Me vs the Instant Pot

Like a bunch of other hopeful cooks we ordered the Instant Pot over black friday.

Unlike many of my friends it was not love at first sight.  In fact, My first few meals kind of flopped. And flopped meals for a family of 8 seemed like a HUGE waste.

A friend online  suggested that we stop trying to do more advanced recipes so I figured before I threw it in the dumpster we would give it a shot.

So... we cooked a few chickens and made some hard boiled eggs and well.... I didn't hate it as much. My husband even made perfect rice. Perfect. Absolutely perfect cilantro lime rice.

And then we discovered how to make IP cheesecake.  OK so now it was worth keeping.

I think I was a pretty good cook before the IP but you have to start over. Pressure cooking is an entirely new way to cook.

Potatoes  (both sweet and idaho) come out pretty fantastic!

Cooked meat comes out tender although you have to rethink seasoning and you have to braise the outside or the color is a bit off on the outside.

So far we have done a few soups and they have also turned out well.  The color and the consistency of the veggies as well as the flavor is better than any stove top or cockpot  method I have used..

But am I sold that this thing can revolutionize my kitchen? How important is it really to cook frozen meat in  30 minutes?

What I have learned is it takes planning. With only 1 IP, and , really where would I store 2 anyway, and a limited power supply living in an rv without blowing a breaker it still takes planning for a family our size . Once you figure out what works and what doesn't then you have a starting point.

But honestly,  my family loves the cheesecake the best.

What a year!

With over 4000 photos I narrowed down our year in review to just 87 photos! We traveled in Florida, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,  Ohio, Kentucky,  Texas,  Arizona,  Nevada, and California and those are just the highlights!

Happy New Year to your family from ours and thanks for following our journey!

Gifts

I still have not bought a single Christmas gift for anyone in my family this year. We are still scraping things together for the blessing bags we feel God is leading us to hand out during our time here in Las Vegas. Tonight I got a glimpse into why.

I stopped at McD's on the way home from Walmart. The boys asked for sweet tea and I love listening to them talk. As I walked into this McDonald's however it was obvious that this was a different place.

One girl, who couldn't have been more than 16 sat quietly slowly eating a hamburger and sipping a drink. She had pants that were cut off, a Hoodie  and no socks on with her tattered tennis shoes. I asked her if she had a place to stay and needed gloves. She looked away and whispered "yes... I need gloves and my lips are chapped".  I ran out to the car and grabbed a premade blessing bag filled with a hat, gloves, hand warmers, long socks, chapstick  and other goodies and threw in $5 so she could buy something from them so they wouldn't toss her back out into the 52 degree gusty winds with a hint of drizzle in the air.

The boys and I talked a bit and another kid came in. Probably not more than 19.
He sat down and almost immediately the manager came over. I asked him if he had $ for food. He said no. I quickly grabbed the keys and got another blessing bag for him and again threw in $5 for a bite to eat. He stared in disbelief.  And he said... "oh my God. This is awesome. Thanks"

Vegas is a city that can make you hard. People are looking for handouts on almost every corner. But look past the hardness and see a need. Look at the eyes of the person and be genuine.

God will take care of us as we reach out to people. Besides, limited space in an rv ...right?

Best Friends are Hard to Find

I really miss my best friend Mary and our awesome friend Miss Carrie who is a very special activities coordinator at Thousand Trails Peace River. Miss Carrie finds awesome crafts and activities each winter for kids and grown ups. Mary and I are special friends too. We love to play together and laugh and swim. I miss them both very much. They are great friends that come from the love.

Written by our 9 yr old daughter :)

Lonely seasons.

Since we have been on the road we have been blessed to meet new friends wherever we are. This year however, since arriving in California it has been a dry season. Emotionally the kids and I are all struggling with the fact that despite the fact that the campgrounds that are in are FULL of people. ... we are having a hard time connecting with anyone.

California seems to have a different crowd of wanderers. People who are full time travel workers. I suppose we have become accustomed to traveling with a friendlier crowd. People who wave and greet each other when you take a walk. And I simply can't figure out how to break the code.

Other things are different too. While Frank is gainfully employed with RV Armor he is away from us more and more. We can't seem to catch up with vehicle repairs and kids growth spurts. Sometimes it feels the reason we hit the road in the 1st place are so very far away from what life seems to be turning into just to make ends meet.

God is providing. Even though sometimes it's hard to see. I am trying to find the best in things. Last week  we made it to a camp potluck. It was a nice evening. Thankful we have enjoyed the blessing of an evening of shared food with new faces.

A day at the nut farm

Bates nut Farm is a great fall family day. There are lots of things you can do there.
We met another roadschooling family that day because it's always more fun to share your adventures with  friends.

There is a huge pumpkin patch. You can pick a pumpkin from the piles of pumpkins they have gathered or go out into the fields and find your own perfect pumpkin. There is also a scarecrow contest. Someone made a spider. I think that was my favorite one!

There were all sorts of farm animal from geese , pigs, goats, llamas, turtles and more! You could feed and pet them.
There were lots of shady picnic spot to eat our lunch. It was also my grandma's birthday so we took a tray of cookies.

The live music that weekend was fun too. It was country toe tapping music. My little brother danced to it.

There is a country store filled with all kinds of goodies. There was tea, fudge, ornamemts , nuts, candy, hot sauce, jams and so much more. My favorite part of the store was the souvenir area.

We didn't have time to take the hayride but maybe you can.

Www.facebook.com/batesnutfarm

The author of the post is our 11 yr old son.

A day at the nut farm

Bates nut Farm is a great fall family day. There are lots of things you can do there.
We met another roadschooling family that day because it's always more fun to share your adventures with  friends.

There is a huge pumpkin patch. You can pick a pumpkin from the piles of pumpkins they have gathered or go out into the fields and find your own perfect pumpkin. There is also a scarecrow contest. Someone made a spider. I think that was my favorite one!

There were all sorts of farm animal from geese , pigs, goats, llamas, turtles and more! You could feed and pet them.
There were lots of shady picnic spot to eat our lunch. It was also my grandma's birthday so we took a tray of cookies.

The live music that weekend was fun too. It was country toe tapping music. My little brother danced to it.

There is a country store filled with all kinds of goodies. There was tea, fudge, ornamemts , nuts, candy, hot sauce, jams and so much more. My favorite part of the store was the souvenir area.

We didn't have time to take the hayride but maybe you can.

Www.facebook.com/batesnutfarm

The author of the post is our 11 yr old son.