{ Sweet Zucchini Relish ~ The Recipe }

I made more of this incredibly yummy relish today.

I mean I had to, I only had 3 pints left in our food storage. 

This relish is so stinking Go-oD!

 I've had several people tell me that they don't like relish.  

But I being the amazing food preserver that I am, persuade them to try just a teensy tiny bit and guess what? 

They...are... hooked...

Yup, it IS that good.

It's seriously easy to make here is the recipe.

Zucchini Relish

12 cups grated zucchini

4 cups grated or chopped onion

¼ cup salt

3 red peppers shredded

1 green pepper shredded

***Mix & let sit in fridge overnight***

Next day rinse and drain.

In a big pot mix the cold vegetables with:

2 ½ cups white vinegar

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp celery seed

4 ½ cups sugar

Cook on med high heat for 30 minutes

Water bath for 10 minutes
Makes 6 pints

BBQ tomorrow night? 

Why yes, I think we will, this is so good on Hamburgers and Hotdogs!

My thanks to Nan for the fresh zucchini & Donna for the recipe.

{ The Summer Blur... }

Okay, I have to admit that when school got out for the kids I actually thought that things would slow down (enter laughter here).

I had big plans to do outings with the kids every other week.

I thought I would be able to get together with my girls and we could bang out some amazing summer crafts.

I also had the insane thought that we might be able to finish our office and laundry room, which have been torn apart for months.

Boy was I wrong!

I've decided that Summer Break with 5 kids is like giving birth.  You know that's it's going to be hard work & painful, but you forget about the work and pain after your sweet baby is in your arms.

Or in our case, when summer ends and the new school year begins.

Enter the Summer Blur. One of the main culprits this year is soccer.

We have 4 kids playing this year (all on different teams) yeah, yeah I know.
What were we thinking?

I'm a terrible parent, I never clicked any pictures of Jentry playing.... Sham on me, I think he's forgiven me though.

And the real kicker is when Addison is old enough she wants to play too.

5 playing soccer?!?

The thought alone makes me want to curl up in the fetal position in the shower and rock back & forth mumbling to myself. Oh wait, I already do that. 

So instead what I though would get done,

here is what we've been up to:

 Running to 9 games, 4 days a week.
3 kids with soccer practice in between games. 

Eating dinner @ 9pm instead of our regular 6 pm.

The 2 older boys had a substitute paper route for a couple weeks (never again).

Building Cluckinton Palace

She still needs: paint, doors, more roofing and a run. Please don't mind the construction mess.

I've started canning (again)

Super Saturday craft samples are being finished after changing my 2nd craft five times. Yes I have 2 crafts to teach. 

My little Daycare peanut Kendall comes M-F.

My husband is never home.

My house seems to always have some horrible hangover aka;
I have 6 kids everyday so my house is dirty syndrome.

Can you tell I'm ready for school to start?
I need to get back to our regularly scheduled program.

Don't get me wrong I love being with my kids but after the umpteenth fight/argument between the oldest 3.
 I'm ready for the sweet bliss of school filled days and homework nights.
(remind me of that last sentance when I'm yelling at my kids to get their homework done)

2010-2011 school morning picture from last year.
School starts in 24 days, not that I'm counting or anything.

If you made it through this long winded post, I'll bring you a jar of freshly made raspberry jam.