August 9th, 2013 
Jessica Here are some of the fun freebies I’ve received in the past couple weeks. I was pretty excited about the FREE Schick razor!
I also got 4 Betty Crocker Icings for $0.25 each at WinCo because they’re expiring in August. Score!
What freebies or great deals have you found recently?
August 8th, 2013 Jessica
Recently I decided to get up early on a Saturday morning, and take the kids to our town’s Farmers Market. It was a lot of fun! We enjoyed lots of free samples (even a basket of free cherry tomatoes!) The bottom of our stroller was full of fresh produce by the time we were done. I picked up strawberries, blueberries, peaches, plums, zucchini, yellow squash, green peppers, and more. The kids have been begging to go back, so I’ll probably try to go again sometime soon.
Anyhow, I had no idea how to cook a yellow squash, so I found this yummy recipe in the Simply in Season Cookbook. Oliver wasn’t too fond of it, but Naomi, Brad, and I enjoyed it! We had this dish with lunch, but it would be great to serve alongside hamburgers or other summer fare.
Summer Squash Skillet (Simply in Season Cookbook): Serves 4
Saute together in 1 Tbsp oil until tender (time will depend on the size of the pieces: grated will cook faster than sliced).
Additional Option:
Add and simmer about 2 minutes longer.
How do you like to prepare yellow squash?
August 7th, 2013 Jessica 
Right now I love the view from my kitchen window. When I am looking out my kitchen window, I see so many things that make me happy:
Cobwebs aside, I see a beautiful backyard, our dream backyard, full of life and love. I see God’s provision for all of our needs, and I see all the people who care about us and share their lives with us. I see my husband’s hard work and I see my children growing up and making memories. I see a place to host teenagers every week of the year as the hear about the love of Jesus, some for the very first time. I see a place where the gospel comes alive, and where everyone is welcome. I love the view from my kitchen window, and I love this place that God has made our home.
August 6th, 2013 Jessica
Recently my sister Kristy mailed us a fun care package full of goodies, and included some homemade play-doh for the kids!
The kids had fun playing with the 3 colors of play-doh, and the containers they arrived in.
I provided them with forks, knives, and spoons in addition to the play-doh, and they loved pretending the play-doh was really food.
What fun things do your kids like to do with play-doh?
August 5th, 2013 Jessica After the success of the “Baked Trout with Lemon Garlic,” I was really excited to try this “Campfire Salmon” recipe from the Simply in Season Cookbook. Again, I could not believe how easy it is to cook fish! This particular recipe was not as big of a hit with the kids. They liked the salmon, but not the chunky vegetables. However, Brad and I devoured this delicious dish, including the vegetables. I usually am not a big fan of chunky vegetables either, but the Italian dressing made these vegetables irresistible!
Campfire Salmon: Serves 6
Place each filet in the middle of a separate piece of aluminum foil. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic to taste.
Divide lemon slices and vegetables on top of the fish and pour on dressing. Seal the foil, leaving a little space at the top for each package to expand. Place directly in the coals of a campfire or in a preheated oven at 450F / 230C and bake about 15-20 minutes. The packet will puff slightly. Transfer to plates. Open carefully to avoid being burned by the steam inside.
You can’t even see the salmon filet under all the vegetables, but it’s in there and it’s delicious!
My husband loves fish, so he loved the trout and salmon recipes. He told me I can make them for him anytime.
Does your family like to eat salmon? How do you prepare salmon at your house?
August 3rd, 2013 Jessica Oh. My Goodness. If I’d had any idea how easy it is to cook fish, I’d have been cooking them for the last 7 years! We have a lot of lemons in our freezer and garlic in the pantry, so I decided to try a recipe for “Baked Trout with Lemon Garlic” in the Simply in Season cookbook.
I was a little intimidated by the idea of buying fish, since I’d never done it before. Then when I went to WinCo, the only trout they had available still had a head and a tail! (My mother never bought it that way, although I’d eaten it that way in China. I thought I’d be buying trout fillets.) A man standing beside me at the counter assured me that it wasn’t that hard to cook, so I decided to take the plunge. I brought home 3 trout, and the kids and I got a kick out of playing with them. We stuck our fingers and lemons in their mouths, and made them “talk.” Naomi was a little nervous at first, but soon warmed up to them.
Baked Trout with Lemon Garlic: Serves 4
If using whole trout put garlic and lemon slices inside the cavity and on top of fish and fillets.
Brush over top. Bake in preheated oven at 450F / 230C oven until fish flakes easily with fork, 5-15 minutes (time will depend on thickness). Fish also make be wrapped in foil and grilled.
The baked trout tasted amazing! By the time we ate dinner, Naomi was begging for the portion with the head and tail. I had to take photos just so I would have proof! Naomi is now fascinated by all fish, and even “learned” how to fish at the park from a little girl who was fishing there.
When I mentioned on Facebook what we were having for dinner, our friend Pam asked if we would like some more fish. It turns out that Pam and her husband love to fish, but their family is getting tired of eating so much of it. So she brought us 10 more trout! We’ve been eating fish for 3 weeks now, and it’s been delicious every time.
Does your family enjoy fish? How do you prepare your fish?
August 2nd, 2013 Jessica This recipe was a big hit with my husband and I, although my kids weren’t as crazy about the tomatoes covering it. I’m sorry I didn’t doll-up the photos more, but this is how dinner usually looks at our house! I remember my mother having guests over and apologizing that we were “eating out of the pots tonight” instead of using her good dishes. We kids would laugh because we always ate out of the pots! Anyhow, on to the recipe:
Summer Pesto Pizza (Simply in Season Cookbook) Serves 3-4
Stir together in a large bowl until yeast is dissolved.
Add enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turn to grease both sides, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45-55 minutes. (I had never done the before and thought it was really cool!) Generously grease pizza stone or baking sheet with olive oil. Roll or press dough onto pan. Bake in preheated oven at 450F / 230C for 5-8 minutes.
Spread pesto on crust. Top with tomatoes and cheese. Garnish with fresh basil leaves (optional). Bake in preheated oven at 450F / 230C until cheese is melted, 5-8 minutes.
What new recipes has your family enjoyed recently?
July 30th, 2013 Jessica 
I’ve been working on a lot of small home and car maintenance improvements lately, and one of those projects was to organize the kids’ art supplies. I had put them out of reach on top of the refrigerator because they were making so many messes with them. Keeping them out of reach allowed me to give them one art supply at a time to use at the dining room table.
However, they looked sloppy all over the top of the fridge, so I decided to use these plastic ice cream tubs (leftover from Brad’s Bible studies and Leaders’ meetings in our home) to organize them. The ice cream tubs (labeled with a black permanent marker) have worked really well.
Now if I could just convince them to take out just a few crayons at a time instead of dumping out the entire tub every time they want to color something!
July 29th, 2013 Jessica 
After a week of writing love letters to my dashing husband, I’m back to writing about frugal living. So how’s about a quick look at our very frugal “compost garden”? Above you can see the volunteer pumpkins that are taking over our backyard. We’ve already harvested one pumpkin, processed the insides, and eaten the seeds! There’s also a large squash and a tub of carrots hidden in there somewhere…
Below are Brad’s sunflowers, the offspring of last year’s sunflowers. Brad kept the dead sunflower heads in a paper bag in the garage all winter, and then threw them in a hole he was trying to fill this spring. They’ve done great, and really look nice from the kitchen window.
We’re all about the low-maintenance gardening around here. We throw the compost on a pile, water it, then wait and see what grows!
Do you utilize a compost pile? What fun things have you found growing due to your composting efforts?
July 23rd, 2013 Jessica 
June 10, 2012
When Brad proposed to me on July 6, 2005, we’d only been dating for 6 weeks.
Of those 6 weeks, Brad spent 4 weeks on Summer Staff at a camp in Virginia. I was in Maryland, attending grad school. I wrote and mailed him a love letter for every day of those 4 weeks.
Love letters are great for relationships. You can write them to your spouse, your kids, your parents, your siblings.
For the next 7 days Brad is back at camp with the high school kids and college students he leads.
So I’m taking a week off from blogging to write 7 love letters to my husband.
I encourage you to find the time to write a love letter (or more) this week. I’m sure those you love will appreciate the gesture.
See you next Monday!
