Outing

We took the boys to Evergreen Aviation Museum yesterday. The kids had a great time. We visited their aviation and space museums, but I think the kids enjoyed the playground the most. There was also a free carnival airplane ride for small children. They liked that too. I wished I had a camera with me. But this was our first trip there and I didn't know what to expect. On the way home, we saw that the Pepsi plant had their Christmas display open, so we went through that and then headed to one of our favorite restaurants for dinner. All in all a good day.

New Pictures

Well, I finally got some up-to-date pictures up. Our other computer was stinking slow and wouldn't download any pictures. Way to go new computer. Woo hoo! :)

Roots and Shoots First Project

We completed our first Roots and Shoots community project. The kids made bird feeders for the local wildlife rescue center. They will use them in their cages to feed the birds they are caring for. It was quite simple and the kids had fun. 1 project down, countless to go. :)

Dairy Free, Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie

Crust
(Makes 2 crusts)
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup amaranth, millet, garbanzo bean or teff flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup + 2 TBS oil
1/4 cup rice milk
1/2 cup water

Mix dry ingredients. Add liquids and mix well. Divide dough in half. Roll out dough between floured parchment papers. Turn dough into pie pan and press in.

Filling
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken (cubed)
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup butter substitute (Earth Balance)
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed
1 3/4 cups chicken broth (homemade is best)
2/3 cup rice milk

Preheat oven to 425F. In saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.

In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter substitute until soft and translucent. Stir in tapioca flour, slat, pepper and celery seed. Slowly stir in broth and rice milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove and set aside.

Place the chicken mixture in the bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover w/ top crust, seal edges and make several small slits in the top. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: You can also use a muffin pan to make about 6 individual pot pies. More work, but the kids love having their own.

Roots and Shoots

We joined a roots and shoots group. It is a community service group for school aged kids and our group is made up of all homeschoolers. The boys had a great time at the first meeting getting to know the other kids. I have great hopes for this group and hope the boys grow and learn while having fun serving our community.

G.F. Biscuits

1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup corn flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 TBS baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 TBS sugar (1/2 TBS maple sugar)
3/4 cup milk (rice or soy)
1/2 tsp salt

Pre heat oven to 375F. Mix all ingredients and pat out on floured surface, 1/2 inch thick. Cut out w/ a greased biscuit cutter or approx. 2'' glass. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake 12-15min.

Crawdads

We took the boys to Bohemia for a picnic yesterday. Todd took along his snorkel and mask and found crawdads for them in a little stream. We had a great time.