Fasolikia Yiachni (Greek Style Green Beans)

My mom used to make these ALL the time.  They are delicious, but, when they are served to you everyday a lot, you get sick of eating them.

Well, that's a great way to start off a post about a recipe you are going to share.  "Hey, here's a recipe for something I'm sick of eating!"

Luckily, that was many, many years ago.  I went quite a few years without eating them.  My garden this year was overflowing with green beans and I thought I would give it a try.  I was a little hesitant, thinking it could bring up some bad memories, but, guess what?  They were delicious!  So delicious that I made them a second time.  (not in the same week)  The tomatoes add a nice flavor.  I added some potatoes (just like mom) and it makes a great meal!

Here's the recipe:


Greek Style Green Beans (Fasolakia)

Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh green beans
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1  8oz  can tomato sauce
3 small potatoes, sliced
3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

Wash green beans and remove tips.
In a large saucepan, heat oil and sauté the onions and garlic.  Add tomato sauce and door for a few more minutes.
Add string beans, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper and stir.
Add hot water to cover green beans.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer for about 45 minutes.



If you make them, let me know how they turn out.

Enjoy!

DIY Leave in Conditioner

My hair is pretty long.  I was going to cut (and donate) it last month but, Bella didn't want that to happen (lots of tears).

I found this recipe for a DIY leave in conditioner and thought I would give it a try.  This can be used on wet or dry hair.  I use this on dry hair (since I don't wash it everyday).  I have used just rosemary essential oil but am thinking of adding either Lavender or peppermint oils next time.  Rosemary alone starts to smell like eucalyptus.

Here's the recipe:

one part conditioner to 3 parts water
1 tsp fractionated coconut oil
6-8 drops rosemary essential oil
mix in spray bottle

*shake well before using

Girl Scout Swaps

I forgot to post these when we did our overnight camping trip last summer.

Our girls are really into all things pickles.  When we take attendance, they will reply, "pickle, " instead of "here."  We designed their camp shirt with a large pickle with, "Troop _____  We're kind of a big Dill."  The funny thing is, we were the largest group there at the camp with 17 girls in our troop that year!

So, we went along with the pickle theme when deciding on the swaps to make and bring to camp.  We decided on a clay pickle pin.

Supplies needed:
green clay
pins to attach pickles to (with clasp to close)
google eyes
hot glue gun and hot glue

These were pretty easy to make.  Roll green clay into a small pickle shape.  You can put a little curve (not all pickles are straight).  Use some small pieces to add bumps to your pickles.  Put on google eyes and let dry.  Once dry, use a hot glue gun to attach to a pin.

Pickle pins

The girls had fun making these and trading at camp.

What swaps have you made with your troop?

Ice Cube Tray (revisited)

I wrote a post awhile back with the instructions on how to make ice cubes using a recipe that Yiayia brought here to America from Greece.

I thought I would give a little update on how the ice making is going at our house.

Things were going well, until RT and I realized that we were the only one's making ice.  Everyone else in the house (kids) was using the ice but only two of us were filling the trays.  RT took it upon himself to empty trays into a container and hide it in the freezer (creating his very own secret stash of ice cubes).   I use ice if it's there, otherwise I go ice free.

The kids will use the ice and leave the empty trays in the freezer.

Apparently the directions on how to make the ice are a little difficult to understand.  Maybe a YouTube tutorial will help?

The Goose Whisperer

As you know, I walk everyday.  Sometimes there are geese that hang out along the trails.  They can be mean at times.  Then, there are times where they nicely move out of the way for you.  During all of my walking adventures, I picked up on how to politely get the geese to move out of the way.

I start clapping.

I probably look like a crazy fool, walking real fast and clapping my hands (I just created a really funny visual in your head, didn't I?), but, hey, it works!

Once the geese move out of the way and I walk by, I politely say, "Thank you."  Yea, I think I'm losing it.  I'm now talking to the geese on the path.

If you try the clapping with the geese, let me know how it works for you.  A funny visual for me would be greatly appreciated.  ha!

Late Arrival

Once a month the high school lets the kids sleep in. They call it, "Late Arrival."  Normally the bus picks up the high schoolers around 6:30am, getting them to school around 6:45am. I guess I should mention that school doesn't begin until 7:45am.

What? 

Yes.  They sit around at the school for an hour, socializing, and waiting for their first period class to start.  Why don't they start right away?  I don't know the answer to that question. I think it's something to do with teen torture. Oh. I should mention that they don't get home until 3:45. That's an hour after the elementary kids get home. So if you want them to watch the younger sibs, well, they can't because they are still at school. 

But, that's another topic for another day. 

So, with Late Arrival, the bus comes to pick up the students one hour and forty five minutes after their normal bus pick up time (for those of you not so good at math that's roughly 8:15am). 

The boys enjoy that one day that they get to sleep in (well, it's just Alex now in high school). In fact, they look forward to it. Unfortunately, someone always ruins it for them.  This "someone" thinks that they missed the bus so she goes yelling through the house to wake them up. They usually have to tell her that it's "Late Arrival " and they don't have to get up just yet. This usually happens several months in a row until the child finally tells this "someone" the night before, not to wake them tomorrow because it's Late Arrival.  (Even then, "someone" somehow forgets and is there yelling and waking up the whole house)

Yesterday was the first Late Arrival for the year and, well, "someone" forgot. When she realized her mistake, she wrote down all of the Late Arrival dates in the calendar, making sure to put a bright color around that date so it stands out (hoping that it helps). 

Let's see how many months it takes "someone" to figure it out this year. 

Open Window

The nights have cooled off around here. Great time to sleep with the window open. I like the room to be cool when I sleep (probably because I get real warm at night).

Unfortunately I live with someone who shuts the window during the night and I wake up to a real hot, stuffy room.

*This is the same person that, at any time of year, has 8 blankets on him when he sleeps.