Jenna's Birthday and Holly's Giant Sweet Potato

Yesterday was Jenna's birthday!!! Now she's 9 years old. I know this because I got it wrong at the store last week and Jenna corrected me - lol. We certainly had a weekend full of parties, and it's not over yet. Since the entire family couldn't get together, the birthday celebrations could last for at least a week. I don't think Jenna will mind.

Saturday she had some of her friends over for a party. We had a Wii bowling tournament, and other games. It was alot of fun for everyone, well, except maybe the boys. Afterwards, Jenna, Emma and I went to see High School Musical 3. They were thrilled with the free tatoos. Those things have lasted for 3 days. Hope they weren't made in China out of melamine or lead or something.

Sunday we had a party with Dad, Mom, Holly and her dogs. The kids love Shelby and Abby (the dogs). Holly says they usually sleep all the way home since the kids wear them out. Kenai likes visiting with his doggie cousins too. Holly grew sweet potatos in her garden this year and gave us a few. I took a picture of her holding the biggest one (that she gave to Mom). The thing looks big enough to be an internal organ. Doesn't it look like a stomach, or maybe a liver? Bet that would make a HUGE pie.

We all pitched in and got Jenna an American Girl doll (Molly) for her birthday. Actually I bought the doll on ebay, and got tons of accessories with it. I think Jenna is thrilled with it. She named her doll "Jennifer" and takes her everywhere (and that's no exageration)!

I think the look Jordan has on his face in the background of the above pic is PRICELESS. Such a look of utter boredom. It's too funny.

Today I made an acorn squash/pumpkin/sweet potato pie! It is DELICIOUS. I just used a pumpkin pie recipe, then substituted the "secret mixture" for pumpkin. I love the flavor. I didn't get any pictures though. I think everyone liked it, except for Josh, who really doesn't like any kind of pie. What is wrong with that kid? Bet he'll outgrow that and make up for it when he's a teenager.

This is the FIFTH day in a ROW that Jenna has worn the sweater that Uncle Jeff gave her last week. We had a talk about it this morning, and she agreed to let me wash it. I think she'll be wearing something else tomorrow. Wow - that was a great birthday gift!!

Apple Butter, Pumpkin Bread, and Black Belts

Apple butter, pumpkin bread, and black belts really do go together. They're all things that our family has been involved in this week!

Jordan got his black belt in a ceremony on Saturday. Unfortunately, my camera broke after the first picture. And that's no joke. I think I can get pictures from the tkd website when they're posted, and then I'll share those too. This is the only picture I got. Luckily I didn't include Jordan's feet in this shot. Then you would have seen that his uniform looks like capri pants. The kid is eating like crazy, but only keeps getting taller. It's time for a new uniform. I'm so proud of Jordan. He worked hard and persevered to get his black belt. What an accomplishment!

Speaking of accomplishments (on a much smaller level), I made apple butter for the first time. The three apple trees in our front yard had a bumper crop, and this year the deer didn't eat them all. Making apple butter wasn't hard, but it certainly took a long time. First I chopped up all the apples into quarters. I boiled them for a few hours in 2 HUGE pots until they were soft, then ran them all through a food mill. This separates the applesauce from the seeds/skins. I added spices and sugar to the applesauce, and boiled that for a little over an hour. It thickened and got darker, and POOF. . . apple butter.

While all those apples were boiling I got bored - that's a joke by the way. There's ALWAYS something to do around here. I couldn't sit still while the apples were boiling, so I decided to cook a few small pumpkins. I cooked them whole in a pan with a little water (about an inch) in the bottom of it. After an hour or so, the pumpkins were soft on the inside. I split them, took the seeds and pulp out, and scooped out the insides into my blender. I added just enough water to puree them. Eight cups of pumpkin later, I realized that I'd need to bake something. The pumpkin was begging to be used. I made pumpkin/apple butter bread. Why not? It just sounded like it would go together somehow. Here's the recipe:

3 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups suger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 beaten eggs
1 cup apple butter
1 cup pumpkin

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine beaten eggs, apple butter and chopped pecans. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and mix until moistened. Spoon batter into two greased 8 1/2 inch bread pans. I've made this in round pans too. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. YUMMMM.

My kids DEVOUR this bread. I didn't tell them there was pumpkin in it at first. They're still tramatized by the pumpkin soup episode. Whew. . . that soup was bad. I've improved that recipe but the kids still won't try it. I don't think onions and pumpkin were meant to go together.

Here's what a slice of the pumpkin/apple butter bread looks like with some apple butter slathered on top (after I took a bite - lol). I couldn't help it. Good thing the kids weren't home. I actually got a slice. There's just nothing like warm bread with warm apple butter. (Sigh of contentment)