I decided to put the school books away for the day.  I put three chairs at the counter and sink and schooled my children in the kitchen.  It was a lot of fun.   Samuel read the recipes to us and he also practiced his fractions with measuring cups.

The first thing we made together was Cream Cheese-Olive Roll-ups

* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1-2 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
* 1/3 cup mayonnaise (do not use salad dressing)
* 1 (2 1/4 ounce) can pitted black olives, finely chopped
* 5-6 green onions, finely chopped
* 1/2-1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (or to taste)
* 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (might use more or less)
* 8 (10 inch)  flour tortillas

Directions

1. Hand-squeeze out as much excess moisture in the olives as possible before chopping, and make certain to chop finely.
2 In a bowl combine cream cheese with garlic, mayonnaise, green and black olives, green onions and black pepper; mix to combine well.
3. Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture over each tortilla, then sprinkle a small amount cheddar cheese over the top of the cream cheese.
4.Roll up each tortilla as tightly as possible.
5.Place each tortilla onto a plate.
6.Cover with plastic wrap and chill for a couple of hours or up to 24 hours (a longer chilling time will only improve on the flavor)
7.  Slice each tortilla into about 1-inch pieces.

I have been wanting to make these for a long time but I needed to wait to have company over since my husband won’t touch these roll-ups.  He hates mayo, cream cheese and olives!    The last thing I need is to make these and end up eating all of them!  Our company really liked them ( and so did Samuel and I ).

I just love Sophia’s little hands.  Often I look at them and kiss them and say to her, “I wonder what you will do for God with these hands!  Who will you help with these hands God has given you?”   One time she answered me and said, “I am going to rock my babies with these hands, Mommy.”   And I kissed her some more …

Yummy!  We are tripling this recipe and making them this weekend.  We are having 35 people at our house for a cookout!

The next thing we made:

Dreamsicle Jello Salad

* 2 (3 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding
* 1 (3 ounce) package orange Jell-O
* 1 1/2 cups boiling water
* 1 (22 ounce) can mandarin oranges (with juice)
* 1 (16 ounce) container Cool Whip

Directions

1.Combine the pudding, Jello and boiling water and dissolve completely.
2 Add the Mandarin Oranges (with juice).
3.Fold in the Cool Whip.

I had to make my own cool-whip … didn’t taste exactly like it but everyone liked it.  I tossed in some mini marshmallows that I had been saving and also some crushed pineapple.

For the main course we made Sweet and Sour Meatballs.  I made both rice and noodles for people to choose their preference.  I doubled this recipe and we had leftovers the next day.

* 3/4 lb ground pork
* 3/4 lb ground turkey or hamburger
* 1 tablespoon onion, minced
* 1/2 teaspoon parsley
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon garlic salt
* 2 eggs
* 1-1 1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

Directions

1.In a large mixing bowl add the meats and blend together with your hands.
2. Add the onion, parsley, pepper, and garlic salt. Mix again with your hands until all the seasonings are well blended with the meat.
3.In a bowl beat the eggs until well beaten. While mixing the egg into the meat mixture, add the bread crumbs 1/2 cup at a time until the meat begins to feel slightly firm.
4.Form the meat into 1 1/2″ balls with your hands.
5.Gently place in cooking pan so that the meatballs are close but not touching.
6.Cook in pre-heated oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes or until browned.
7.The meatballs will not be fully cooked yet.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

* 1 (14 ounce) jar chili sauce (like Heinz)
* 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 1 (32 ounce) jar grape jelly
* 1 (4 ounce) can chopped mild green chilies
* 3 tablespoons dried onion flakes
* 1 tablespoon garlic powder
* 1 teaspoon of your favorite curry powder, to taste
* 1/2 teaspoon dried ancho chile powder
* 1/4 teaspoon dried chipotle powder, to taste (optional)

Directions

1.Put all the ingredients but meatballs into the crockpot and mix well.
2.Add the meatballs and stir to coat well.
3.Put the crockpot on low and let cook for 4 hours on low.

These were a bit spicy but even my picky eater loved them!

The secret ingredient is grape jelly!!  Sounds strange, I know.  It is really good, though!

I noticed now that Sophia is the one in most of these pictures although all of the kids were in the kitchen with me.  Her favorite place to be is right at my side in the kitchen and if I let her, she would take over!  : )      I made an angel food cake, too, with strawberry whipped topping but didn’t get a picture.  I am pretty sure angel food cake is a pretty basic recipe.  ( Don’t substitute lemon juice for cream of tarter – I found out last month it does NOT work! )

God Bless!!

On Saturday we went to a Churrascaria right here in Tallinn, Estonia!!   This is a Brazilian restaurant where the waiters go from table to table with grilled meat.  Well, this wasn’t exactly authentic – we didn’t get very much meat – but the atmosphere was so wonderful!!   We met about 15 Brazilians and spoke Portguese the whole evening.  There were about six guys who play soccer on the Estonian team.  It sure made us miss our Brazilian loved ones!!!  The culture here is exactly opposite of that in Brazil.  I miss the warmth of the Brazilian people.  I miss Saturday morning art class at our church – working on projects and chatting with the ladies.  I miss our ladies meetings.  I miss our church family coming to our home for dinner.  I miss the Brazilian culture that allows you to go to a friend’s house without an invitation ( and tea and cafe are set into instant motion ).  I miss the young people who had such a desire to serve the Lord.  I miss going over to our friends houses for hours at a time and them wondering why we couldn’t stay longer.   I miss taking my kids to a park and chatting for an hour or two with a stranger … walking away with a new acquaintance.     We would love to make a trip to Brazil next year.  The pastor of the church is doing a great job and we would love to see our beloved church people.  Our girls were born there and so techinically we have two Brazilian children ( and we have permanant visas!! ).

The waiter/cook’s name is Jorge.  He is from Sao Paulo.

Sophia enjoyed her linguica ( sausage ) and both her and Sarah devoured the authentic Brazilian black beans and rice.

So, Bob wore his Brazilian tee shirt which drew the Brazilians attention.  He speaks perfect Portuguese and Brazilians always ask him what part of Brazil he grew up in because he does not have an accent.  Me??  Not so much!!   ( They ask me what part of the USA I am from : ) )   I really enjoyed speaking Portuguese with a lady at this restaurant, though.

These are four of the guys that play on the Estonian soccer team.  They are doing pagode – making music with what ever they can find.  The guy on the end has rice inside of two plastic cups.  They couldn’t carry much of a tune but it was a lot of fun.  They kept motioning for our kids to come up front and do the somba for the crowd.  : )       So, for our Brazilian loved ones that read/look at this blog …  Joelma, Ysmine, Fernanda, Eunice, Katia, Bernice, Nivea, Alana and Bia  ( forgive me if I have missed anyone ) …   You are in my heart and my daily thoughts and prayers.   I love you all.   Bracos e Beijos.

I have been wanting to give Samuel a recipe and let him make something on his own for him to learn measurements.  I had to wait for the perfect opportunity, though.  My little Sophia LOVES the kitchen and she takes it over every chance she gets.  And she is only 3!!  So, the other day Sarah and Sophia were watching Lady and the Tramp and Sophia fell asleep so I jumped at the chance to get Samuel in the kitchen by himself and not have his little sister hanging on him ( and telling him what to do – you’d have to understand Sophia’s personailty to understand that ).  So, I asked Bob to print out an M&M cookie recipe and Samuel made them just about all by himself.   So, I will share with you our yummy recipe!

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups candy-coated milk chocolate pieces
• In a large bowl, mix sugar, eggs, shortening, and vanilla thoroughly.
• Add flour, salt, and baking soda to creamed mixture. Blend well. Add 3/4 cup of M&M candies.
• Drop dough by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet. Slightly push a few candies on top of each dough ball with remaining candies.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 9 to 11 minutes, to your liking.