Sausage and peppers

This recipe is one of my family's favorites.  There are hardly ever any leftovers, and everyone will eat it.

I love that it is super simple, and quick to make.  This recipe will serve 5 hungry people.

Sausage and Pepper Skillet

5 Kielbasa sausages (You can change this up with whatever sausage you like)

1 large sweet onion

1 large green bell pepper

1 large red bell pepper

1/2 cup apple juice

salt to taste

First, cut your sausages into 1/2 inch slices.  Then slice the veggies.  Add a splash of olive oil to a large skillet and set over med-high heat.  Toss in your sausage and veggies.  I like to let the mixture cook long enough to brown a bit, and begin to caramelize the onions.  Then I will add the 1/2 cup of apple juice.  The apple juice adds a hint of tang and sweetness.  It isn't overpowering at all.  Cook until the veggies are soft, and the juice has cooked down and thickened.  Add salt to taste.  Depending on the saltiness of your sausage, you may not need any added salt at all.  I typically serve this over brown rice.  

On a side note, if you think you don't like brown rice, try this recipe:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/baked-brown-rice-recipe/index.html  it is the only way I make it now!

Why I prefer raised beds

We have had an incredibly wet spring.  It is shaping up to lead into a wet summer.  I think we are something like 13" above the average rainfall so far.  While rain is good for a garden, too much of anything can turn bad!

This is one of several reasons I tend to garden in raised beds.  I'm not talking about the boxed in kind, but rather building up the dirt into mounds and keeping the paths between low enough to let the water flow around them.  As you can see from the photo above, most of my plants have a nice little island to rise above the surrounding moat.  It has been POURING rain today, and this has been the only thing that is keeping my garden from getting washed away.

Below is a photo of another part of the garden.  In the front, you can see where I didn't raise the bed very much.  I don't have much hope for those onions!

Location is also key.  The plot in the back was the first one we tilled, before we had been here long enough to see what the land really did.  There happens to be a spring that runs through the property.  And when it rains...guess where it bubbles up?  We have a little fountain for a day or two after a heavy rain.  So, next year, we will move that plot farther up the hill and join it with the other one.

I hope to make a portion of my garden into permanent raised beds that get rotated plantings.  They will be raised up a little higher.  I find that it just looks nicer, and to me it is easier to weed.  

Morning Garden

Here's what is happening around the garden today:

My knockout roses have made a comeback!  They were looking kind of puny for a while, but they seem to be settling in.

 The Nasturtiums that I have planted around the yard and garden are finally starting to grow.  I hope the do as well here as they did at our old house.

And....we don't have much grass in our lawn yet, but we do have morning glories! 

Tom enjoying an early morning stroll through his veggie garden.  Lots of things starting to take off there.  

This cayenne pepper plant is going to be a heavy producer I think.  It is already loaded.

This snack size sweet pepper is starting to produce as well.

Corn coming up to the right.  Pole beans in the middle there.  

The cat attacking the fierce onion.  She does keep the rodent population down.  Chipmunks don't have a chance around her.  

TOS Review: Motherboard Books "Let's Make a Web Page"

As part of the TOS Review Crew, I was selected to review the ebook "Let's Make a Web Page" by Motherboard Books.  The ebook sells for $19.95 and is written for ages 8-12.




I turned my 16 year old daughter loose with this ebook with only the instruction of "read this and make a web page".  She had no prior web building experience.  She was able to easily download the free software from Coffee Cup that the book uses to create the web page.

The book had pretty clear instructions on how to get your web page set up.  We opted to just read the ebook on the laptop, since she would be working from there anyway. The only place she ran into trouble was in adding sound.  I believe it was partially due to an update to Coffee Cup that wasn't updated in the book.

Overall, she felt that it was simple and easy to use.  Her only real complaint was that is was too simple, but it is for a lower age range.  It only took her part of a morning to go through the entire book and to get the page set up.  I think it would be a good introduction to web building for elementary aged kids.

I do feel that the price is rather high for what you get, as most of the things she writes about can be found with a search on the internet.  You are basically paying for the convenience of having a step by step source written out for you.

I personally have some web-building experience, and felt that the ebook could have gone a lot further without getting too technical for kids.  

Read what other crew members thought:

Our school year in review (or, how we survived another year of homeschooling)

Our school year has come to a close, and the girls all consider themselves another grade level up.  I'm now the proud mom of a Junior and two Freshmen in high school.  (how did that happen?!)

Kelsie began to really enjoy some of her studies this year.  She discovered a love for Latin and etymology.  She took a Latin I course, blew through two vocabulary books, worked in Writing Strands, and finished BJU's Writing and Grammar 10.  

She also took a bit of an unconventional high school science course:  Anatomy.  I custom tailored this course to her strengths in research and writing.  She would spend several weeks studying an anatomy topic, and write a paper on a disease or disorder related to the topic.  I think she learned more this year than in any other textbook oriented course she has taken in science.  

We had to change course (again) in her math mid year.  The first semester, she took an online Geometry course.  She passed, but it was a bit of a struggle.  We switched over to Jacobs Geometry and she did much better.  

For Bible, she used a seminary level text called Old Testament Survey.  It worked out well as a meatier study for her.

We continued our World History study by going through Mystery of History III.  

She also had some fun extras like Fencing and Ballroom dance that led to making some new friends and sparking some new interests.  

Sarah and Miranda had a bit of a transition year.  They are going from 7th grade directly into 9th, as they are more than ready to begin earning their high school credits.  

They worked through a writing program called Writing with Skill, which greatly improved their paper writing skills.  They also finished up BJU's Writing and Grammar 7.  

We used an old public school text from the 90's as their Pre-Algebra course.  It was a pretty meaty course and covered a lot of topics that are normally in Algebra I.  They both did great with it. I think next years math will come fairly easily to them.  

They worked through Rainbow Science this year, which covered a broad variety of topics, and had a lot of hands on experiments.  I think it was good preparation for Biology I.

Miranda enjoyed being a teacher's assistant at the co-op this year, and is looking forward to taking a course this summer for aspiring chefs.

Sarah really got into her Forensics class at co-op, and may take more courses in the future.  She also got into Ballroom dance with Kelsie.

I think this year, I have finally figured out the systems and methods that work best for the girls.  We've realized along the way that a schedule is best for us, but we still need some flexibility.  The girls are learning that they can tackle hard topics and with some work become good at things they didn't think they could do.  I'm learning to let go of some of the things I want them to learn and do, and let them start following their own paths.  Of course that is tempered with the must haves for graduation enforced by the state of Tennessee, and the Herrell homeschool.  

Open Sunday Dinner...

I've had a lot of questions about why and how we manage to have an open invitation for anyone to come eat dinner with us on Sundays, so I thought I would expound a bit here.

God created us to be in fellowship.  Fellowship with Him, and with each other.  In these crazy days of over-scheduled lives, people have forsaken both.  Time is a precious commodity.  God asks us to give Him a portion of our best, our most valuable things.  A tithe if you will.  I think one of the most valuable things we can dedicate to Him is our time.  That is why we have set aside Sunday for God and family.  We go to church in the morning to worship and fellowship with God.  Then we extend that fellowship in the afternoons to include our friends and family.  We want to make time each week to connect with the people in our lives.  We have been blessed that we are able to do this.

Now, for those that are curious, but haven't showed up...

No, we do not preach at our Sunday dinners.  If you aren't a church goer, or a Christian, we aren't going to point fingers, call you out, or hold a prayer service over you.  What we will do is welcome you into our home, take the time to talk to you about...whatever..., maybe have a few laughs and enjoy a home cooked meal with you.  Yes, we will bless the meal.  Yes, you will see evidence of our faith throughout our home.  But we will not brow beat you with it.  However, if you want us to pray for you or have questions about Christ, all you have to do is ask.

No, you do not have to bring anything.  I try to make sure I have enough to go around.  God always seems to make it work out.  If you feel the desire to bring something to share, go right ahead.  But don't feel like you have to contribute to come.

No, it isn't a formal dinner.  We hang out in the living room, the front porch, where ever.  Sometimes we eat off paper plates. Sometimes NASCAR is watched.  You don't have to dress nice.  We don't care what you wear, as long as you wear something.

Yes, you are really, really invited.  If you have heard about it, you are invited.  Anyone is welcome.  The only way you are not welcome is if you can't control yourself and your language in our home.  If you cuss like a sailor, you'll be asked to refrain while here.  If you smoke, you'll be asked to smoke outside.  If you have tattoos, earrings, crazy hair, ride motorcycles, ride a unicycle, think bowties are cool, or are black, white, red or green from head to toe, YOU are welcome here.  If for some reason you think we don't like you, you are welcome here.  And we are sorry if we've made you feel that way, it wasn't intentional.

You may ask: can Apryl cook, or will she poison me?  Most of the time, yes, I can cook well.  We all have our occasional flops, but I try to cook things that I know have gone over well with most people in the past.  If you show up and absolutely hate what I made, I always have bread and peanut butter around.  I can find something for you to eat.  Those that are in my family....you may have heard that I like to cook from things I've grown in my yard, or use exotic foods.  Yeah, I do.  But I usually only force immediate family to eat those things.  My Sunday dinners are usually pretty tame.  You may be subjected to free-range eggs and grass fed beef, but you won't notice, I promise.

Yes, children are welcome.  I will admit, we don't have little ones.  My house isn't particularly baby-proof.  But if you are willing to keep an eye on your little one, then they are more than welcome.  We have a big yard for kids to run around in.  We also have Nerf-guns, balls, bikes, and Frisbees.

If you have questions: ask.  You don't have to tell us ahead of time that you are coming.  Just show up.  We'll be here, unless I have posted otherwise on Facebook.  If you don't know where we live...well, I'm not posting that on my blog.  But send me a message on Facebook, on here, or give me a call.  I'll point you in the right direction.  We hope to see you!

TOS Review: High School Prep Genius

As part of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I was given the opportunity to review High School Prep Genius from College Prep Genius.

High School Prep Genius is a softcover book that sells for $29.95.  This book is meant to be used by the student as they make their way through high school.

Portions of the book are set up workbook style, so the student can keep track of tasks and accomplishments throughout high school.    This is meant to be used as a planning tool, not as a schedule. 

There are also reading sections for both the student, and the parent that go over many important topics for high schoolers preparing for life after high school.  Topics include healthcare, spiritual growth, testing, college prep, study skills and more.

I particularly liked the check lists, and the questions geared towards getting the student to think about the future and what they would like to do.  I wasn't as fond of the section encouraging students to question their faith, mostly because of the way it was worded.  While the intent seemed to be sure students are grounded in their beliefs, it had an air of whatever you believe is ok.  This isn't a book solely for our belief system, so it is understandable.

This is book can be a valuable tool for parents and students to keep communication open about their transition to adulthood.  While by no means comprehensive, it seems to be a good launching point for those that are unsure about the steps needed to get from high school freshman to college freshman.

I would recommend this book to high schoolers and their parents!