yummy recipes and exciting news!

EASY Blueberry Cobbler


1 cup Bisquick


1 cup milk


1 cup sugar


2-3 cups blueberries





Mix the Bisquick, milk and sugar together - pour into baking pan. Then dump the blueberries on top. If you desire, mix another 1/3 cup sugar with the blueberries. Bake for 30 -40 minutes at 400 degrees... yum!!



Zucchini Breakfast Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
6-8 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce or other hot chili sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups grated zucchini (from 2-3 fresh zucchinis)
1 1/2 cups chopped plum tomatoes (from 4-5 fresh tomatoes),
1/2 cup sliced fresh basil (from about 20 leaves)* chopped
4 cups cubed day-old bread (from about 4 slices)
Olive oil to coat baking pan
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl beat the eggs. Add the ricotta and beat until smooth. Mix in the grated Parmesan cheese, Tabasco, salt and pepper.
2 Prepare the vegetables and bread. Once you chop the tomatoes, squeeze excess moisture out of them by pressing them in a sieve, or wrapping in paper towels and squeezing. Add the tomatoes, basil, and zucchini to the egg mixture. Moisten the bread cubes with a little water then squeeze out any excess moisture using paper towels. Mix the bread cubes into the egg mixture.
3 Grease 9x13 pan. Pour the egg vegetable mixture into the baking pan and even it out in the pan. Place in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F. The casserole should puff up and brown lightly. If it hasn't after 30 minutes at 350, increase the heat to 425° and cook for 5-10 minutes further. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.
Makes 6-8 portions.
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I have a new NEPHEW!! My sister Natasha and her husband Reese had a baby boy (their second boy) on July 31st!! Case William -- he came a little early, but he's doing well. One thing great about him coming early is that Natasha, Reese, Lane and Case have two weeks together their little family of four!! Reese is having that much time off from work! I think that is perfect that they have a chunk of time together just their little family!
The news of the birth of this sweet baby makes me want to hop on a plane for San Diego!!

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Vance, the boys and I had a WONDERFUL weekend in Lynden!! Pictures to come!!

Feeling GRATEFUL and INSPIRED

My sweet boys... and a baby girl to be (I'll post a recent pregnancy pic soon, this one was taken mid June... I have grown :)

This has been the most fun summer I can remember... watching these boys explore and play has been a JOY!

sometimes inspiration comes from the little things... we all have to find what inspires us. Blooms, art, a walk along the beach...

And isn't our attitude so affected by how grateful we are? There is so much to be inspired by and grateful for! God is good.

sweet simple cards made for a few of my dear friends

more blooms!

and if this adorable little shop (far from here) isn't inspiring!? (photo compliments of Daisy Cottage)

a darling dress my dear friend Maria just made... she has some serious sewing talent

a wall adorned with 12x12

(photo compliments of BHG)

scrapbooking paper... love it!

There is a link to my sister Natasha's blog on my blog. Be inspired by her DARLING bargain baby's room!

Enjoy your day...

Thriftin' Thursday along with a little baseball fun

Oh the thriftin' fun! I hope our baby girl likes thriftin' as much as my boys do!

Check out the handmade, beautifully knitted dishcloths! 20 cents each! (and the CUTE vintage children's book also pictured was a gift from my sweet friend Lisa!) The quilted pillows are headed out to a wooden rocking chair down by the cabin! 50 cents each. The wine brick is soo fun $1.99. And the two books - 50 cents each... one of them is really marked up. Both are the teacher's editions of an old reading series. The one that is marked up a bunch I will tear into and use the fun, bright pictures for my card making. In fact, I think I feel a give away coming on... maybe some cute, bright children's cards made with illustrations from one of these old books!

Last night, Merit, Will, Vance and I supported our local baseball team, the Pirates. This was my first game of the season, but the guys second game. It was a great way to spend a beautiful summer evening. We have had lots of 90 -100 degree temps for the past two weeks. It sure feels good sitting out at a Pirate's game once the sun has gone down with a Thelma's Frozen Lemonade.

this brown eyed boy is a huge sports fan! Baseball, football, NASCAR! He is a big supporter of the Pirates, even though they have had few wins this season :)

Summer evening photography

Beautiful, breathtaking... Gracie's eyes may be the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. And this chunky, sweet baby... so much sweetness in these little ones.

Our weekend and baby girl thoughts

Spending time at the creek relaxing and trying to fit in a little card making :)

My youngest brother Phil and his good friend John spent the weekend with us. They added some laughter and fun to the Jansen house! Our boys love these guys! In fact, when they left Merit was very sad. He had a ball with his uncle and friend! We spent a lot of time hanging out in the yard with them, they went for golf cart rides with the boys, played the Wii with them and entertained some of their silly, fun games. :) Saturday night we went to the Ephrata races - that was a blast.

Yesterday afternoon and evening we went boating with our friend Jeff on Moses Lake. Moses Lake is a great boating lake. Merit went tubing for the first time and we just enjoyed relaxing in the sun! I hope to post some pics of this soon! I didn't have my camera but Jeff had his.

By about 3 or 4 these days I am ready for a little nap. And my pregnant belly is really growing. Vance and I discuss names every other day or so. Agreeing will be a challenge! :) When I was pregnant with Merit we knew that if we had a boy we would name him Merit. When I was pregnant with Willem, we did not have a favorite girl name or a favorite boy name. We went to the hospital with several of each. After he was born, we went through our list of the top 5 boys names and he just seemed like a Willem. He IS a Willem, and Will suits him wonderfully too. Now we are so fortunate and blessed to add a baby girl to this family! This squirming, kicking, rolling baby girl keeps me entertained! It is so fun to feel how much she is growing and moving!

Oh, and I have been sneaking away to our cabin just a little here and there for pieces of relaxation and card making! See photos! I love this little get- away!

More one year old sweetness... look at this cutie pie

Thanks for coming out Kyla (and mommy too :)

Lil' Miss Adeline

This week my photography allows me to capture two darling one year old girls! One photo shoot was Monday night. The weather was perfect and the subject adorable!! Tomorrow morning I have another sweet one year old coming out!

July fun

BLOOMS AND BUTTERFLIES

Some of the beauty July brings

Vance was fishing in Alaska over the 4th -- he brought home some delicious sockeye that we enjoyed three different nights last week!

We enjoyed fireworks a couple of nights before he left... the boys LOVED the show!! Also, we had a gorgeous sunset that night.