 20s. Do you have a favorite pair of winter PJs?

FOUR- Speaking of PJs, one of my favorite things to do in my PJs is drink tea!! We have really been into drinking tea lately- which was encouraged by several birthday gifts- new mugs, a new teapot, a gorgeous wooden "tea box", tea, a tea bag holder- you get the idea! There is something so comforting and snug about a steaming cup of tea wafting a soothing aroma. What's your favorite tea variety?

FIVE- Speaking of tea, I just saw a trailer for Downton Abbey Season 4. I'm probably a bit late on that, but oh well. We are working our way through Season 3 again an it is not any easier the second time. I cried for Lady Sibyl again and I am dreading the finale. The first time I watched it I think I grieved for a week! Sad, but true. Anyhow, Season 4 looks no less dramatic. Less death, hopefully, but wow. I've seen some pictures of Mary in black (*heart breaks*) and Mary and Tom with their respective babies (*heart breaks again*). Sigh. Do we seriously have to wait till January??? If you happen to be from the UK, NO SPOILERS PLEASE!!

Pumpkin Waffles {with Maple Whipped Cream}

So I've come to the conclusion that waffles and whipped cream were meant to be together.

Just typing that is making my mouth water.

Oh, my. We made these amazing waffles last night and they.

Are.

Killer.

Do people say "killer" anymore? Yeah, I usually don't say it much either, but these. Oh, these just are.

Whoever thought to pair maple and pumpkin together is an absolute genius. Those two elements together just scream fall and marry perfectly visually and in your mouth.

DO NOT SKIP THE WHIPPED CREAM.

You would be committing a serious, and I do mean, serious error! The real whipped cream laced with maple just takes these amazingly spicy and pumpkiny (yes, I just invented that, spell check) waffles to a whole new level. And you don't want to miss out on the ride.

Oh, and just for the record, bacon LOOOOVES hanging out with maple and pumpkin.

Just sayin'.

Pumpkin Waffles with Maple Whipped Cream

(printable version)

from Picture Perfect Meals

makes 4-5 waffles (on a round Belgian waffle maker)

For the waffles:

2 cups baking mix (like Bisquick)

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 cup milk

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 TB unsalted butter, melted

1 TB vegetable oil

1  large egg

For the whipped cream:

1 cup heavy cream

2 TB maple syrup

Lightly grease a waffle maker with some nonstick spray and preheat it according to the manufacturer's directions. 

In a bowl, whisk together baking mix and pumpkin pie spice. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.

In another bowl, combine milk, pumpkin, vanilla, butter, oil and egg. Whisk until smooth. Add to flour mixture and stir until just combined (a few lumps are ok).

Add 3/4-1 cup batter to the waffle maker and close lid. Cook according to the manufacturer's directions. Remove waffle with a fork and keep warm while repeating with remaining batter.

Make the whipped cream: in a chilled bowl with stand mixer or handheld mixer, beat cream with syrup until soft peaks form. Serve with warm waffles and more syrup if desired.

Sourdough Pizza Crust

So you remember how I took that sourdough bread class in October?

Well, I've been faithfully feeding my starter on a {fairly} regular basis and it has grown! Or it had grown. I recently gave a couple of cups away to my sisters in Oregon who want to try their hand at sourdough tending and baking. Now I need to work at building it back up again.

But before I gave some away, I was starting to get quite a jar full. So I decided to try making sourdough pizza crust! Even though my starter isn't super sour, I thought it would make a deliciously flavorful crust. It did! What a yummy change for our Friday pizza nights! The sourdough crust was a great blend of chewy and crisp, with a very subtle but rich flavor. I usually make a whole wheat thin crust, but this new crust will definitely be added to the rotation whenever I need to use up a cup of starter!

It is a little time consuming, but worth the effort! I've heard it said that sourdough is a lazy bread. It needs lots of time to rest in between steps. :) This pizza crust is no exception, but the great thing is that it makes two crusts, so if you are a small family or a couple like us, you can freeze the other crust for next week!

Sourdough Pizza Crust

(printable version)

from King Arthur Flour

makes 2 thin crust 12" pizzas or 1 thicker crust 14" pizza

1 cup sourdough starter (straight from fridge, unfed)

1/2 cup hot tap water

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp instant yeast

Spoon starter into a mixing bowl. Add hot water, flour, salt and yeast. Mix to combine, then knead till smooth and slightly sticky, about 7 minutes at medium speed using a stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Place the kneaded dough in a lightly greased container and allow to rise until just about  doubled in size. This might take 2 to 4 hours, depending on how vigorous your starter is.

For two thinner pizzas, divide the dough in half and shape each half into a flattened disk. Drizzle two round 12 in. pizza pans with olive oil, tilting to coat. Place one half in each pan. Cover and let rest for 15 min.

Gently press dough towards the edges of the pans. When it starts to shrink back, cover and let is rest again, about 15 min. Finish pressing the dough to the edges of the pans.

(For 1 thicker crust pizza, follow directions above without dividing dough in half and using a jelly roll pan or 15 in. pizza pan.)

Cover pan(s), let dough rise until it's as thick as you like (mine was fine without rising any longer, but you may find you want to let yours rise for an hour or more).

Preheat oven to 400.

For thin crust, prebake the crust about 4 min. before topping. Top, then bake until cheese is bubbly, about 8 min. For thicker crust, prebake about 8 min. Top, then bake about 10 more minutes.

Remove from oven, let cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Thursday Thoughts

ONE- We went to a Pastor's conference in Moscow, ID this past weekend, and on the way there we saw a gorgeous phenomenon over the fields of the Paulouse- the moon rising full on one side of us and the sun setting on the other side. It was spectacular! The moon rose in pinks and purples, while the sun was setting in oranges and yellows. What a masterpiece! Speaking of the conference, we really had a great time! The speakers were great and we enjoyed getting to know the little town of Moscow. They have a great little main street with cute coffee shops and stores- we even got to sneak away over a lunch break and visit the local farmer's market! One of the highlights of the weekend was that Hubby got to meet one of the pastors and authors who has been really influential in his life!

TWO- Remember how I told you we got pumpkins and apples from Greenbluff last week? Well, I finally got around to doing something with them and made pumpkin applesauce! I had made the recipe last year but forgot just how good it was. OH YUM. We ate the entire batch in two days. And it makes a lot. You should make some, pronto.

THREE- Thanks to my older brother, Hubby and I are officially hooked on the political drama The West Wing. Yes, I know we're a little late to the party. Like, 14 years late. But, oh well. Better late than never, right? We are currently watching Season 1 on Amazon Prime with our trial subscription and I have a feeling that is going to factor into our decision when the trial is up... Oh, Amazon, your ploy is working. Anyway, about the show. One word: dialogue. Okay two words: dialogue. And acting. Even though our political viewpoint doesn't always line up with the fictional administration, it is fascinating to try to understand a little bit more about how the White House operates. We find ourselves often lost in the quick exchanges, but intrigued nonetheless!

FOUR- I have another Cubbie in my class! A cute little boy came to join us last night at Awana, which made it much more fun for the little girl, especially during game time. One thing I adore about that age (3-4) is that they are so honest! I was teaching them about heaven last night, and how someday we'll go there to live with Jesus and the little boy looks at me sceptically and says, "But not today..." :)

FIVE- We hit our first deer! Here in Pend Oreille County, it is quite common to hit deer, and we managed to go four years without joining that club- until last Saturday, that is. On our way home from the conference, two deer ran across the road at dusk. We missed the first one, but the second hit the hood and flew off into the ditch. I have no idea if he survived or not. :( Thankfully, we were unharmed and my little car made it out with only a little ding in the hood. It hasn't really been her week. First the deer, now her brakes. She has to go into the shop next week to have a front end brake job since one of the calipers went bad and ground the brake pad down to the metal (See what I just did there, acting like I know what I'm talking about?). Meanwhile, a friend has graciously loaned us her car!

{Slow Cooker} Tuscan Chicken Stew

What makes something "Tuscan"?

Is it the white beans?

Or the tomatoes?

Surely somebody knows.

I don't, but I'll tell you something I DO know:

This stew is YUMMY.

It is full of delicious veggies, tender chicken, spices, oh, and of course those beans and tomatoes!

And it is guaranteed to warm you up if you've been outside at a football game, raking leaves, pumpkin patching, or any of the other outdoor activities people do in the fall.

And the best part is, I slowcookerized it for you (as of now that is officially a word, just so you know), so your slow cooker does all the work while you're out having fun (or in the case of leaf raking, not having fun)!

Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Stew

(printable version)

adapted from South Your Mouth

makes 6-8 servings

1-2 lb. chicken pieces (I used skinless thighs)

5 cups chicken broth

1 bay leaf

4 stalks celery, diced

3 carrots, diced

1 lg. onion, diced

5 med. red potatoes, chopped

1 15 oz. can great northern beans, drained and rinsed

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 tsp thyme

6 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cook on low 6-8 hours or until potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through. If using bone-in pieces of chicken, remove bones and chop or shred meat. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Thursday Thoughts

ONE-

LEAVES.

SO.

MANY.

LEAVES.

As you can see in the above photo, my yard is having a leaf convention. We have two beautiful trees in our yard (I'm not sure what they are), but once a cold snap hits, they drop their leaves like hot potatoes. On the other hand, our huge old oak waits till the last possible second to drop its leaves- generally once we've had a snow and its difficult to rake. And since we don't have a fancy mower with a bag, we do (or I should say, he does) it the old fashioned way.

TWO- Speaking of leaves and fallish things... Hubby and I went up to Greenbluff on Monday to get some pumpkins and apples! One farm had giant honeycrisp apples (YUM) for only $1 per lb.! What a steal! We also had an amazing cinnamon roll paired with oh-so-delicious caramel apple cider- not the Starbucks variety, mind you, but serious, fresh apple cider! Wow, was that good! Now I just need to find some time to roast/puree my pie pumpkins and get a batch of applesauce going in the crock pot.  What's your favorite fall drink? That cider pretty much topped the list for me...unless I was able to go back to Joseph, OR and get a Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate made with fresh chocolate from Arrowhead Chocolates where you get a salted caramel dark chocolate spoon to suck on while you're waiting. THAT was some serious heaven in a cup. And on a spoon. But I digress...favorite drink?

THREE- I found my Halloween costume! I wouldn't dress up for Halloween at all, except our church puts on a harvest carnival for the kids in the community that night. A lot of them stop by to play games and get candy as they are trick-or-treating through the neighborhood. And they love it when Hubby and I dress up. I found this cute little homemade bumblebee costume at Value Village and I think, paired with my black leggings and a springy antenna headband thing I found, it'll be quite fun! Hubby found a great beard, so he's going to be a Bible character- he hasn't decided which one.
By the way, while we're on the subject, it just irritates me to no end that practically all you can find in costumes for women is slinky, "sexy" costumes or absolutely disgusting ones. *sigh*

FOUR- Speaking of the Bible, as of right now my dining room table is completely covered in paper. Stacks of paper. We are starting our men's and women's Bible studies next week and I am in the midst of the copying, sorting, hole punching process! As I type the copier is whirring and every few minutes I get up to sort a few more pages. Whew! I think I'm a little over halfway through. I think God prepared me for this side of pastoral ministry through my job at The UPS Store- I certainly did my fair share of copying, sorting, stacking and hole punching there!! Sometimes I really miss it, and it feels good to smell fresh ink and feel the paper hot off the copier again. I can't say that I've missed the dry hands and paper cuts though...

FIVE- So the government shutdown is over. Well, that's about all I'm going to say about that, since I don't really want to start a political war over here...
However, if you like Fox News, politics, and watching videos online, there's a show we love and would definitely recommend- Power Play with Chris Stirewalt. Chris is informative, funny, concise, and has the craziest and most creative vocabulary of anyone I know. We always find ourselves laughing out loud (which isn't something I can say for most news shows!) and understanding the issues better. Power Play is strictly for the internet crowd, and provides great discussion panels on current political issues while remaining clear, understandable, interesting, and, dare I say, entertaining! The guests are always enjoyable and informative and the topics relevant. Check it out- you just might become a groupie like us...

{Slow Cooker} Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup

One of my absolute favorite fall food items is the butternut squash.

I was only introduced to it a couple of years ago and it changed my world forever! It's creamy texture and delicate, nutty flavor incorporate well into a variety of dishes, but it especially lends itself well to soups. Its bright color is cheery, and pureed into a dreamy smoothness, it banishes the chill of a crisp fall evening in no time!

This recipe makes a huge batch-we had some for dinner, froze enough for another dinner, and had enough leftover for several lunches!

Pro tip: to make your squash easier to cut (these things are notorious for being difficult to get into!), microwave it for 2-3 min. The rind should be somewhat softened so you can slice it in half without cutting off your hand in the process.
Also, before freezing, be sure to let the soup cool completely!

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup
(printable version)

adapted from Hamilton Beach

serves 8-10

1 medium onion, chopped

2 TB butter

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 2 in. chunks

1 large or 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 in. chunks

5 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 tsp. dried sage

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream

In a skillet, cook onion in butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Add the garlic and cook 1-2 min. more. Spoon into slow cooker.

Add squash, sweet potatoes, broth and seasonings.

Cover and cook on high 4 hours or on low 6-7 hours.

Let cool slightly, then puree in a blender or using an immersion blender (stick blender) until smooth. Stir in cream.