My newest favorite food

I am always looking for something that tastes good, but keeps me full in the morning. I have had oatmeal with fruit for the last 6 months and can't wait for tomorrow morning to have some more! I added a "few" peanuts and 1/2 a banana to my strawberry oatmeal and it is great. That said I have found a new Sunday breakfast. I make it on Sunday because I have a bit more time on that day and often Ken is making the kids something yummy and I want something similar.

This recipe is adapted from a Jillian Micheal's recipe "Famous Red Team Puffs". I doubled most of her recipe, except the cottage cheese and cream cheese and I added 2 heaping tablespoons of flour. Also her recipe calls for a tart pan and cooking on the stove some and I do my entire recipe in a cast iron skillet in the oven, similar to a Swedish Pancake recipe I received from my college room-mate's mother about 20 years ago!

So here you go:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a small cast iron skillet (or other oven safe dish):

melt 2 t. butter
4+ large strawberries cut into pieces
2 T chopped walnuts

while everything in the skillet is getting melted and warm in the oven:

Mix
4 egg whites
1 T Splenda or sugar to taste (I just use one little packet of Splenda)
add 1/3 C lowfat cottage cheese and 2 T wheat flour

Pour this on top of your strawberry/walnut mixture and cook for 20-25 minutes

Flip this on your plate and add spread 2 T of melted cream cheese on top.

I love it (and obviously felt the need to share :)

Happy Easter - yes I will probably have this Easter morning!

It is that time of year again.

I know it seem silly to print these pictures, but REALLY, these "change of seasons" are a big part of my life. It is fun to get a "new" wardrobe after wearing the same things for months. The best part is seeing the clothes that my big kids used to wear now being worn by my little kids.

Also this "change" is a symbol of why my life seems a little crazy. 1st you have to make sure all the winter clothes are clean and won't be needed again. (like after our first false-start of spring a few weeks ago) 2nd you need to decide what to keep for next year, pass on to a sibling, go to St. Vincent de Paul Thrift store or throw away - THAT'S a lot of decisions for each item of clothing. 3rd you need to go through all the new season's clothes and make the same types of decisions (although hopefully good decisions were made the previous season) Then start at #1 again for kid number 2, kid number 3, kid number 4 and myself. You get the idea why this is a bigger job than it seems. The girls and I got through most of their spring/summer clothes while the boys were at church this am. (Carolyn sang in the choir last night while Joel had baseball practice.) It is especially fun to go through Anna's clothes with Carolyn, because she talks about her memories with many of the clothes or about who gave her certain special items.

N.C. - do you recognize that cute green dress on the top of Anna's pile?

Stop me if you have heard this one before!

Actually, never mind. I know I have said this before and this won't be the last time.

I am going to simplify my life. I am purging STUFF! I am organizing my world so that I am not "the pot calling the kettle black" when I tell my children to keep their stuff cleaned up.

I am going to have a set place to keep important things in my life.

If you have hints - please send them my way. I will never be extremely Type A about house cleaning, but something has to change.

Like they always say, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

There are many things in my life that I feel I am doing well. I am not changing those things. I am just going to add this good component to my world.

Today, I am preparing boxes to go to the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store and getting everything together for my Iowa audiology license!

Ask me how I am doing in a week - keep me honest.