Another chance to enter Vision Forum's giveaway

There are about 5 different blogs hosting the Vision Forum giveaway right now so please forgive me for posting multiple times about the same great giveaway! I gain more entries that way! We love the Vision Forum's toys, Christian books, CDs and DVDs. You can head over to The Modest Mom blog to enter or any of these other fine blogs:
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Raising Olives
Generation Cedar

HUGE giveaway From Vision Forum

Our children drool over Vision Forum's catalog when it comes in the mail. Enough said.

My husband and I drool over the Christian books, CDs, DVDs, etc.

Head over to Life In a Shoe to enter in the giveaway!

Boys, Knives and Free Produce

What is it about boys and knives? Whatever the answer is to that question, I believe it is probably the same answer to: what is it about boys and guns? They love them and they instinctively know how to use them. They may not instinctively know how to SAFELY use them, which is why they need supervision, guidance and instruction in handling them properly.

We recently took a vacation to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. We went with my parents and it was a great time. That area is beautiful once you get past all the hoopla and merchandise for sale. Naturally a child wants a souvenir to take home and naturally, the boys wanted knives. Knives they got, with a wooden case and their name engraved on the side. Our 5-year-old still can not figure out how his name got on the side of that knife. He exclaims to everyone, "Look! It has my name on it and I don't know how it got there, I just found it like that!" I decided to let the magical mystery remain intact, so please don't tell him that there is a machine in China somewhere, stamping out children's names by the millions on all kinds of trinkets. Those knives have been in their pockets ever since.

A couple of days after returning from vacation, we were alerted to free pumpkins that were about to be brush hogged for the winter. Well, if you know me, I'm a sucker for wholesome produce and an even bigger one if it is FREE! The children and I piled into the truck, loaded the Radio Flyer wagon in the back and headed toward the 'ole pumpkin patch.

See that box? That is one of those boxes you see at Sam's and Costco loaded up with watermelons. THAT is our haul of pumpkins! I could have brought home twice that many, but it was lunchtime and I knew that at any minute I could have really grumpy children on my hands.

Here are the boys taking advantage of an opportunity to cut their fingers off use their new knives.

If we are missing a few digits the next time you see us, you'll know why.

C28 Christian Store Giveaway

I just discovered this store and guess what? They have a giveaway going on.

Head over HERE to participate.

Caramelized Onion and Gouda Bites

Thanks to Kitchen Play, we have been eating pretty good around here! The thing I most enjoy about participating in Kitchen Play's Progressive Party Menu is that I try foods and techniques in the kitchen that I would normally not try or even know about. This month's sponsor, the National Onion Association, can be proud of the recipes that various food bloggers created centering around onions.

This is my entry for the Amuse Bouche course. Megan knocked it out of the park with her Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Vol-Au-Vents. When I saw the figs and fig vinegar in this recipe, I knew I had to try it. One of my new loves is a fig spread that I found at Whole Foods, I subbed the fig spread for the fresh fig slice that Megan called for, mainly because that is what I had on hand (well, and I love it). I also opted for Back to Nature's Multi-Seed Rice Thin Crackers instead of the Vol-Au-Vents so that I could make these gluten-free.

These were super-delicious! A tasty bite! I also did not use goat cheese, but a lovely goat milk gouda that I recently discovered at Whole Foods. It is hands down one of my favorite cheeses right now. It is a mild gouda that takes on the flavor of whatever you pair it with. It was fabulous with the fig spread and fig vinegar drizzled over it.

Speaking of the fig vinegar. Take a look at this:

I know that isn't the best photo, but I had to add it for a couple of reasons: 1) I have never reduced vinegar, so that was new technique for me and 2) I picked up this beautiful Lodge piece at a garage sale for $1. I just love that! It is the perfect size for melting butter or reducing vinegar (please ignore my dirty stovetop...I had been cooking all day!).

These were so yummy that I think I need to host a party just so I can serve them!

Gluten-Free Red Onion Cutney

This is my entry for the dessert portion of Kitchen Play's Progressive Party Menu. You read that right...dessert! Yes, onions can be dessert!

This month's sponsor is the National Onion Association and I couldn't be more pleased.

Jamie created this Red Onion Chutney and I'm so glad she did! It's yummy.

I simply made it gluten-free by serving it on brown rice crisps instead of crostini. I also used a raw aged cheddar instead of goat cheese, which has nothing to do with gluten and everything to do with what I had in the fridge! Either way, it was delicious!

Here are the ingredients all lined up and ready to go (minus the olive oil, because I uh...forgot to set it out there!

The beautiful onions ready in the skillet to soften.

I loved the addition of a jalapeno pepper and cinnamon.

And here are the little bites of heaven!

I will definitely be making these again.

Thank you Kitchen Play and Jamie for giving me this wonderful recipe!

Steak, Asiago and Horseradish Cream Pizza with Caramelized Onions

Back again with another entry in Kitchen Play's Progressive Party Menu. This time with a nifty little combo of flavors paired together for a gourmet pizza.

This month's sponsor is the National Onion Association. Anyone that promotes onions is a friend of mine! I can't live without onions.

Elle's New England Kitchen created this recipe and suggested that it might go together well as a pizza. I went the pizza route for a few reasons: 1) I love pizza. 2) I had a Socca bread recipe I was dying to try and this was the perfect excuse.

I found the Socca recipe in a free Kindle download called Gluten-free, Hassle-free. Socca is a traditional bread from France and Italy that is made out of chickpea flour.

The only thing I changed in Elle's recipe was that I used socca bread for a pizza and I used Asiago cheese instead of blue. I love blue cheese, but did not have any in the house at that time.

Here are those glorious onions as they are slowly caramelizing. The house smelled terrific!

Here is a very big, juicy sirloin tip steak cooked just as Elle has suggested.

And here is the pizza! A bit rustic looking, but I've heard that rustic is all the rage right now so I'm in!

Socca is a bit tricky to work with until you get the hang of it. It is a batter the consistency of crepe batter so you need to have the heat just right and that gently twisting and rolling action of the wrist! I liked the socca and I liked Elle's recipe, so I think I'll keep them both.