Sauerkraut stew recipe

Last week, on his birthday, my eldest, who turned 9, wanted to eat sauerkraut stew. When I vlogged about this, some people asked for the recipe, so here it is :-).

What do you need (this suits 4 to 6 adults):

- 1.5 kg or 3 lb and 5 oz floury potatoes
- 750 gr or 1 lb and 10 oz sauerkraut
- 250 gr or 9 oz bacon strips
- (+/-) 15 gr or 0.5 oz butter
- (rice) milk
- 75 gr or 2.5 oz cheese (I use Gouda Old cheese)
- 2 smoked sausages (if you can get a hand on them, because I think i's really Dutch).

First peel all the potatoes (cut really big ones into smaller pieces), then put them in cold water.

Bring to a boil and boil for about 20 minutes...test with a fork if they fall apart easily...if they don't, boil a few minutes extra till they do.
In the meantime put the sauerkraut in a pan, add 5 table spoons of water, bring to a boil (just a slight boil) and boil for 25-30 minutes.

Check every now and down if there is still some water, you don't want your sauerkraut to burn.

If you did get your hand on smoked sausages, bring water close to a boil and put the sausages in and leave them in it for about 20 minutes.

Bake the bacon the way you like it (I like it somewhere in between soft and crispy).

When the potatoes fall apart when you put a fork in them, drain them.

Then add the butter, add the cheese and add some milk. Mash the potatoes and add some milk until the mashed potatoes are the way you like them.

Add the sauerkraut and the bacon.

Cut the smoked sausages and serve them on the side.

If you would like to see how to make this recipe, please watch my vlog:Sauerkraut recipe vlog

Bon appetit!

xx Dutchy

A huge cyst and head trauma Dutchy Vlog 39

Joachim has a cyst in his head which is the size of a tennis ball. It doens't cause any problems, but in the case of a head trauma we have to be extra carefull...

Is this singing???! With funny blooper :-) Dutchy Vlog 30

Today was a fun day, finally some good weather (although not really all that warm anymore), so Nathaniel and I headed off to the so called 'children's farm', he liked it very much :-).
In the afternoon the kids and I had some fun dancing. Elliott did some English reading (he loves that!).
And I did some singing....you've just got to watch that haha.

xx Dutchy

Oven dish with zucchini low carb and yummy!!

About every two weeks I make this great oven dish. My eldest, Elliott, who will turn nine next week, is the biggest fan. When I say I'll be making this oven dish, he will yell "Yippee", jump into the air and tell the other kids (they like the dish too, but not as much as Elliott, so they don't jump into they air LoL).


So I have got to share my 'secret' of how to make this great dish here with you :-).

So first of all...what do you need? Well, not that much actually...what I use and I think this will suit 4 adults is:

- 600 grams or 1.3 lbs Minced meat
- 1 zucchini (I always try to pick out the biggest one...not that it matters that much, I just want to get the most out of my money ;-) ).
- 1 big yellow union (or two smaller ones)
- 4 tomatoes (if they are quite small, take 5)
- 250 grams or  grated cheese (I use Gouda old cheese, but I guess that's not available everywhere)

For seasoning:
- garlic powder
- tumeric (this helps prevent against colon cancer, works best if combined with black pepper)
- black pepper

Warm the oven at 350 F or 175 C.

Season the meat (although I usually use frozen meat and don't season it until it's all in small pieces and mostly brown :-). Use seasoning according to taste.

Put the meat in the pan and use a (wooden) spoon to make small pieces (if someone could tell me what the term is for doing this, it would be greatly appreciated :-) ).

Cut the zucchini in little blocks (I make slices and cut those in four pieces). Cut the union into small pieces and then cut the tomatoes into pieces.

When the meat is brown, add the union. Stir every now and then for about 4 minutes and then add the zucchini. Stir every now and then for 5 minutes and then add the tomatoes. Stir for one minute and put everything into an oven dish. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top and put in the oven for about 10 mintes.

Bon appetit!

xx Dutchy

 Watch how I make this dish on my YouTube channel :-) http://youtu.be/9y4zcU8ZRyA

Kidney enlargement / dilated kidney and a Playtex sippy cup Dutchy Vlog 27

We have loved the Playtex Insulator Sippy Cup for years and especially for our youngest who had kidney surgery when he was only three months old.

Wraps with green (butter) beans recipe, easy to make

Whenever I have got the time, not that this happens very often haha, I like to try some new dish or cook a more demanding meal. Tonight I made wraps which everyone (my hubby and our 4 kids aged 8, 7, 6 and 3) looooooved. It is easy to make with just a few ingredients welll...and of course you need pots and pans and an oven 😊.

So, here are the ingredients you will need (I will leave the pots and pans part up to you ;-)):

8 small (whole wheat) wraps

140 grams or 5 oz tomato paste

100 grams or 3.5 oz cream cheese

500 grams or 17.5 oz ground meat

500 grams or 17.5 oz green (butter) beans

125 grams or 4.5 oz bean sprouts

125 grams or 4.5 oz grated cheese (I use Goudse old cheese, but that is not available everywhere I guess).

For seasoning:

union powder

garlic powder

turmeric

black pepper

that's it!

And now what you will need to do with all these ingredients...

Cut a small piece of the top and bottom of the green beans and break them in half cover them with water and let it boil for 15 minutes.

Season the ground beef with the herbs. I use tumeric a lot, because this herbs helps protect the body from colon cancer, but it the body needs black pepper in order for it to work well, so I always use tumeric together with black pepper. I am not going to tell you how much of each herb to use, do this to your own taste.

Put the meat in a pan and get small pieces by 'working' it with a (wooden or plastic) spoon.

Now that the meat is in the pan, mix the tomato paste and the cream cheese in a bowl.

When the meat is done, add the sprout beans for about 4 minutes.

Then add the (drained) green beans and mix it all together.

Spread the tomato past/cream cheese mixture on the wraps, put some of the meat/beans mixture in the middle of each wrap and close them.

Put all the wraps on an over plate and put the cheese on top. 

Put them in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 F (or 175 C) and they are ready.

Bon apetite 😊

xx Dutchy

Skateboarding mom and surprise airport pickup Dutchy Vlog 23

When I was a kid I loved skateboarding, I only knew the basics thought, no special tricks. Today I bought a skateboard for my kids, but first I wanted to see if I've still got it :-).

Let's tour my city Dutchy Vlog 22

Today I had a great day out with my colleagues! We toured my city by bike and it was great to tell the colleagues that live in other cities something about my city.
We had great lunch (I had pulled pork wraps) and diner (table barbecue), but we started off with Apple Strudel!!!
If you'd like to see more of my city (and the delicious Apple Strudel :-) ) watch my vlog.

xx Dutchy

Power outage and we love memoirs Dutchy Vlog 21

Today I thought would be another, not too exciting, day at work. But a power outage shook us up and chenged the day (for the better ;-) ).
And did you know today is 'we love memoirs day'? Well, neither did I, but  I found out yesterday. What I think of memoirs and will I be writing one? Find out in my video :-).

xx Dutchy

Chromecast, Slinky and Icecream Dutchy Vlog 20

If you didn't know (and you probably didn't ;-) ), August 30th is Slinky day! If I still would have owned one I would have garbbed it and at least had it take one run down the stairs :-). But well, no Slinky in the house anymore, so laundry it was for me today. And ironing, lots and lots of ironing.

And that ironing is so much better since we have chromecast. I watch my favorite vlogs on tv while ironing, could life get any better??? Ah well, yeah, without the ironing part it could of course :-D.

And as for the icecream...you should just watch the video.

xx Dutchy

Individual rights day and Murphy's law Dutchy Vlog 19

Today Murphy's law was fully operative... It started in the morning, one of our smoke alarms was beeping. It turned out that, although it is connected to the power in our house, it needed a new (back-up) battery.

We decided we would go biking to a birdpark 16 kilometres (10 miles) away, but when hubby prepared the bikes he saw that the canvas was shining through or the rear wheel of our oldest. So we first went to a bike shop. He didn't have the tire we needed, so he would order it and he said that we could still go to the birdpark by bike.

So off we went :-).

When we had cycled for a couple of miles we stopped to drink some water. When I got back on my bike again it suddenly had a flat tire. We had nothing to fix it with. Two women passed us and then they came back. One of the women asked if we had a bike repair kit and when we said we didn't she gave her kit to us and just drove of, that was so kind!

Elliott picked up the pieces of the tire valve and then he dropped the little ring, we searched for 10 minutes, but the little ring was nowhere to be found.

We then decided I would cycle home and hope that my tire would still be okay when I would get there. I would then take my car and drive to the birdpark by car. Halfway on my way home hubby called that Elliott had a flat tire now...a nail went in! Talking about Murphy's law....

Eventually Elliott's bike was repaired by a bike shop in the village where they were and when I got there we decided it was too late to still go to the birdpark, but there was a village fest we attended which was also a lot of fun.

At nights we had friends over, we had a great time with them and all in all we mostly laughed through it all...what else could we do :-).

Dutchy

National Bow tie day and uninvited guests Dutchy Vlog 18

Did you know that today is National Bow Tie Day in the USA?! I like 'days'  and when I know it is a 'day'  I usually happily comply. I like to have a reason to celebrate or be somewhat silly, so these kid of days are 'right up my sleeve' ;-).

Lightning photography and judo Dutchy Vlog 16

Today I was so excited, because I finally got to photograph lightning!

Scan your own groceries Dutchy Vlog 15

Some things become so normal over time...The great thng about my vlog is that I get responses from people who don't live in the Netherlands and they make me see that some things about the Netherlands are pretty special, like scanning your own groceries!

Back to school Dutchy Vlog 14

To day it was back to school for three of our four kids (Nathaniel will start school in December when he turns 4). I never like 'back to school', I love it when all the kids are at home (although I do appreciate the education of course :-) ).
They all had a great day at school, so they're off to a good start!

Healthy cupcakes Dutchy Vlog 13

As a mom I am trying to get my kids to eat mostly healthy stuff. And the cupcakes I made tonight are healthy. You can eat them for breakfast, as a snack, or give the away as a treat.
Tomorrow Joachim will give these cupcakes to his classmates as a treat for his birthday.

Our new pet and without training wheels Dutchy Vlog 12

Not even 4 years old and my youngest rode his bike without training wheels today. My little boy is not so little anymore. His oldest brother was so very proud of him, which was so great to see.

Wow, she jumped into the pond! Dutchy Vlog 11

There was a ball in the pond that the kids were eager to get. So eventually my daughter got into the pond and swam to get the ball.

Why I vlog

So yes, I vlog, but why???
Well, I love to work with camera, be it photo or video, so vlogging gives me a good reason to film :-).
I used to be mostly behind the camera, and although it is a bit weird being in front of it a lot of the time now, I am slowly getting used to that.
I love editing too. There is so much to learn about editing, and not just about editing, but about videography and so many choices to make. Making a vlog gets me to try many new and different thing editing, making intros, and all that sort of stuff. I think this is even the most important reason that I now make a daily vlog instead of a weekly one.

Further more, vlogging, can be very social. That may seem weird, I vlog in my house, or at the places where I go and I do not film many other people, so how is that social??? But the interactions on YouTube are! It is a social platform where people support each \other and help each other out and often give each other valuable feedback.

And last, but not least, it records my life, which is nice for myself in a few years time, but the kids will probably like it when they grow older too!

If you like, take a peek into my life, and if you feel like being social, please leave a comment :-).

My YouTube channel

Where are my kids?? Dutchy Vlog 10

Today, for the first time since I am a mom, I am a night without kids. There have been a few sleepovers in the past few years, but never all 4 at the same time and I have never been a night away either. Hubby was home late too, so I had the house to myself.....

Broken nose Dutchy Vlog 9

Vlogging, life-changing?!

For about three weeks I have been vlogging. And I can already answer the question in the title, yes, it is life-changing. Maybe not in the way you would expect...although, honestly, I don't know what you would expect haha.

Why has it been life-changes? For one, I always wanted to do more fun stuff with my kids, but 'stuff' often seemed to get in the way. Well, not anymore :-). A vlog needs to offer variance and that means doing different things, so as a mom who vlogs, what's better than to come up with some fun stuff to do with the kids?! My 7-year-old daughter really loved the make-up challenge I did with her. So we had a fun moment together and I had a fun challenge video to put on YouTube, so win-win!
But that's not all, I am getting more into make-up and doing something nice with my hear, because I AM putting myself out there. That being said, I have also already vlogged without any makeup or getting my hair done, but it made me a little more self concious, but in a good way (although I have to say it is very weird seeing myself on camera all the time, I used to always be behind the camera).
And there are many more small changes that have taken place that I like.

Is vlogging for anyone then? No, it is not. If you don't like filming, if you do not like getting in front of the camera, then vlogging is definitely not for you, but if you do like those things and you want to put some time into it, then yes, maybe it is, just give it a try :-).

I vlog about my life, my family, and I try to do fun stuff too, like challenges, DIY and some healthy recipes and tips on how to stay in shape.


You can find my vlog here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJha0iC5eVXfLZx7aojQhow