mommypipsqueak

Stop. Listen. And really live life.

2011-10-10T22:45:00.000-07:00

My middle baby. He's the center of the cookie; the sweet frosting.

It's been awhile since I've written about life. I do other things besides cook. ha ha I also teach kids (my own and others). I try to be a loving, patient wife, mom and puppy owner...some days. I sew, garden and just, well, live life, you know? Tonight as I sat for a couple hours, reading to my kids (yes, I said a couple of hours! They were begging me to keep reading!). I had one of those incredible moments where I realized:

"I'm living it. Right now."

Do you ever have those moments? It's when you know you will think back and miss this. It's when you think, this is really life. This is a good life. There are things we could complain about of course; hard days, looooooong school days and more. But God gives us moments when we can stop and listen.

He truly gives us the perfect amount of time we need to live fulfilling lives.

Can you really feel the excitement of your kids being kids? Can you feel their joy of hearing a good adventure story? Do you see the way your child's face lights up when he's being helpful of his own desire? What about the way a little one brings you a dandelion, just wanting to do something special for you? (And you don't have the heart to tell him it's a weed.) ;) Do you take the time to praise your child for the things he's doing good?? Do you stop and think what it's like for your kids to live in your home?

My oldest baby, who really wants to be a 'man'.

I really do. At least, I do try to. I struggle though, like all moms, I'm sure, with patience. I seem to hear myself say too often, "Hurry and do.....(insert anything)." And then I realize, 'what am I hurrying for? We have nothing else planned for the day'. Maybe it's because I try to fit too much into my days? (ha ha ME??? No way!) So then I say, "No, don't hurry, just do a good job."

As a mom, I really want to live life with my kids. It's the same for being a wife. I don't want to take for granted one day spent with any of them. They are all precious to me.

Lord, please give me the strength, wisdom, power, love, patience and kindness...... to live this out well.

I guess I'm writing to encourage anyone who's just speeding through life. Stop. Slow down.

My baby girl, growing up.

We only get today. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. I know we've all heard that but it's really true. Live life well.

Love God with ALL your heart.

Love your kids and husband like this is your last day with them!

Grandma's Shrimpies

2011-10-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

Shrimpies are a favorite Christmas treat!

Here is another favorite family recipe you are sure to love! That is, if you like shrimp, cream, butter and cheese! Serve these warm and watch them disappear! At Christmastime Grandma T. used to make multiple batches of these along with so many other wonderful treats! Every time I make them, I think of her and do miss her! She was a great cook and had a generous, hospitable heart but she could sure be ornery too! It makes me smile remembering some of the things she's said or done that I may have thought but never actually would say! LOL Enjoy her Shrimpies and share!

Grandma T.'s Shrimpies
Crust:
1 cup butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoon heavy cream
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2-2 cups mini shrimp

Filling:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3 lightly beaten eggs

Topping:
1/2 cup grated cheeses (Cheddar and Parmesan)
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a medium bowl, cream well: butter and cream cheese. Beat in 2 T heavy cream. Work in the flour and 1/2 tsp. salt to make a pastry dough. Form into long rounds, about 1" thick, seal in waxed paper and refrigerate for several hours (or freeze to harden quicker).

2. After dough has hardened, heat oven to 425'.

3. Slice pastry dough in 1/8"-1/4'' slices and press into mini muffin pans, pressing around sides. Lay about 4- 6 mini shrimp on top of pastry dough.

4. Combine 1 1/2 cups heavy cream and 3 lightly beaten eggs; set aside.

5. Combine cheese and salt and pepper.

6. Spoon about 1/2 Tablespoon- 1 Tablespoon egg mixture over shrimp. Sprinkle with cheese.

7. Bake 5 minutes at 425'. Reduce heat to 350' and bake 15 minutes longer or until Shrimpies are set and lightly browned on top. Best when served immediately but also works well to make ahead and heat in a crock pot.

NOTE: To heat in a crock pot, line pot with foil, layering Shrimpies and foil. Keep on Low setting so as not to burn the Shrimpies.

Can be kept in freezer for up to 3 months.

Use a plastic knife or flat utensil to scoop out of a non-stick pan. Sometimes they stick but usually they just pop out after a little help!

Fruit Cobbler

2011-10-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

Make this Fruit Cobbler in a muffin cup for a smaller treat!

I seem to be doing a series on old family favorite recipes but sometimes the old ones are the best ones! Mom has made this delicious recipe since I was a kid and now it's one of our favorite recipes too. Try any fruit; peaches, plums, blackberries, marionberries, rhubarb, blueberry.... If you're using home-canned fruit, I'd use 2 quart jars, minus the liquid.

Fresh canned peaches make a great cobbler!

Mom's Fruit Cobbler

1. Melt 1/2 cup butter in a 9''x13'' pan.

2. In a bowl, mix:

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk

pinch salt

Beat well; pour over melted butter.

3. Top with 8 cups of fruit. Sprinkle sugar over entire dessert.

4. Bake for 60 minutes at 375'.

I sprinkled Pampered Chef Sweet Sprinkles on to add extra flavor and...because they are just good! :)

Mini Peach Cobblers!

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Muffins

2011-10-01T15:16:00.000-07:00

YUM! What's better than a big, delicious, full breakfast? Well, miniaturize it into muffins and it's not quite as high in calories! I think these would freeze well and then just pop them into the microwave and enjoy a tasty breakfast in a hurry! Homemade convenient food. A friend and I were talking through good 'ol FB about food- surprise, surprise!! I wondered what a regular blueberry muffin recipe would be like if you switched the blueberries for eggs, bacon and chunks of cheese and modified it a little. To my surprise, it was more delicious than I thought it would be. You could leave out some of the sugar but I love the salty/sweet combination so I left it in.

Thanks, Mary R., for your help in figuring these things out and for the idea of mixing the eggs on top rather then leave them whole. I think it would fun to try these in a LARGE muffin pan with a whole egg and see how they turn out!! These regular-sized muffins cannot hold a whole egg! LOL :)

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Muffins

Muffin batter:
2 cups flour
2 T - 1/3 cup sugar (depending on if you like the salty sweet combination)
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted (or 1/4 cup oil)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, cubed
4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

Topping for muffins:
3 eggs
course salt
pepper
shredded or thinly sliced cheddar, about 2-4 oz

-Makes about 18 muffins

If bacon needs cooked, start by cooking it in either a frying pan, or in a jelly roll (Large Stoneware Bar Pan) in the oven till crispy. Cube cheddar if needed.

Preheat oven to 425'

1.Mix the dry ingredients for muffin batter in a large mixing bowl, add the milk and butter and mix till just combined. (Batter will still be lumpy). Add cubed cheese and bacon. Mix evenly.

2. Line muffin pan with paper liners. Fill 1/2 full with batter. Bake for 10 minutes.

3. Remove from oven, leaving oven on.

4. In a small bowl, beat 3 eggs very well. Spoon about 1/2 - 1 1/2 tablespoonfuls of beaten egg over each baked muffin, trying not to spill over the paper liner. Lightly sprinkle with course salt and pepper.

5. Bake muffins till eggs are done, or about 8-10 minutes. Watch them!

6. Remove muffins from oven. Top with shredded or thinly sliced cheese. Allow to sit until cheese is melted. Serve while still warm!

For visual learners follow along with the photos or.... if you just want to be tempted to make them! :)

I LOVE cooking bacon in my stoneware Bar Pan. (Pampered Chef of course!) I usually cook it at 400' for about 15 minutes. Save the bacon grease in a covered jar in the fridge for frying up eggs! (I didn't say this was a healthy way to cook them, but it's delicious and adds great flavor! You don't need much to add flavor either!)

Crispy, perfect bacon. You don't want chewy pieces in your muffins. Nope. Just not good.

Chop it up till it's about 1/2''.

Thickly slice cheese, then cut it into 1/2'' strips.

Cut it again the other way and you have cubes! (duh, I know... I just thought you'd like looking at Tillamook Cheddar cheese.... ha ha)

Mix in cheese! Mmmm

Mix in bacon. Use a Medium Scoop to fill muffins 1/2 full.

Don't fill muffin liners any fuller than this... this was even a little too much in this picture. Remember they expand and you will be adding eggs, which expand too! Bake.

Add thinly sliced cheese, or shredded cheese and let sit till the cheese is all melty and gooey.

Enjoy!

More Pie? How About Mini Pies and LARGE Pies?

2011-09-30T20:58:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share some cute little pies...and not so little pies I made with you. It's fun to come up with different uses for pie crust! Share your ideas too!

Mini turkey pies! Line a mini muffin pan with small rounds of pie crust and fill with turkey pie filling (just like turkey soup without as much broth). Fill with fruit filling for sweet pies!

Cover with another round of dough on top and press gently into the bottom crust, blending the two doughs. Use a fork to make them stay...and so they look pretty. :)

Use a LARGE muffin pan for an individual size of turkey pie, or of course fruit pie. Cover as above mentioned.

Make ham and cheese pies using pie crust and ... you guessed it: ham and cheese! I've decided that next time I will make a cheese sauce (white sauce and add cheese) so that they aren't as dry. I love this idea though because it makes nice snacks for the kids during school, my husband's lunch or.. just whenever!

After you'd topped the bottom crust with filling, top it with another crust...

This tool is splendid. I'm not sure if they are still selling them but it's made by Pampered Chef. You make the circles first and then press down in the top handle so it will crimp the edges like this....

Aren't they cute?

Cut a small slit in the tops of each one to allow air to vent through. Be creative! Fill it with fruit, pepperoni, sauce and cheese, chicken, just veggies...

How about a HUGE pie? Line a Large Bar Pan with pie crust, fill and top! It serves more and if you love the crust best, this is the way to go because there isn't as much filling as a regular pie pan would hold.

Not perfect but still good.

And...there's dinner!

Ceasar Salad Wraps

2011-09-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

Are you getting of the same old kind of salad? I get tired of it! My new sister-in-law's Dad has a great recipe that I've been using now! If you need an impressive salad for a potluck or even just a fun way to eat salad at home...try this one out! It's SUPER simple!

I added halved orange, cherry tomatoes from the garden. Even though they are tiny they sure have incredible flavor!

Caesar Salad Wraps

Romaine heart Lettuce (The kind that is still whole and not chopped up in a bag)

Caesar Dressing of your choice

Parmesan or Italian blend cheese

sunflower seeds, pine nuts, soy nuts

lime

1.Chop the end off the lettuce that you don't eat. Wash the lettuce. Dry it with paper towels. Lay it out flat in a single layer on a platter or large plate. (Be creative and make a circular design or...??? whatever you come up with!)

2.Drizzle Caesar Salad dressing over the leaves, mostly in the centers of the leaves.

3.Sprinkle nuts and seeds over it. I use about 20 seeds/nuts in all on one leaf. (Pine nuts are $16/lb so you'll want to use them sparingly anyway, right?)

4.Sprinkle cheese over the top of that.

5.Slice a lime, lengthwise, making wedges and squeeze the juice over the entire salad. (It's nice to add several wedges around the platter in case someone wants to add extra zip to their salad.)

6.The best part is HOW to eat it! (ha ha) Grab a whole leaf, fold it in half lengthwise and eat it like a taco! Kids really love these because it makes salad fun!

NOTE: Try it with strips of seasoned, cooked chicken for an entire meal!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Honey-Mustard Dressing

2011-07-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

Try something new this summer. I know spinach strawberry salad isn't new to some of you but I'm surprised by how many people have not yet tried it- including me until just recently! This is a great recipe for summer and the abundance of spinach in your garden!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing- Our new favorite!

I was invited over to a friend's house for lunch recently- which I never get to do! She made Strawberry Spinach Salad with Chicken as the main dish, homemade bread and homemade sweet tea! I appreciate homemade food so much! It's probably because I realize the effort that it takes to create it! Her meal was splendid- so good that I had 2 bowls of salad! LOL (...Not very lady like I'm sure!) So, when I came home, I decided to try it out on my family. I wasn't sure what they'd think of spinach salad alone, but with strawberries I thought the kids might give it a try. I used the Honey Mustard Dressing that our family loves, and now this has become a new family favorite! I hope your family loves it too!

Check out Carrie's Blog too: http://www.thebackyardfamwife.blogspot.com/ She's got crafty things, garden, family, cooking...etc. We have a lot in common! :)

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Honey -Mustard Dressing

Ingredients:

Spinach- use as much as your family will eat. We use about 1/2 bag per per meal if it's not the main dish.

1/2 pint sliced strawberries

1/4 cup combined sesame seeds and or sunflower seeds, toasted (see directions below)

Honey Mustard Dressing (see directions below)

Prepare spinach by pulling off the long stem pieces, if desired. Evenly place the sliced strawberries on the spinach, then mix. Sprinkle with seeds and serve with Honey- Mustard Dressing.

Directions for toasted seeds:

In a small frying pan, toast seeds till they smell "nutty" and are slightly browned.

Honey Mustard Dressing- mmm... goodness.

Kristin's Honey-Mustard Dressing

The original recipe is from www.food.com . My husband prefers it sweeter with less mustard flavor so I add more honey than they do. The recipe claims that is comes straight from the Red Robin's Training Book and this is just scaled down. Either way, we love it-- whether it's the real thing or not!

1 1/3 cups mayonnaise

4 1/2 T white sugar

3 1/2 T honey

2 T mustard

2 T Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard

2 T white vinegar

2 T vegetable oil

1 1/2 T poppy seeds

Mix all ingredients together with a whisk. Store in a covered container or quart jar with a lid and refrigerate.

Use for salad dressing, dip for chicken strips or one of our favorite things: use it instead of mayo on a sandwich! Enjoy!

It's so healthy and light that it goes well with pasta too!

Chicken Penne Alfredo with Bacon and Broccoli

2011-06-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

Here's our latest favorite! My husband claims this is in my top 10 best recipes and I made it up! Sweet! If you pair this with a fresh Spinach Strawberry Salad, it's a perfect meal of comfort and healthy!

1. Start by boiling water for the pasta. For this recipe, use 1 box of Barilla Penne pasta. Cook till tender (al dente- as directed by the package). Drain and set aside in a large pot or bowl, keeping warm with a lid on.

Meanwhile;

2. Cook 4 pieces of bacon in a large frying pan, reserving bacon grease. (Cover with splatter screen to make it less messy!) Cool on paper towels or paper napkins. Cut the bacon into bite-sized pieces and add to the pasta pot.

3. Cut 3-4 chicken breasts in bite sized pieces and fry in the bacon grease with seasoning of your choice. I use Pampered Chef's Sun-Dried Tomato Seasoning Mix and Johnny's Seasoning. Add salt if necessary. Cook until lightly browned. Add chicken to the pasta pot, leaving a little grease in the frying pan.

4. In the pan from the chicken, saute' 4-6 cloves of freshly pressed garlic. This only takes about 30 seconds. Watch it carefully so that it doesn't burn. Use this pan to make the sauce next.

5. To make the sauce: Melt 1/4 cup butter in the frying pan or in a saucepan on medium heat. Take pan off heat and stir in 1/2 cup flour. Slowly pour in 1 pint of cream (heavy cream is richer, 1/2 & 1/2 is good, milk might work but I'd call it low-fat). Return to stove. Stir until it's well combined and then thickened. Once it's a thick sauce, add 1 cup sour cream or 4 oz. cream cheese (for a richer sauce), then pour in the amount of milk you like for how thick you want the sauce. I think I use about 1 1/2-2 cups of 2% milk. Remember that it's better to use less to start with. You can always add more later to thin the sauce. Add salt (to taste, about 1 teaspoon) and a spinkle of pepper. Cook a few minutes longer until it's the consistency you want. Add to the pasta pot.

6. Either between cooking the above things or after, steam 1-2 heads of broccoli. Add to the pasta pot, of course!

7. Stir the pasta pot and serve with a delicious salad! Out kids love this recipe so hopefully yours will too! I used 6 cloves and it wasn't too spicy. Next time I may use more!

*Note: You could also bake this once it's cooked and mixed or keep it warm in an oven-safe pan on low heat.

**Also, I normally add about 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan to my alfredo sauce and that would be wonderful with it. I just didn't have any and it was still loved by all without it! :)

Blog Button

2011-05-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

Here's my new blog button! Add it to your blog or share with a friend to link back here!

If you have any problems using it, let me know and I'll try to correct it. I'm so new at this technology stuff! :)

Chocolate Cream Pie

2011-05-17T23:31:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Cream Pie
From Taste of Home - These guys have GREAT recipes!

DEE-licious, I say!! Store-bought puddings do not compare to homemade ones! My husband loves chocolate pudding on toast for breakfast. So, there's a new use for it if you needed an idea! :) (That's what his mom made for them growing up.) The next time I make it, I need to snap a picture for my blog! Oops! Sorry guys! It's also great with whipped topping!

1 cup sugar
2 ounces squares of unsweetened chocolate
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups milk
3 slightly beaten egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter
1 tsp vanilla

In saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt. gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat or microwave on high until mixture boils and thickens. Cook 2 minutes longer on stove top, or stir and cook 30 seconds longer in microwave. Stir small amount of the hot mixture into the egg yolks; return to hot mixture. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly on stove, or microwave 1 minute on high. Remove from heat or microwave. Add butter and vanilla; cool to room temperature. To prevent rubbery crust from forming, put clear plastic saran wrap or waxed paper directly on top, touching surface of the hot pudding , clear to the sides of bowl. Pour into baked pastry shell. Top with Meringue.

Meringue: Beat 3 eggs whites with 1/4 tsp cream of tartar and 1/2 tsp vanilla until soft peaks form. Gradually add 6 tablespoons sugar, beating until stiff peaks form and all sugar is dissolved. Spread atop pie, sealing to pastry. Bake at 350' about 12-15 minutes, or until meringue is golden. Cool.

Proverbs 31 Woman part 1

2011-05-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

The Virtuous Woman

This is a study of the virtuous woman talked about in Proverbs 31. She is married with a husband. She also has a family. If you are reading this and you are single, or have no children this still applies just in slightly different ways. Being single allows you to be at a special place with God. You are wholly His! Whether you eventually marry or not, I urge you to live a holy life, glorifying God and following the example He lays out in Proverbs 31 for women. Be His precious jewel!

This study is outlined for use in a class where there is interaction between the leader and the rest of the group. If you want to print it for yourself or for others, please do!

Questions to Ponder...
Does God want us to be virtuous women?
Is it hard to find a virtuous woman?
Why is she hard to find?
Where would you search for one?
Who's looking for a virtuous woman?
What if you were the one choosing a wife for your son? What kind of wife would you choose?
What are the real characteristics or virtues in the Lord's eyes? What are the things in a wife that REALLY matter?

Proverbs 31:1-10
King Lemuel's mother taught him what kind of wife to find in Proverbs 31; A godly wife. Let's look at the context. King Lemuel's mother is telling him how not to be in the first part of the chapter; getting drunk and doing things that destroy kings. Also she encourages him to “speak up” for the unfortunate. “Defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.” So, basically, be a GOOD and honorable king!

Starting in verse 10, she teaches him what a Godly wife (woman) looks like; what kind of wife to find for himself.

“An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels.” Proverbs 31:10

Discussion:
What comes to your mind about this verse?
Do you think of jewels and how precious they are? Jewels are costly, expensive and extravagant. Are the "good ones" taken?? Are there any girls left that are godly?

Where do we (personally) get our idea of what a valuable woman looks like: from the world or from God?

God does want us to be virtuous women! We need to instill and teach our daughters to become virtuous women and encourage and train our sons to look for this kind of woman for their future wives.

The word "virtuous" means: courageous, vigorous, brave/industrious, hard-working (almost like how you'd think of a man working hard, but in the ways a woman would work.)

My thoughts:
“I want to be this woman!!” (This is just the first verse of the description of this woman so if you read ahead, you just might be inspired to be more like her too!) :) I've heard guys negatively speak of their wives as a “ball and chain”, “the warden”, “a nag”, “the old lady”. I want my husband to speak good of me if it's at all in my ability. We know that we are not perfect, of course. There are bad days when we are just being naggy, crabby etc. I find myself becoming that way if I'm stressed, worn out or hungry. BUT I do not want my husband's first thoughts of me to be negative. I do not want this to be my “way of life”; an all too familiar pattern. It's important to me that he values me as I am. Yet, do you strive to be valuable to him? What if you were the topic of your husband's conversation at work and he described you... What would he say about you? Would he describe you as excellent? Would he describe you as virtuous? Would he compare you to a costly jewel?

Read Proverbs 12:4 - “[She is the] crown of her husband”

Hard Questions...

Do you strive, (with the help and work of the Holy Spirit), or work towards being an excellent wife or are you just OK with “being married”?

How much MORE precious and valuable is an excellent wife than "just a wife”?

Discussion:
Do you see your value in your husband's life? In your kid's lives? (Leave for a weekend and you'll see it! :) Do you see the need in your family for you to be virtuous? How does being virtuous affect your home? Your church? Society in general?

Women these days have many roles: teacher, student, housewife or business woman, to name a few. We will not be perfect at everything we do, but we should strive to be Godly women in our roles as a young woman, a wife, an employee, a mother, a grandmother...etc. Be virtuous!

Here's a simple example: I've been learning (LONG process for me), that my day goes much better if I don't cram too much into too little time, eat on time, and most importantly, if I don't start the morning by asking the Holy Spirit to be with me, guiding me in my day. He will remind me of the time I had (in the morning) of my “letting go of my SELF" more. And He will guide my day. I find that I am a much better Mom, wife and person when I've done this.

“An excellent wife (virtuous woman), who can find? For her worth is far above jewels.”

This week:

Search the Bible for comparisons of good/ not good women- for fun! Come back and report. Give feedback here if you'd like. I'd love it! Talk to God about where you're at with Him. Open your heart if there's something He's leading you to change in your day, or your attitude. Be encouraged that you are loved like a precious jewel. God loved you so much that He gave His son for you. And He gives us His Holy Spirit to counsel us and guide us. Whether you are married, single or widowed, God's desire is for you to be holy and His word (the Bible) is filled with the tools for that!

O How He Loves Us!

2011-05-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

Today as I was working in my garden- getting part of it tilled up, with a little sadness, I noticed so many of the unfinished projects we have around our home, or simply things that are begging to be repaired; things that I get so tired of writing on to-do lists for later times. I started doing that thing that I do so well, thinking, "I wish that could be done..." , "I wish we could have..." :) Then I stopped and thought about why those things aren't done. Why do I have ugly old boards holding up my raised beds in the garden? Because it's what I had to work with and I'm so glad we have been able to have a garden! Why don't we have new gutters yet after that crazy storm a couple of years ago? Because eating and keeping our house was of more priority.

I spotted this teeny little heart-shaped lettuce (from our garden) when I was washing it last summer. So cool!

All of a sudden it hit me.

How did we survive?

With "average" debt, many medical bills, usual bills, mortgage, basically one income... How?

How many times was money just not there? Lots but somehow we were able to pay for the things we needed. Also how many times did we go without food? None. Did we lose things that meant a lot to us? No. God really stretched our dollars and provided in miraculous ways I guess. I can't tell you that money fell from the sky, but somehow, we made it through!
God, of course provided for us!

In fact, I can't believe the things we have had through that hard time! We didn't have to sell everything we owned! I had a bountiful garden that gave us good food and we just managed to do without extra. Even the things we were able to do, with how little we had, amazes me. Money is just one small example in our lives of how well God has taken care of us- even in our stupidity with how we've handled money. (blech!) He's been there when I've been really sick with physical things too. God saw us through that just the same, with love.

I have friends (and their families) who are going through incredible losses or awful health situations right now and I'm hoping and praying that one day, they too will see, or get to the other side soon and wonder how in the world they made it through! It's hard to go through hard stuff and it's nice to get a breather! I hope that they will also recognize God's loving, caring hand in their lives too!

I'm sure you can remember times in your life when things were so hard and you wondered how you would make it. Then you get through it and wonder how you did indeed make it!
God. It's that simple. He is SO GOOD to us, and it seems like you recognize that even more when you least deserve it!! We are very blessed! And the lessons God has taught us through hard times is invaluable. We just don't get it when life is...easy. I encourage you to allow God to work in you through the hard times too. Life is SO hard but with God it is SO good.

Homemaking, A Lost Art Found

2011-05-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

NEW BLOG CLASSES COMING SOON!!!
Read on for details!

I love the peacefulness of these colors on her bed as I open her door, walk in and see it! It's so soothing!

While you're reading, I thought I'd let you peak at something I worked on a couple weeks back for my daughter. I made her a "gentle" rag quilt with muslin and a variation of old colors for her bed.

I wanted to tell you about something else that I've been doing. For the past couple of months I've been leading a Women's Bible Study plus Homemaking Class at our home. It came about because of "talking" on Facebook with my friends about the things I like to do. There are so many things like; sewing, cooking, canning, putting up foods, how to make certain crafts..etc. It was on my heart to do this for about 6 months before we started getting together and I love how it's sort of blossomed into a special time I really look forward to!

Maybe this sounds like something you'd like to start in your own community of friends? Well, I thought I write about the details so that maybe you'd feel inspired to create your own group.

We start at about 11:30. The wee ones are brought along and are watched by a couple of young ladies here so that the mom's don't have to find babysitters. First we read through the verse for the day and discuss it and other Bible verses that speak about the same general subject. We're studying the Proverbs 31 Woman and going through it, really just one verse each week.

Then after about an hour we break for a sack lunch that each person brings. The children are then with us , eating and the ladies chat for a few minutes while eating. I try to have some sort of snack to go along with it. Granola, deviled eggs, pumpkin muffins..etc. It's also nice when some forget their lunch in case I don't have enough lunch to share! (leftovers usually!!)

Her name is Talia Nicole and this label on the back has the meanings of her name as well as a "comforting" verse (because it's a blanket, I wanted it to be about comfort.) :)

Then after our lunch break the women get back together and learn a certain skill that we've already discussed or planned. During our first Class I taught how to make cheese crackers and graham crackers. (One of my favorite things to do is bake something that you *think* can only come from the store!) The next classes were "How to make healthy homemade baby food", "Couponing", "How to sew in an elastic waistband to clothing", "How to make homemade Castille Soap" and the most recent class was "How to give boy's a good home haircut". I can't explain to you how excited I am for other women to come into our group also and share what they know about these things too! I love the fact that it doesn't all have to come from me! We can be blessed by each other's talents! So cool!

Are you bummed you can't be there? Doesn't it sound like fun? Truly, if you want more info, just let me know and I can help you get started in creating your own group! I'd love to help!!

Soon I will be posting the studies on here and I'll include the skill that we're learning as well! Be on the lookout!

Homemade Granola

2011-04-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

MMMmmm golden baked homemade granola. Simply delicious!

Here is something delicious and HEALTHY that the kids and I made today. This is the best kind of recipe to do with kids! Just melt, mix, pour, mix and bake! (Well, there's a little more to it than that but it's very simple!) The original granola recipe is from my friend Marett, I've adjusted some of it to what I had here. It's one of those recipes that I've had for years but forgot about. Forget no longer... this stuff is awesome! Just don't forget the vanilla, it adds such a cozy flavor! ha ha

Homemade Granola

Combine and melt in a saucepan:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup butter
3 T molasses
1 cup raw sugar
1 cup honey
1/2 tsp salt (a MUST! It goes well with the sweet!!)

Take off of heat and add vanilla.

(NOTE: I did not have enough honey so I used part pure maple syrup. Also, I used sweetened coconut so I left out the sugar. It's plenty sweet without it if you make it that way!)

Mix together in a large pot or bowl:
6 cups oats

4 cups coconut

1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup slivered almonds
...or whichever nuts...

(Another NOTE of course: I used oats, coconut, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), whole almonds, a few cups of puffed brown rice cereal and sunflower seeds.) I plan to try different nuts/seeds.

Pour melted mixture onto oat mixture. (By adding less dry ingredients, it will be a stickier, thicker granola- otherwise it's pretty fine crumbles). Make sure the mixture is all "wet".

Bake at 350' for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or until browned. Be careful not to burn it!

Add raisins or dried cranberries while it's still warm.
This recipe makes MANY cups! I should have measured but I'm guessing that it makes like 20 cups?? A LOT anyway! Store in airtight containers or use a vacuum pack sealer.

It's great for trips, easy breakfast or snacks!

The granola on the left is with Craisins, the one on the right is without. (Our oldest doesn't prefer the fruit in it..silly kid!)

Serve warm, cooled or in milk! Mmmm The kids couldn't get enough of it!

World's Best Lemon Meringue Pie

2011-04-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

Another delicious pie recipe! We love the tartness of a true lemon pie!

World's Best Lemon Meringue Pie

(Taste Of Home recipe)

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups water
3 eggs yolks, beaten
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1 baked pastry shell, (9 inches)

In medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. Gradually stir in water. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Gradually stir 1 cup hot filling into egg yolks; return all to pan. Bring to boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in Butter, lemon juice and peel until butter is melted. Pour hot filling into pastry shell.

Make meringue (recipe below). Spread evenly over hot filling, sealing edges to crust. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until the meringue is golden. Cool on wire rack for 1 hour; refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator. Yield: 6-8 servings.

NOTE: When I made this pie, it wasn't tart enough, like Grandma's so I added more lemon zest/ exchange a little water for more lemon juice.

Meringue: Beat 3 eggs whites with 1/4 tsp cream of tartar and 1/2 tsp vanilla until soft peaks form. Gradually add 6 tablespoons sugar, beating until stiff peaks form and all sugar is dissolved. Spread atop pie, sealing to pastry. Bake at 350' about 12-15 minutes, or until meringue is golden. Cool.

Coconut Banana Cream Pie

2011-04-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

Coconut Banana Cream Pie
The best of both worlds!

The coconut crust is a wonderful complement to this banana cream pie. You will need to watch the crust as it bakes make sure it doesn't brown too quickly. MY FAVORITE!! This pie would also be wonderful with a regular pie crust. Sorry I don't yet have a picture of this. But please, make one and share the photo! :)

Crust:

7 T butter

3 cups flaked coconut, sweetened

Filling:
3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup All purpose flour

3 T cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

3 cups half & half Cream

4 eggs yolks, lightly beaten

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large firm bananas

Whipped Cream and sliced bananas for topping, optional

In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Saute coconut until golden. Set aside 2 tablespoons for topping.Press remaining coconut onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9" pie pan. Bake at 350' for 7 minutes. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Gradually add cream and bring to boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. remove from heat. Stir a small amount into egg yolks. Return to the pan, cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; add vanilla. Cool to room temperature. Place bananas in the crust. Cover with cream mixture. Chill until set, about 2 hours. Sprinkle with reserved coconut. If desired, garnish with whipped cream and bananas. Store leftovers in the refrigerator. Yield: 6-8 servings.

NOTES: Making homemade pudding takes a lot of constant stirring. Be prepared that it will take a few minutes to thicken- but don't worry- it eventually will.

My Favorite Pie Crust

2011-04-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

Perfect Pie Crust can be made!

The crust recipe was originally from my friend, Carol Reeves but I exchanged some shortening for butter and I think lard would also work well. Don't get worried about all of the instructions but please read through it if you haven't made pie crust before. There are helpful tips for a first-time pie maker! I will also be adding variations of pies, so watch for them on my blog!Your family will love these pies- I promise!!

Flaky, tender crust with a great flavor!!

So here goes:

Carol's Perfect Pie Crust

8 cups unsifted flour, lightly spooned into cup

2 T sugar
4 tsp salt

2 -2/3 c butter flavor shortening * (I replaced 1/2 of it with real butter cut into small squares)

1 large egg or 2 med eggs
2 t apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

This recipe makes 4 double crusts or 6-7 single crust pies. You can freeze it by leaving in the round circle or by rolling it out and puting it in the pan or rolled up into waxed paper.

TIPS:

*Use a Pampered Chef measure all cup- the one the pushed the stuff out. It works great for shortening

** It really help to place another pie tin of the same size in a single crust before it bakes. Because the crust is so pliable it tends to want to sink down into the pan as it bakes, and you could wind up with a large tart crust!

***Keep a light dusting of flour on your rolling pin. Also keep a small amount (1/2 cup) flour nearby to sprinkle on your table as you rolld, to prevent the dough from sticking. A pastry mat works great as a guide and to easily get the crust off of the counter but you caould also use a piece of clear vinyl, marking a circle around it with the pie crust measuring 1 1/2- 2" larger than your pie pan.

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, stir dry ingredients with fork. Add shortening (or butter/ lard) and cut in till crumbly with a pastry cutter.(If you don't have one I think you could use 2 knives.)

2. In a small bowl, beat vinegar, water and egg. Combine with flour mixture and stir until moist with a large spoon. You will then, need to use your hands. Kned the crust mix until it all sticks together. (Really squish all of the butter together so it's mixed well or you might think it's too dry. (Experience talking?? LOL) Add extra flour to your hands if necessary. it should stay very soft and elastic. Form it into a big , flattened ball then using a huge knife, cut into 6-8 equal parts (depending on the size of crust you need). Pat those pieces into circles, about 1/2- 3/4" thick and about 5 inches across.

3. Roll out dough onto a well-floured surface starting in the center and roll toward the outside. Dough should be about 1/8" thick.*** Cut off the excess, uneven crust outside the circle, and stack the strips for later use (if you want a lattice topped pie). Fold the circle in 1/2 and lift it across to the center of the pie plate. Unfold the crust and adjust for eveness.

For double crust: Unfold one crust onto the bottom, udjusting for evenness then add the filling and poke holes in the top crust with a fork or use a knife to create a design before you place a folded crust on top. When placeing the top crust crust, unfold, adjust for evenness and pinch the two layers togetherso it stnad above the edge of the pie pan. Crimp of pinch the edges together. Trim excess.

For a single pie crust: Unfold crust into the pan, roll the edges under so it stand above the edge of the pie plate. Crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers, or the back of a spoon.

There is no comfort food greater than Chicken Pot Pie! (Double Crust)

For a baked single crust pie: Poke holes in the crust before puting it into the pan. Fold it in 1/2, lay it in the pan, then unfold it. ** Bake at 425' for 15-18 minutes or until crust is light brown. If edges start to brown too much, tear 2 inch strips of foil and arrange around edges. (or use a crust edge cover by PC). Watch the pie closely because ovens differ and this may be too hot and too long for your oven.

For ideas to use with your beautiful pie crust, go over to my past blog post . Enjoy!

Jerk Chicken Nachos, PC recipe

2011-04-04T16:18:00.000-07:00

This is one of our favorite quicker -type meals! Full of flavor and quite nice on a dreary day when you're looking forward to summer! I also add a clove of garlic to the peppers for extra goodness!

The Pampered Chef ®Jerk Chicken Nachos Recipe

6 cups tortilla chips
3 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken
2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend

2 tbsp Jamaican Jerk Rub, divided

1 small yellow or red bell pepper or combination
1 lime
2 tbsp snipped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup sour cream and 1 tsp additional Jamaican Jerk Rub (optional)

1.Preheat oven to 425°F. Arrange tortilla chips in a slightly overlapping layer on Large Round Stone with Handles.

2.In Classic Batter Bowl, combine chicken, cheese and 1 tbsp of the rub; mix gently using Small Mix ‘N Scraper®. Sprinkle chicken mixture evenly over tortilla chips. Bake 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted; remove from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack.

3.Meanwhile, dice bell pepper with Santoku Knife. Cut lime in half crosswise. Juice half of the lime using Citrus Press into Small Batter Bowl; add bell pepper and remaining rub and mix well.

4.Snip cilantro in mincing cup of Herb Keeper using Kitchen Shears. Slice remaining lime half using Ultimate Mandoline fitted with v-shaped blade; cut slices in half using Utility Knife.

5.Spoon bell pepper mixture over nachos; sprinkle evenly with cilantro. If desired, combine sour cream and additional rub in resealable plastic bag; trim corner to allow sour cream to flow through. Pipe sour cream mixture over nachos. Garnish with lime slices.

Yield: 12 servings

Nutrients per serving: Calories 200, Total Fat 10 g, Saturated Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 50 mg, Carbohydrate 10 g, Protein 16 g, Sodium 300 mg, Fiber 1 g

Cook's Tip: Use the Classic Batter Bowl to measure tortilla chips easily. Discard broken chips.

This recipe can also be prepared on the Large Bar Pan, if desired.

My kids really don't care for the pepper mix but they chose that over salad! :)

I had a huge bed of lettuce under mine and added avacado! Exquisite!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

2011-03-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

Fresh out of the oven! These will come off the wrapper better once they've cooled a bit---if you can resist!

These are a great muffin for breakfast or for a snack. You can add flax seeds or other non-wheat flours to make it more healthy too. I usually don't put quite as much sugar in them when I use the full amount of chocolate chips either. They really are quite a treat!

Mix together in a large bowl:

3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 beaten eggs
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups plain canned pumpkin
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup oil (I've used applesauce too but they tend to stick in the paper muffin liners.)
1 pkg large milk chocolate chips

Bake at 350' for 20-25 minutes.

OPTIONAL: I added Pampered Chef Sweet Sprinkles to the tops to give them a little more interest and crunch, but really, once a bite is taken, you need no more enticing!

Raising Kids On Purpose for the Fun of It!

2011-03-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

While you're reading, I've included some pictures from the fun "tea party" that my daughter and I had. She did our make-up and hair and she was quite thrilled--and giggly-- about the whole thing!

It's actually the title of a book I've just started reading this week. The whole title of the book is:"Raising Kids On Purpose for the Fun of It- Hundreds of Ideas for Family Fn and Recreation and the Teaching of Christian Values" by Gwen Weising. I've been inspired to really enjoy these years with my kids through having fun together. I do get to spend a lot more time than some moms do with their kids. I homeschool our 3 children but still a lot of the time is not "fun" time. The days are filled with school, chores, play, cooking, ya know, just normal daily living stuff. Lately, I've really been thinking about quality time with the kids though. When they become adults I want to feel like I spent as much fun time with them as I could!

This book suggests to get with your kids and your husband and write down a list of things you need and things you want. Also gather ideas about things the family could do while they still live at home if money was not an option. This does not mean we will spoil our children and do every little thing they desire but it does mean we can start with small goals and work at accomplishing these goals as a family. For example, if we felt like we needed to spend more quality time together, we shouldn't just say our goal is: "To spend more family time together this year". We might even write it on the calendar and schedule in days that are special family times. It would be more like this: "Our goal is: Everyday spend 10-30 minutes talking with each child about good things we see in them or their choices". Define just how you could accomplish your goal and by the end of the week/month/year you can look back and measure how successful your goal was, instead of saying "I think we spent more time together".

I'm super excited to sit down with our family and discuss these things. This week I asked some friends what they think was the best things they've done as a family. The reason I asked was to gather more ideas for our family, just in case we left something out! I wanted to see if any of them might be something we would want to do before our kids are grown and leave home.

I've started a journal of sorts for this purpose. There are simple, kind of funny things to do and there are more expensive things that we'll really have to work towards. Part of my thinking in doing "fun" things with the kids is so that when they are older, and they get bored they will realize that you can do many fun things without getting into trouble! Seriously!

This is what I wrote:

Fun Goals for Our Family:

- go to a 24-hour restaurant late at night and eat or have dessert (especially when they are early teens!)

- visit ghost towns in Oregon

-Take whole days and let all of the kids pick what we should do and eat for the day

-Travel to the Silverwood park in Idaho
-travel back east to see historical buildings and places
-discover old mining camps
-pan for gold
-road trip to California, renting a car
-camp all over Oregon and Washington

-travel to Canada

-ride the fast go-carts in Beaverton, OR
-go to the Oregon Coast Aquarium again
-See a play at the Shakespearean Festival in Ashland, OR
-do random acts of kindness together
-go on a missions trip together
-anonymously give to others (flowers, toys, food baskets..)
-buy a video camera to preserve our family memories
-ride on the Willamette Jet boats as a family
-take a ride on the Sternwheeler in Portland, OR
-get a GPS and go geocaching
-go on a spontaneous road trip (jump in the car with just a few things and go somewhere!)
-go on a trip across Oregon

There will be more ideas I'm sure. These are just the things my husband and I thought of when I told him about having more "fun" together! We haven't really asked the kids yet but when we do we'll have to prioritize and decide what's first!

Remember to stop and have FUN with your kids!

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

2011-03-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

This week I've been making homemade pasta (that's a recipe for another day...) and one of our meals was Spaghetti with meatballs (another recipe for another day) and Ragu sauce. As much as we like Ragu, I've made some sauce before that we've liked and I really wanted to make a bunch to put in the freezer so we don't have to buy it! I went to Costco and finally bought those HUGE cans of tomato sauce. They are only about $2.50 per can. (I've been waiting for an excuse to buy them because they're such a good deal!)

Here's what I came up with. It works best if you have everything chopped ahead of time so you can keep adding it to the pot and not have to stop to cook, cut, dice, chop, slice...etc. Many of the ingredients I used were already prepared because I had them in the freezer, chopped already- straight from the garden or leftover from another recipe (cooked Italian sausage). The spices are best priced if you buy them bulk from stores like Winco or Fred Meyer. I hope you love it! And be prepared--- it makes a large stock pot FULL! I didn't add a ton of meat because we will use this sauce with meatballs and I also plan to puree it and use it on pizza!

Kristin's Spaghetti Sauce

10 cups chopped carrots ( I used some carrots I had canned and almost pureed them to add more veggies to the sauce.)

3 cups finely chopped onions
2 cups finely chopped celery
2 cups chopped bell peppers (I used red and I'd add even more if I had more!)
2 cups cooked Italian Sausage
4 cups chopped yellow squash (or zucchini)
1 (#10 can) tomato sauce (these large cans are about 1 gallon and you can find them at Coscto - #10 is the can size. Do not buy 10 huge cans! LOL)
1 (#10 can) tomato paste
1 (#10 can) stewed or diced tomatoes
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 bulbs garlic, sliced (or you could press them but it's spicier when you use pressed garlic)
5 cups sliced Baby Bello mushrooms
1/2 cup sugar (or more if you're used to it super sweet)
4 T Basil
4 T Oregano
4 T parsley
2 T garlic powder
2 T sea salt
2 T Johnny's Seasoning (Or add more salt if you don't have this. We just love the flavor!)
2 tsp marjoram
2 tsp rosemary
2 tsp thyme
1 1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix all of these ingredients and simmer very low all day. I don't advise leaving it overnight because you need to stir it every 20 minutes or so. Tomato sauce burns if left alone and you don't want to ruin all of your hard work! Once I had all of the ingredients mixed, I divided it into 3 large pots on the stove. This was to cook it down more easily and to prevent it from burning.

Cool. Store in 4 cup amounts in freezer containers. Label with date. When you're ready to use, get it out of the freezer the morning of the day you cook or defrost it until you can plop it out of the bag/container and heat on the stove or in a microwave safe bowl.

This is a chuncy style of sauce- our favorite! If it's too chucnky for you, just puree 1/2 or all of it in a blender, depending on your preference.

Chicken Divan

2011-03-09T21:58:00.000-08:00

Chicken Divan is a great comfort meal! I used brown and white rice mixed this time but I usually use just brown.

Chicken Divan

This is one of our family's favorites! Mom has always made it and now I make it for us.

Prepare rice first. I use 2 cups rice in 4 cups water. (Boil water, add rice. Cover, turn onto low for 20 minutes for white, 50 minutes for brown rice. Add 1/2 cup more water for brown.)

Prepare chicken: Bake or boil 2 chicken breasts till cooked. You could also use leftover roasted chicken. Cut into bite sized pieces.

Prepare Broccoli: Steam 2 heads broccoli. (I use my PC Micro cooker and add a 1/2 " water in the bottom. Cook until tender.)

Prepare sauce: Combine 2 cans cream of chicken soup (or try homemade- it's better! This recipe is SO good! It's the one I always use.), 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 tsp lemon juice and 3/4 tsp curry powder.

Layer:

(1) Rice

(2) Broccoli
(3) chicken
(4) sauce
(5) 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

(6) Optional: top with Ritz crackers or breadcrumbs mixed with a bit of melted butter

Bake for 30 minutes at 350' or until heated through.

Double the recipe and take it to someone who's sick, or who's had a baby!

Homemade English Muffins

2011-03-02T19:25:00.000-08:00

Who knew you could make these so easily?

This recipe is from "The Old Farmhouse Kitchen" cookbook. They were super easy! Tonight I was thinking, 'why are they so good? Why would I prefer them to the store-bought kind that takes you 5 minutes to get (in and out of the store)?' It's like everything else homemade; because they are FRESH and that is no comparison to something that was cooked 2 weeks ago or longer! You know how good homemade bread is -hot out of the oven with butter melting through?? Ya... it's good.

By the way, have you ever thought about a package of cookies? They were baked and then they sit on the shelf in a store for MONTHS sometimes! EEWW! I wouldn't eat my own cookies that were that old! ha ha And if the cookies have to have preservatives to stay "fresh", they are probably not fresh! LOL Anyway, I hope you are inspired to make something homemade- even if it's not these! (Please do not think that I NEVER buy things from the store because I love Oreos or Nutter Butter cookies too! This is just a fun challenge to 'do things the way they used to' and I enjoy doing baking!)

Homemade English Muffins

Scald:
1 cup milk

Stir in:
2 T sugar
2 tsp salt (The recipe called for 3 tsp but I thought that seemed like SO much and I didn't want to ruin them. Try it if you'd like- these were not very salty with the 2 tsp.)
1/2 cup butter

Add:

1/2 cup cool water
Dissolve 2 pkgs yeast in 1/2 cup warm water (takes about 5 minutes to get frothy)
6 cups flour (I exchanged some of the white flour for wheat. I think I would add other flours to make them more "whole grain" next time.)

When milk mixture is lukewarm, blend in yeast mixture. Mix in flour a little at a time. Knead several times until dough is smooth and elastic. let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size. (I set in a greased bowl with a non-fuzzy towel over it and warm it next to the wood stove) Punch down; roll out on cornmeal. (Set 1/2 of your round on cornmeal, lightly sprinkled on the counter and then roll it out to about 1/2 thickness, maybe a little less.) Cut with a 3-inch cutter (or large drinking glass). Let stand for 30 minutes. Cook on griddle on top of stove, not oven (medium heat is what I used). Turn when bottom is browned.

Cool on a wire rack then cut in half with a serrated knife and toast! Also good just hot our of the oven with butter and jelly or plain!

I made breakfast sandwiches out of them with ham, farm eggs and a bit of Havarti cheese. Comfort food!

heidi & finn patterns! YAY!

2011-02-15T13:02:00.000-08:00

Last night I spent WAY too much time trying to decide on which patterns to try from heidi & finn. They have an etsy shop where you can purchase an assortment of sewing patterns- for boys or girls! I'll show you which I chose and as soon as I get my colored ink replaced and stop by Joanne's, I'm going to start sewing!

What an adorable red Bolero!!

Here's a boy OR girl hoodie!

I LOVE this Hampton hat!!

Cozy Cowl Neck Dress

Everyday coat! LOVE it!!

What do you think? Do you have a little girl to sew for? I can't wait to make these for my daughter!! FUN!

New Pages!!

2011-02-08T14:48:00.000-08:00

Today I taught myself how to add pages to the top of my blog! Whew! I'm not an expert at all when it comes to computers! ha ha

So check out my pages for a quick reference to the posts you love!

Quiet Times- These are the devotional times I have with the Lord and my way of encouraging you through my blog.

Favorite Recipes- These are by no means all of my favorites! But these are the ones I've blogged about.

About Me- Really? I don't think you need an explanation! I'm just trying to clean up my blog a bit and reorganize! :)

My Creations- This is a page dedicated to the things I've posted about working on, kitchen makeovers, baking cakes..etc.

Have fun! I hope it's easier to browse through!

Your Friend,
Kristin

Frozen Peanut Butter Bars

2011-02-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

Frozen Peanut Butter Bars

1 cup butter
2 cups peanut butter
2 1/2 cups Graham Cracker crumbs
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 cups milk chocolate or semi sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup milk

In a large saucepan, melt butter and peanut butter together. Mix well. Remove from heat. Add crumbs and powdered sugar, mixing well. Spread peanut butter mixture in a jelly roll pan ( for thinner bars) or 9x13 (for thicker bars). I lined the pan with parchment or waxed paper). Chill. When the peanut butter layer is firm, melt chocolate chips with milk over low heat. Spread over chilled peanut butter mixture. Chill again. Eat now or freeze.

(In our family, we froze these - otherwise I could have possibly eaten the whole batch myself!)

Freezer Directions: Cut into serving size pieces/bars. Wrap individually or by the amount of one serving for your family. Store in ziploc bags or a rigid container. They are great frozen or slightly thawed too.

O YUM! I have had NO complaints with these!!

Still Trudging Along

2011-01-26T14:46:00.000-08:00

Remember WAY back when I was talking about where I was reading in my Bible? Well, I JUST finished Deuteronomy this morning. It's been so good for me. Seeing God's power and love for His people is just amazing! He promises SO many blessings to them for their obedience and then they even have promises just for who they are. I am so thankful for this wonderful God we serve! Of course there are 'curses' for not obeying too.

My husband and our little princess, last summer.

Another thing I've been reading through is a book called, "Your Husband, Your Friend- What a Man Needs and Wants from His Wife" By Bob Barnes. It's been an easy, encouraging read. Much of the book is about simple understanding of the way your husband thinks and what would please him. It's not about control over you, but the Bible does call us to "be subject to our own husbands as to the Lord". It's not about being a doormat but willingly and lovingly serving him.

The "olden days".

The Chapters include topics like: Stand by Your Man's Needs, Stand by Your Man's Differences, Stand by Your Man's Temperament, Stand by Your Man's Decisions...etc.

Camping trip... probably a whiskery hug!

I am nowhere near getting an A+ on this subject but having a wonderful husband makes it so much easier to WANT to please him. Everyday, he tries to do special things for me, whether it's just a small thing that I've been asking for him to get done or taking out the garbage as he walks in the door from work. Sometimes he sleeps on the couch if he knows his tired snoring will keep me up at night. He encourages me to go to girl's nights with my friends... I could really go on and on. And all of this isn't to brag. I just really appreciate who God has given me to spend the rest of my life with. Who couldn't love someone so sweet??

Derek, on his birthday- the 4th of July! LUCKY!! (with our niece and my FIL)

I know it's not so easy for some marriages though. Maybe you are a Christian and your husband is not. Maybe he never wants to spend time with you. Maybe he's always moody. Because I know God, I know that He would sustain me through those trials. Also, because we've had our own trials, I know that He IS so faithful to His people. He wants us to know He is God and that His is our helper and guide.

This was something that really made me think when I read it last night. I pray for my husband daily but still not enough and not for all the detailed things that I could. Here's a part from the book that encouraged me to pray for him more:

Daddy and his mini-me. They are SO much alike!

page 212

"Pray for your husband and his work each day. The business climate is brutal, and I can tell you that your husband is continually bombarded with all kinds of temptations. Your prayers can help him stand strong and true to you and to his God. As I've said before, I know that Emilie [his wife] has prayed for me for 37 years. I clearly realize how fortunate and blessed I am to have her stand with me in that way. Emilie has also stood strong in her faith in God's word. Together, for instance, we claimed this verse of Scripture, and it strengthened her prayers for me:

"But remember this- the wrong desires that come into your life aren't anything new and different. Many others have faced exactly the same problems before you. And no temptation is irresistible. You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it, for he has promised this and will do what he says. He will show you how to escape temptation's power so that you can bear up patiently against it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

There were many times when I knew that Emilie's prayers enabled me to "escape temptation's power". I am so thankful for a wife who prays diligently for me. Perhaps you can follow her example. I suggest too, that in addition to praying for your husband to stand strong against temptations that arise in the business world, that you may pray for the following:

-His daily walk with the Lord
-The right kind of friends and associates
-His ability to work in harmony with others
-Safety in his travels
-The ability to make good decisions

-The ability to set right priorities

- Contentment in his work

- Continuous work

- Integrity in the workplace

- Your marriage and your children

Wow! What a list! Because my husband is the one who goes out and 'faces the world', I agree that this is important for me to do. And I'll bet that if my heart is thoughtful, loving and prayerful, that when he comes home, it will be to a more peaceful home. A place of rest for him.

When I grow up, I want to be the best wife and mother I can be!

This was on our trip to the Great Wolf Lodge last spring.

I heart Pie Crust

2011-01-20T16:56:00.000-08:00

What's your favorite comfort food? Or are you like me and cannot fathom choosing just one?

The best looking pie crust I've made so far! I think I'm finaly getting this down!

One of my favorites is turkey dinner with all of the sides, veggies, sauces, potatoes, gravies, stuffing...etc. The best part is that after you've eaten your meal, there's usually at least enough meat left for one more meal. This week, I made that turkey STRETCH! I turned a 22 lb turkey into 4 very filling meals!

Turkey Pot Pie- the ultimate comfort food!

First, the turkey dinner and then tonight I made 3 turkey pot pies! (Why are they called pot pies???) I thought my crust was gonna be a flop because I doubled it and then ran out of room. (Have you ever done that before? This isn't the first time I have!!) But after tasting just one bite, I said with shock, "I think this is the best crust I've ever made!!" My family agreed. All except for my spoiled 3 year old that doesn't realize how nice it is to have yummy food made for her! She'll probably appreciate it someday, right?

So, do you want to see what I made? I'll add the recipe later but I thought I'd share the photos that I snapped of how it all turned out! You'll want this crust recipe for sure! I got it from someone else and then of course, made it my own by changing some ingredients. That seems to be a bad habit of mine- or maybe it's a good one! I'll let you know all about that later. For now, enjoy!

Like my pie crust piles? lol They aren't very beautiful this way. First I separated them, but evenly cutting them and then I divided up more because I made them into too big of rounds! See? I'm still learning!

The Turkey Pie -ready to devour! One went to a friend and one is in our freezer for later - Yay!

These are little blueberry pies. I used homemade filling, about 1 1/2 T for each one, and then wet around the edges and joined together at the edges. (See below)

Ready for the oven!

And because we're trying to be careful about how many sweets we're eating, these are going in the freezer to have one every once in awhile. I easily could gobble them right away!

These are the few I sent to my friend and her small family for dessert after their turkey pie. You can make them any design and size. I wanted these to be similar to the store-bought fruit pies.

Cranberry-Blackberry Crepes

2011-01-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a feast for dinner! We had turkey, stuffing, mashed red & yellow potatoes, turkey gravy, a few left-over deviled eggs, left-over peaches, green beans and homemade Cranberry- blackberry sauce. I think I've mentioned that I'm doing a "Biggest Loser" challenge with some friends and others from church so I did try to not over-do it. (I easily could have though!! That's my favorite meal!) So I had already decided, when I did my meal planning for this week, to make crepes. We thought the Cranberry-Blackberry sauce would be perfect to go along with crepes! It almost tastes like a tart Little Wild Blackberry jam. Another NW favorite!

So, first make your sauce, then serve it warm with crepes, or cold- either way would be scrumptious!

Cranberry- Blackberry Crepes

Kristin's Cranberry -Blackberry Sauce

Combine 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar in large saucepan; stir to dissolve sugar. Heat to boiling; boil 5 minutes. Add 1 bag fresh cranberries (12 oz bag) and 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blackberries. Cook about 10-15 minutes, depending if you want it to "jell". (The longer amount of time will allow it to jell). Skins will pop so be careful about it splattering on you! Serve warm or chilled. makes about 4 cups!

Derek's Crepes

Crepe batter

1 cup flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 eggs, 1 1/2 cups milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/8 teaspoon salt

In bowl, combine all ingredients; beat until smooth. Lightly grease a 6-8" skillet (use a small amount of oil and swirl it around the pan); heat to medium. Remove from heat, pour in 1/3 cup batter. Swirl around quickly so that it covers the bottom of the pan. Return to heat. Lightly brown each side. It only takes a few seconds to cook on the 2nd side. Store in a tortilla warmer until ready to serve. Fill with fruit or fruit or jam and top with whipped cream!

We double this recipe to serve our family of 5, and had a few leftovers.

Pour about 1/3 or less into 6-8" skillet. Non-stick works well for this!

These only take a short amount of time to cook. Some recipes say to cook one side but we like both sides cooked.

These go quickly but if you want everyone to eat at about the same time, store them in a place to keep warm!

We used a tortilla warmer! Works perfectly!

Butter is a nice addition before you fill them. If you're cutting back on fats/calories, then leave this step out. (boo hoo)

Spread a small amount of butter on the inside of the crepe.

Scoop about 1 tablespoon of fruit filling inside. Fresh strawberries are AWESOME but it's not that season right now....

Roll up like a burrito!

What a great looking crepe Derek! (He made the crepes while I got the kids started with school today. Then I came back and assembled them. It's so nice to have him home!)

Now, if I had homemade whipped cream, I'd use that but I've been trying to stay away from buying creams and fattening stuff. So, I grabbed this out of the freezer. It's still yummy! (and fattening... I know!)

And here they are!

So.... what did the kids think? See for yourself!

The kids are using the plates they created at a local ceramic shop. FUN! Caleb gives it a thumbs up!

Talia's devouring hers!

haha Aidan licked his plate clean!

I felt like doing the same thing... but I refrained.

It hardly needs washing now!

BAKE SALE AHEAD! Garden Cupcakes

2011-01-08T22:56:00.000-08:00

Today my family and I made some sweet little cupcakes! The idea is from the cookbook, "Hello Cupcake!" I guess I'm getting impatient to start my garden. Spring fever? So, instead I'll make a totally unhealthy dessert? LOL I guess so. On the first I started a "Biggest Loser" diet with my friends so I'm really not eating it. Boo hoo.

What a cute helper I have!

Here's the candy we get to play with!!

A little happy about this??

A friend of mine made her sweet little Christmas apron! We have matching ones but mine is a vintage poinsettia fabric- so cute!

Opening up the "peas". We started by making the veggies (toppings). This was Daddy's idea, so he even helped! I wish I would have remembered to get his picture though!

This photo is too blurry of course but I love the excitement that I captured! It's amazing how sugar can make you feel! haha Their hands were moving pretty fast! I had to change the settings on my camera!

Mmmm..... imagining what it all tastes like! (Cuz, you know you can't taste and touch your mouth when you're cooking for others! They had to wait until they were done to test it out. )

Picking favorites and making wishes?

The making of the peas. This is a green Tootsie Roll, flattened with a Pampered Chef Baker's Roller and then Sixlets tucked inside. They were quite fun to make!

Vanilla cupcakes in white liners, then frosted with Milk Chocolate Frosting and the tops rolled in crushed chocolate sandwich cookies, (generic Oreos). Mmmm Sounds good to me!

Pea vines and setting the peas on top! That's the fun part for me! My helpers were long gone by this time- except for Daddy.

Lettuce leaves. They didn't turn out quite like I had hoped but they are tricky! Corn flakes tossed in melted green frosting.

Peas. I actually wish these were real, fresh from the garden ones! (I can't wait for my garden!!)

I wish you could see the detail in the carrots here. You can see it better on another photo below though. These are orange Tootsie Rolls and then you make small marks like a real carrot. Lastly you rub a teeny amount of cinnamon on them to add detail and... dirt? haha

Cherry tomatoes on the vine! They are made from red Sixlets. They made me hungry for garden tomatoes! This was my idea- not from the book. The book had radishes but I thought these would use up the Sixlets that we already opened.

The seed packet markers. Graham crackers spread with melted white chocolate and a toothpick "glued" on with the melted white chocolate on the back. Chocolate frosting is used for the writing.

The garden is growing! (See the lines on the carrots? My husband created them... so adorable!) He covered a piece of cardboard with foil and then I frosted it very lightly and dusted it with cookie crumbs.

Good enough to eat?

Hopefully good enough enough to sell too!

All of the proceeds from the bake sale go to the youth in our church for their Winter Camp. It's always a fun thing to be a part of! I'm also bringing homemade laundry soap for those who can't have/buy the sweets!

The New Year! Full Speed Ahead!!

2010-12-30T18:02:00.000-08:00

It's that Ol resolution time again...
So, what will you resolve to do?

Eat better?

Lose Christmas pounds?

Aidan, our youngest son, last year.

Pay off debt?

Make better use of your time?

Prioritize your time?

Have daily devotions (reading the Word and praying)?

Give your kids more hugs?

Our youngest son this summer, flying around.... in his dreams. :)

Spend even more quality time playing games or going for bike rides?

Maybe you want to finish something?
That quilt you started for so-and-so...?

That painting project?

The walls still need finished getting painted!

Keep up on housework better?

Or maybe it's about money.
You want to pay off your debts?

Resolve to not use credit cards?

Make a plan to be better off financially- even if it means giving some things up!

Our boys wishing they could jump in and get going! It might take a take a tank to blaze through some things but we'll get there!

Start really using the Dave Ramsey plan?

Go to church more often?

Be involved in your groups or church more?

Catch up with friends more often?

Stay home more?

Try some new crafty project? A new techinique?

This looks like some strange poem, or list. Wait!! It's just about everything I need to do better! haha Some things we're good with but this is probably generally what most people want to do better, right?

The first thing I'm doing is a Biggest Loser Challenge with friends. There are more than 20 of us I think. It costs $20 to join in and winner takes all! (Based on your percentage of weight lost.) If you've been waiting for a good reason to start exercising or doing ANY or your new year's resolutions, try starting a group. Our's is just for 8 weeks! That's my kind of challenge! There's an end to it! But even though there's an end to the official challenge, I can still keep off weight and do better with exercising! We eat relatively healthy I think, so it's more about being active and portions.

I went to the Dr. a couple of weeks ago and there was a sign in the room that said, "The American Diet" and showed a picture of a cheeseburger, fries and pop. Seriously?? Is THAT the average American diet? Reheated frozen fries and a cheeseburger? I understand eating that way several times during the summer but I really thought the average diet had a veggie, some meat, some good carbs and water or milk. Wow. I'm naive! haha I know there's times when you need something conveneient but.... OK, I'll stop ranting now. I just couldn't believe that's "average".

I can't WAIT to get my garden going again!! I've been missing it this winter!

So, has this given you any ideas? What are your resolutions? This is a great "reset" button that we can use to start fresh. I love it!

Unfortunately, my husbnad was the ONLY tacky sweater -wearing guy at our Real Life Face Book Christmas Party. He's really a much better dresser. One of his best friend's won the Best Dressed award!

Happy New Year my friends!

Christmas Indulgence!

2010-12-24T00:33:00.000-08:00

I just finished up the only Christmas baking I'll be doing... besides the requested dinner rolls for my dad's side of the family.

These bite -sized treats are not in the least healthy. Don't be fooled by the peanuts or coconut. (Although maybe that makes up for the sugar and butter!) hahaha

The first photos are of Coconut Balls (tastes like an Almond Joy!). The last photos are of the Peanut Butter Balls

Coconut Balls
Ingredients:
2 cups coconut
1 tsp vanilla
1/2-1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
1 can Eagle Brand Sweetenend Condensed Milk
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 pound bag powdered sugar
1/2 tsp almond oil- SECRET ingredient

Chocolate Dip
2 bags chocolate chips
1/4 bar paraffin wax or 1/4 cup Crisco

Mix coconut, nuts and butter in a large bowl. (I used a Kitchen Aid because it was awfully thick!) Add vanilla, almond extract, and milk with hands (if you don't use a mixer). Then add the sugar a fwe cups at a time and mix until stiff. You can also put your hand in a Ziploc bag to avoid your hands getting all sticky. Roll into balls using your hands or a 1 teaspooon -cookie scoop. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Lay out a sheet-pan sized piece of waxed paper.

Melt chocolate and wax (or Crisco) in a small glass bowl in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between each heating. (To keep from overheating your chocolate, heat minimally. My microwave heats 1 cup in a bout 1 full minute. Overheating your chocolate will result in a gritty-textured chocolate that will not be suitable for dipping. I know this from experience!) Poke ball with toothpick and dip into chocolate. Set dipped balls on wax paper and let dry. Store in refrigerator and enjoy!

Coconut Ball mixture. This Pampered Chef Scoop works so well for

this job!

I would scoop the right size ...

and my son would help with perfecting the ball.

He's a great helper!!

See? (Hands are washed, of course!)

I love these scoops!!

We ended up with 88 coconut balls! Sorry the picture is bright but I wanted to include the shot of the heavenly bites!

And here's the Peanut Butter Balls.....mmmmm Our favorite! This filling is much softer than the Coconut Ball Filling. It really needs refrigerating for it to work well.

Peanut Butter Balls

Cream together and then chill at least 30 minutes:

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup chopped nuts (optional or just use crunchy peanut butter)

1 tsp vanilla

Roll into balls. Lay down waxed paper. Melt 1 pkg chocolate chips and 1/4 bar of paraffin wax in a small glass bowl in the microwave at 30-second intervals. (Stirring after each heating) Dip chilled peanut butter ball into melted chocolate, by using a toothpick. Lay on waxed paper to cool. Store in refrigerator.

This recipe made about 1/3 of what the other made. I suggest doubling this one if you like peanut butter.

I know, I know... you can see the lumps of powdered sugar. O well. They are still worth eating! LOL

We rolled out all of the balls, cooled them and then started the dipping the next day! (Today!!) Here is what I ended up using for the chocolate dip. 1/2 Dark Cocoa Candy Melts and 1/2 Dark Chocolate Chips with a small amount of Crisco. (Probably about the ratio of what the recipe says.)

Here's where I melted the 3 together. (Can you tell I lost my helper? He was busy puting birthday Lego's together!) The chocolate should be a little lumpy after it's heated and then you just stir until it's mixed. If you overheat it... that's not good.

See? All better. These little Prep Bowls from Pampered Chef work well for this job.

Poke the toothpick into the Peanut Butter ball....

...completely covering it, and set is gently onto waxed paper.

This was my first try. The rule in our house is that we have to eat the ugly ones first and save the others for giving away. A few were eaten tonight! haha

I tried a fork with the Peanut Butter Balls because it was getting too soft. A toothpick just works better actually.

And here they are! Topped with a single peanut!

Here's the Coconut balls... See how there's an ugly spot on the top? That was from using a toothpick. Just set a few flakes of coconut on top, or a nut for the peanut butter ones and they look much better!

Sorry... if you were here, I would have shared.

Speaking of sharing, my friend left these on my doorstep today. This is just what's left. When we arrived home we devoured them, not even knowing who made them till later. When I realized they were from my friend Jana, (a great cook!!), that made them even better! I cut some in half so that we could taste each one. Those cheesecake ones in the back were one of my favorites!

Plus, she found some vintage potholders and left them for me too. How did she know that I would have a perfect spot for them above my sink? Thank you Jana!

Merry Christmas to all!

Happy Birthday to our son Aidan!

Thank you Lord, for sending Your Son for us!!

Christmas Birthday's Can Be Fun Too!

2010-12-18T21:11:00.000-08:00

Our son is turning 6 this week and LOVES Lego's. Check out the cake I made for him today!

Step 1. Bake the cake. Make the frosting. Cut the excess off the edges (and the crusty parts).

Step 2. Crumb coat the cake. refrigerate for 30 minutes and then frost.

This is the fun part! The decorating! We (the birthday boy and I) decided on a Christmas-y Lego guy theme with snow!

"It's fun being 6!"

Han Solo is sledding down the hill, but I'm thinking he was pushed!

Sledding, snowball fights, making snow angels, decorating the tree.... it's all happening here!

Don't ya love the snow ball piles? I was trying to decide what type of border to create and I like the random-ness of the piles rather than a perfect snowball border.

Here's a close-up for the tree decorating. Storm Troopers are great at lighting the tree--- all while the lazy guy is laying there making a snow angel!

Sledding! Wheeeeee!

How would you like to be in a snowball fight with this guy? YOUCH! At least she got him back!

Here's on of the guys hiding from another with a little bit of ammo.

And here's the victim! Poor cop! There's just no respect these days!

Our birthday boy with his very own pizza!

I had to get him this hat! What a dapper young man!

Carne Asada Tacos for Dinner!!

2010-12-16T21:52:00.000-08:00

Tonight's menu:

Carne Asada Tacos~ Avacado Pico de Gallo Salsa ~ Juanitas Tortilla Chips ~ Coke

Make the salsa ahead of time so it's ready when your tacos are.

Avacado Pico de Gallo Salsa

2 Avacados, cut in small chunks

3 roma tomatoes, with seeds taken out ( for less water in salsa)

2-4 cloves of fresh pressed garlic (Garlic will add SPICE so, if you have kids, about 2 cloves is good for them.)

1/2 cup finely chopped white or sweet onion

the juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp salt, or more or less to taste

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro, finley chopped

Mix together and set aside, to serve on tacos or to eat with chips!

Kristin's Carne Asada Tacos

Marinate 1 1/2 lbs thinly sliced top sirloin, flank steak or "flap" steak in the juice of 2 limes, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper or steak seasoning for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. Turn; coating meat in marinade. After the meat has soaked, cut it into very thin strips, about 1/8" thick.

Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in a pan on med heat. The steak will take very little time to cook. Just don't overcook it or it will become chewy. While the steak is cooking, warm up your corn tortillas. I doubled them up and put in a large spoonful of meat, then salsa and sprinkles of Queso Fresco. (It tastes like mozzarella but it crumbles like Feta.)

Serve with extra salsa and lime if desired, a serving of Juanitas Tortilla Chips and a Coke! Enjoy!

Juanita has a great recipe for chips! These are our favorite!

Layers of Gift Wrapping

2010-12-13T16:46:00.000-08:00

Need a new wrapping idea? I've recently come across this idea from one of the "top wrappers"; layering and added a few of my own ideas. I included vintage gift tags and raffia.

I love the striped paper! So festive!

The edges of the layers here are folded, to give it a more finished look.

The top layer on this one has been trimmed with pinking shears.

We're using the kids' tree for our tree this year. I just never got a real one yet and this one will do. In our house the kids' tree equals a short tree with colored lights and their own ornaments or some from when my husband and I were children.

Smurfs!

The little mouse ornament with the chalkboard was from one of my two public school teachers, Mrs. Niemela. The rest of my education was at home with the best teacher: my mom. :)

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these vintage tags...

and the simplicity of raffia.

Planning my Real Life Facebook Christmas Party

2010-12-08T23:08:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I decided - very spontaneously- to host a Christmas Party. This isn't your ordinary party either! It's for all- ALL- of my Facebook friends! If you do not have Facebook, you may not understand the life that one has with Facebook. ha ha

With facebook, you can: catch up with old friends, meet new friends through another friend, and stay in contact with family or friends far away. Facebook also has the ability to addict you to browsing through friends' family photo albums. I've seen more friends' pictures of what they are up to than ever before!! It's fun to see who's online and chat for a few minutes to catch up. Or see who knows YOUR friends... So, the drawback to it? It's not real life. It is, in a sense, I know what so and so had for dinner last night, when their child first pooped in the toilet, who loves their husband so much...and so on. BUT sometimes, you can see people on there so much but not really chat and talk with them; it's not face-to-face. There's not even real laughter! It's just "LOL"!!

While telling someone that we should get together sometime, truthfully hoping to- but now sure how it would work out- I decided to take a giant step toward my friends! How? Have a Christmas party and invite them, of course! So, I've rented a Grange building for a night of fun. I will share photos later after the party. My plans are to have games, old-fashioned BINGO with prizes and lots of great FOOD! Another plus is that my friends are encouraged to bring their children- that's rare unless it's a party just for kids! I have no agenda, as far as a schedule of events, just lots of ideas!

IDEAS:
-Christmas Karaoke
-LOTS of food
-clay ornament -making table for the kids
-lots of games (we love Mad Gab with a big group of friends or family!)
-BINGO
-prizes for the best dressed and worst dressed (tackiest sweater)
-I also have a small "Christmas Shop" set up for my friends to bring things that they make (bags, purses, soap, home-baked things,and whatever else they sell).

Won't this be fun? I sure hope so! I'm SO excited!

I've arranged tables and covered them in brown paper so far. I have a lot more to do before the party! The wonderful thing is that even though I LOVE details and want it to look beautiful, I'm counting on my friends to add laughter and make it a fun success! I'll let you know of the success (or failure ha ha) of the party and maybe you'll want to host your own Real Life Facebook Christmas party!

Almost Ready for Christmas

2010-11-29T23:34:00.000-08:00

This year, I am more inspired to decorate than past years. I feel like I want it to look cheery in our home- everywhere!

Since the downturn in the economy, it hasn't been the most chipper time of year for me.

With holidays come expenses; our son's birthday (23rd), Christmas gifts to buy, extra food to take to parties, extra gas to drive to those places...etc. And then there are other birthdays or gifts...it just never seems to end. Just a couple of years ago, all we afford for our kids were Dollar Store things. It made me cry just to wrap them and then watch. They didn't care- they had gifts in their hands! But I cared. I knew that it was a rough time and we didn't have much. I could hardly wait till the holiday passed because I felt so depressed. I barely put out any decorations because it didn't seem like there was much happiness in this part of the holiday.

I know very well that the real reason we celebrate this day is to remember our Lord and Savior, who was born to save us. I am so thankful for His life and death- taking my punishment for sin and for being willing to lay down His life for me! I understand this holiday is much more about that than it is about gifts and money. But, we want to give good gifts to our children and family's as well, right?

This year, it's been a little different in the practical way of speaking. My husband is working more steadily, we're more responsible with our money and I'm better prepared for the "rough days". We choose not to go into debt over gifts and because

we live simply, I buy mostly practical things, along with some fun stuff, of course.

So, my attitude is a bit better this year also. I want to be cheery! I want to celebrate! Not because we have super-fantastic gifts to give/get but because I have so much to be thankful for. I want our home to feel joyful! I want to smell cedar and fir and see twinkling lights and kids' happy and surprised faces! I want to give, even if it's small, because I really want to, not because I feel obligated or some other silly reason.

This is my encouragement to you: consider this holiday for it's real meaning; love. Consider giving to someone who is hard to give to. Consider giving to someone who cannot give back to you; repay you. Do not take for granted this special time of year when family and friends are nearby.

Have fun decorating your home!

A Sweet, Sweet Night

2010-11-18T16:10:00.000-08:00

It's nearing that storybook time of the year.....

That time when the streets are lit up in the darkness, busy shoppers are buying their loved ones precious, thoughtful gifts and there's talk of snow. This might possibly be the most exciting time of the year. It's also that time when the wood stove is going, all cozy and warm and scents of pumpkin, spices and apple desserts can be smelled and tasted in abundance.

This is that time, our most favorite of days.

With thoughtfulness toward my husband, the children and I scurried around the yard, picking up fallen fir branches and cleaning up from the recent wind storms in order to surprise him- Father- as the children call him. We picked yellow squash hiding out from the early frosts in the garden. And we simply enjoyed a wisp of a sunny day during our rainy fall.

Soon it would be night and the fire would need stoked up good, keeping our bones warm and making our house quite homey. The shed where our wood is stored was looking quite bleak- empty- to be exact. The kids and I, together, gathered up enough wood from the barn to fill our shed. Father would be so pleased. When he arrived from work we could show all of the hard work we had done and we hoped he would be so proud.

After all of our work was done for the day, the children and I strung tiny white lights around our front porch. Doing this would provide light for our wood shed during the nighttime and it all of a sudden seemed to transform our plain porch into a magical place.

Soon, the children were bustling about, gathering every candle that they could find in our home. They set some upon their small child's table that sat on the porch, and some other candles lined up proudly along the edges of the floor. The glowing lights were so festive against the night sky.

Next, there were old time songs being played about our dear Savior's birth. Just the perfect touch for such a sweet night.

At once, I was told by these small children of mine to put on my best dress, for we were going to have a special dance. I opted for my best , sleek, black satin dress, amazed that it could possibly be zipped! In order to dress my best, I chose a pair of black dress shoes, decorated with tiny, glittering gemstones. I thought they would be a perfect addition to the twinkling lights on the porch.

As I tiptoed out onto the dance floor, my oldest son, sporting his too-small, black satin vest, came beside me and we started to dance. It was a happy song, one which we could dance quickly to. This was a lovely time, just my children and I. The two younger children had their turns and we laughed and felt the warmth of love between us, even though it was becoming a chilly night.

Thoughts of my wifely responsibilities came to mind, and I remembered that I needed to prepare our evening meal. Father would be home soon and it would need to be ready. So, I gently laid the dress on our bed and changed into clothes fit for cooking.

As Father came home, not too much later, he was met with a cheerful, giddy wife who bid him to come and change into his best clothing. There was something special being prepared for us outside, he was told. As he curiously wondered what his darling wife and children were up to, he reluctantly found his best black dress shirt and freshly washed jeans. He didn't know what was waiting and I would bet, he could not have guessed what he would see next, let alone have the privelage of sharing.

Father and I went out to the porch as our children held open the door, greeting us like King and Queen. The lights were all lit and the floor was ready for our special dance. The music had been forgotten so I gently whispered to the children to not forget!

What a sight we must have been, dancing away to Christmas songs in the night. But what a memory for our children to have- and 'King & Queen' alike, to share such a sweet, sweet night. This is that time of year.

...And they all lived happily ever after.

New White Kitchen Cupboards

2010-10-26T19:00:00.001-07:00

Here's my progress...

I primed the cupboards, then painted them white. My awesome husband polished up the door knobs so they are shiny copper. Then I added a faux tin paintable wallpaper and painted it white. After that dried, I went back with a tiny brush and made it look 'scratched' up with a grayish color.

Like this:

This cupboard door has 1/4 inch mesh chicken wire. It was so fun to reorganize everything and be ready to bake and cook again.

Here's the final result for the top cupboards- I LOVE it! (The lower cabinets were left all white).The brick throughout the kitchen was previously very dark reds with black grout- not my favorite colors for it. I handpainted the brick by rubbing 3 different colors (I think it was 3) and then I painted the grout with a teeny tiny brush! What a pain but it looks so much better and it just feels better in my kitchen. All of this has really proved to lighten up the colors and brighten the room- not to mention create the styles I love. :)

Eventually, I'd LOVE to have more barn wood counter tops, or just something that matches better. We already have one in the kitchen and one in the dining.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. They aren't the greatest quality because I took them at night with very little light but it gives you an idea if you'd like some brightness in your kitchen!

Kitchen Makeover!

2010-10-13T18:33:00.000-07:00

Look what I've been working on....

Transforming my kitchen cabinets.... mostly with paint but also I'm using faux tin!

From dull handles to shiny, polished ones! (Thanks to my husband!!)

The doors are getting primed...

Old maple wood and newer white. The final color is a very light off-white. So basicly... white. :)

The wall paint will be a very light tan, kind of like coffee with lots of creamer! Bye bye butter yellow!

I'll share more when I have time to get more done!

Honor The Sabbath Day

2010-09-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

It took about 2 seconds to think about my title. Today the discussion in Sunday School was centered around the "sabbath" and how that looks to each of us and how we need a day of rest once a week. It was a great reminder of how I need to set aside this day more regularly. I guess that means saying 'no' to things that can keep you too busy. It's really about priority. Another important part of the Sabbath is worship. Taking a day to reflect on the Lord and to honor Him. (Not that you wouldn't honor Him the rest of the week, just to be more conscious of this being HIS day, I think.)

A little country church down the road.

Naturally, after Sunday School was church, which means a time where the church comes together to worship the Lord and gain in knowledge and understanding through His word. Also, it is a time for us to fellowship and encourage one another. To me, this is "church". I love singing to my Lord, and today seemed amazingly refreshing. As I stood singing with my arms raised a mile high I just couldn't explain the amazing peace and joy I felt. There really was no specific reason, just many little things. Life has not amazingly become perfect with no problems, yet in a simple service of worship, I realize His love, forgiveness and grace for me more and more. He really does care for us so well and I'm so thankful.

While washing lettuce a few weeks back, I found this small piece of red lettuce that looked like a heart. What a sweet surprise while working away. I stopped to enjoy it and snapped a picture!

Sometimes- often- He just needs to hear that from us too, that we're thankful for who He is in our lives. Not because He can't operate without our affection and adoration but I believe He really loves us coming to Him with willing and humble hearts, ready to glorify Him with our lives.

That is my greatest desire.

Canning and School- YIKES!

2010-09-08T17:19:00.000-07:00

Canning and school. Those are my newest hobbies! LOL Well, they are not really hobbies, as they take up all of my time lately. And guess what? I'm burnt out! haha Here's what's been going on:

Canning is going well. If you've never tried it, start with something simple. Water-bath canning is easiest (also called boiling-water canning). Check out Ball's website for exact directions and ask anyone over 30, they probably have all at least helped. Peaches and tomatoes are pretty easy.

This week I've been canning pears in a light syrup. I saved the peels and cores and used my steamer-juicer to make pear juice. Mmm.. Smells like Fall in here with that going on. I also used up the pears that were too mushy to can by making juice. This is an excellent way to get juice if you have extra fruit on trees, or after canning your fruit, or if you have loaded grapevines. Yum! My family loves homemade juice! For fun you can add club soda and it turns into a fruity soda pop! (Only it's a little bit healthier).

I've also been making a dill relish. We use this all year long for tuna sandwiches, potato salad and hot dogs or hamburgers. The great thing about relish is that it uses up tons of zucchini or yellow squash and cucumbers- whatever you have on hand. There are so many varieties of relish too! I made mine basically like I make my pickles. I add tons of garlic and dill but I added a little bit of red bell pepper too.

(Look how many foods I wrote about just now! Good grief!!)

Last night for dinner we had taco salad and I used my homemade pinto beans/refried beans and garden lettuce. I can't tell you how nice it is to open up a jar and use it for dinner, already made. Or walk to the garden and gather your food. I mixed the beans into the meat (like I've mentioned before). Tonight we're using leftovers to have Tacos with homemade tortillas. So here's another fun thing to make; tortillas. It's not that hard but it does take a little time. Since I had to be in the kitchen all day, I decided to make them early and heat them up for dinner so they are all ready at once. Tortillas only use flour, fat (I used a tiny bit of butter this time), salt, baking powder and water. If I make them more often I'd also experiment with flours and add healthy stuff instead of just using unbleached AP flour.

This week I suffered canning burn out. haha Are you surprised? Have you been there? If you've canned very much at all, it takes some a few times to get it, and others... many more. None the less, that's another reason I have been making pear juice. I just didn't have anymore energy to stand in the kitchen and peel and cut and then wait for the canner. :) It happens. I love to can and have food ready at home for my family because it costs very little. The problem is that I've been working so hard at it that my husband, Derek, noticed and helped me out. He told me not to do it when I'm too worn out. Sometimes it takes someone else to let you know that you are DONE! haha

On the other hand, when fruit is ripe, it has to get done. ugh.

In between canning and the rest of life, school started for us yesterday as well. This year Derek and I decided on My Father's World for our curriculum. So far, I am so pleased with it. For the last couple of years that we've been homeschooling I've used different curriculum and mixed & matched what we had. It worked but it didn't work well for me. I need something that is already planned out for me (the teacher), for the most part. There are too many other things that I have to think about as a mom, wife and teacher that I'd rather leave the researching and gathering of a good curriculum to them. This is a Christian, Bible based program, which is the most important to us.

Amongst the overwhelming-ness of life, I felt so greatly encouraged this weekend too. I started going to "cake decorating lessons" with my MIL and SIL and on the way home I had to pull my car over. I was listening to a Phil Wickham song called "Heaven's Song" and noticed at the same time the magnificent sky toward the west. (Being alone in the car with worship music blasting through my speakers is my most favorite place.) The sun was setting and the view was amazing. The light beams were so brightly shining through the billowy clouds and it really looked as if God were right in the middle of it all, shining through in all His glory. I sat there singing and just stared. He is so amazing! The way he takes care of the details of our lives, down to the smallest thing and also the way in which He is so BIG, grand and amazing!

I felt so thankful that God has given me the life He has. It is rarely an easy life, in some senses but in others, I have His peace. I realized too that when life is so full and overwhelming that I can actually trust His Holy Spirit to get me through a day, and not just get me through but He can make it a successful day. His plans are far greater than mine, above mine.

This was written a couple nights ago. Since then I've canned my peaches and now, I'm taking a small canning break. I have wanted to sew for many weeks now and I really haven't had the time. There's just been too much going on. That will be changing soon. I want to make myself a handbag/purse and with the slow, fall and winter season coming up, that's just what I'll do.

This is a lot of rambling I suppose but I wanted to share the real life I live. I love how God puts times in my life of encouragement in all of the other stuff that's going on. Listen to that song I talked about. It's great! (You probably just heard it on my playlist.)

Complaining. Ugh.

2010-08-25T17:57:00.000-07:00

As I'm journeying through the O.T. I'm just overwhelmed with the Word of God and how it still relates to us, to ME today!

I'm all the way into.... Numbers! haha I know, if you've been reading my blog, you know that really... I have taken a LONG time to get here. But I love spending plenty of time reading and then journaling. I do not want to rush through it! (Unless they're 'begetting', of course). LOL There's so much that the Lord spoke to me through His Word this morning.

The first is, in the entire chapter 10, there's an awful lot of complaining going on. Is it ever good to complain? Complaining leads to results but are the results always what you had hoped for? For me, no, they are not.

The Isrealites complain about their situation, their circumstances. I'm so glad I never do that! LOL kidding! (Let me tell you, this was totally convicting.) I highly dislike compaining but I'm guilty of it, for sure. God REALLY does not like it. Why do you suppose that is? Because we are not trusting Him? I think it's mostly because we are just not letting Him be God in our lives, our everything! Well, let's see what He thought about it... In Numbers 11:2, after hearing them complain, it says, " His anger was kindled and the fire burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp." So how did He feel about it? Well, He wasn't excited- that's for sure!! O, and by the way, they're "circumstances" are much better than being slaves in Egypt! Well.... you'd think they were!

Now, the 600,000 plus Isrealites have been miraculously blessed with manna, food from heaven, but of course, that is not good enough either. They wanted meat! And we can't really blame the Israelites, can we? Would we not do the same thing? I know I get sick of the same food after 2 meals, maybe 3 at the very most... (and that's if it's SO GOOD tasting)! They were remembering the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and flavorful fish that they at least had in Egypt to eat freely of. Does this make you smile? Does it seem a little ridiculous? Well, I'm still feeling a little convicted about my own life complaints.

So, let's look at manna. Just because I like food and love to learn. :) It says it is like coriander (cilantro seed), and it's appearance like bdellium (an oily gum or a white pearl; a valuable mineral). Mmm tasty. So.. was it kind of chewy? LOL They would gather it, grind it and make cakes with it. And I'm just guessing that these cakes don't have cream cheese frosting! ;) So, OK, they SHOULD be grateful but I could see how the same old thing to eat could get old.

And then of course, their leader, Moses, complains about them complaining. haha Seriously? This is so much like life now. Plus he wonders how in the world God could possibly find enough meat to give them! Moses wants to know, would they have to kill all of their animals? Or should all the fish from the sea be gathered together for them? (Remember there are over 600,000 of them!)

God listens to him and actually answers him with meat. It says, "Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow and you shall eat meat...You shall eat not one day, nor 10 days, nor 20 days, but a whole month..."

I have to be honest. When I got to this verse I was like, "Are you kidding me? He's going to reward them by giving in to their complaining?" Well, not totally. (wink wink) It's always good to read the whole context! The rest of that verse says "...until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the Lord who is among you..."

So, Moses asked, where will this meat come from, Lord? That would be just too many people for you to feed! How is that possible? "And the Lord said to Moses, "Is the Lord's power limited? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not."

So do you want to know what happened next? O you probably already know. But go ahead and read through it. Numbers 11:31-35.

God is so much smarter than we are. LOL He knows what we need. He knows what is good for us. Can you believe He even knows the appropriate time for the appropriate action? He can even feed 600,000 people! Maybe you're thinking, of course He can because He did that kind of stuff all of the time in the Bible. Have you forgotten? How has he shown His power in your life? He can even help you get through the month's budget. He can even get you through a hard winter. He can even give you patience, or the tools for it during those hard days with the kids. He can even guide you in your relationships. He can even be near you when you're afraid of what's to come.

Are you listening, Kristin? Are you listening to? Is there something that you complain about too much? Give it to the Lord. That is my desire anyway. When something comes up that seems so difficult to bear, to go through, I want to see it through His eyes. Not to see myself as the victim of a circumstance, but as a willing vessel for the Lord to use.

I am SO thankful for the hope that I have in Him. I can complain, to my friends, my husband. I can even complain to the Lord but will it give me the results I'm looking for? How did it work out for those 600,000? Rest in him. Realize that He wants you to to trust Him! Instead of complaining, find a reason to be truly grateful.

Simply Live, Therefore Live Simply

2010-08-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

This is a picture from the shop Mom and I used to own. Imagine life so simple that you could sit on a bench in the warm sunshine, reading through a book. All the while your laundry is drying on the line in the gentle breeze...

Tonight's blog is inspired by an old friend and old recipes from pre-1950 through now. This friend has inspired 2 of my blogs now. She encourages me to write about some of things we talk about so that I can encourage others. I love it!

This afternoon I went through an entire box of old recipes that belonged to a well-dressed, simple, Finnish neighbor lady. I say 'well dressed' because her garments are now mine and I intend to wear them as my own...with pearls, of course. ;) She was "simple" in the way that she brilliantly lived. Some may think that the desire to live frugally comes from having very little money. I don't know what her financial status was but she used what she had and lived simply, I can tell. That's my dream! In her old recipes were many types of paper that were used sometimes more than 3 times. It might be an envelope with a recipe and each one included who they were from and what date it was given, or written. (I wish I could read all of the hand-written ones but she barely spoke English and I do not understand much more Finnish than "sokerie" which is translated: sugar. It was in so many sweet recipes that I figured out that much!) I'm sure you know of many older people who live this way. They save gifts like new hand towels for years because the old ones are still able to soak up water... maybe not much but... they are still useful. They also used every bit of what they cooked. To me, this is an art. I'm slowly 'getting it' but I have far to go. In my opinion these ladies are wise.

So besides telling you about this fine lady and how she lived, I wanted to share with my readers some simple-living ideas I use or at least some that I know about. These ideas help me to get dollars to stretch but also make me feel good about not wasting.

1) Taco Meat: When I'm making taco meat, I add the seasoning, some water or tomato sauce and 1-2 cans re-fried beans or whole canned beans plus fresh garlic and onion flakes. This greatly adds to the meat amount and makes it stretch quite a bit farther. I also love the taste and that it's not dried out. Thanks to my mother-in-law for the idea of adding beans!

2) Dryer Sheets: I rarely use these anymore because I prefer liquid (it's easier on your dryer..), but anyway, for goodness sake, cut the sheets in 1/2! There is plenty of softener for one sheet to become 2!

3) When whole chickens are on sale (especially non- hormone added, organic) buy them to use instead of plain breast meat. Cook it one night for dinner, but leave a little left on it. There's plenty for our family of 5 (with 3 small children) to have dinner and then I take off the rest of meat that I can find and store it in the fridge for use with broth/stock. Usually that night or the next day I put the carcass in a 20 quart stock pot and fill it up to about the 14 quart mark with water. Add your favorite seasonings, whole garlic, just flatten the cloves, chunks of onion (or the green tops of garden onions), celery. For seasonings this last time I made it, I used about a dash or 2 of almost every spice in my pantry, it seems. Parsley, 2 bay leaves, coriander, celery seed, oregano, basil, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, thyme and paprika. Those poor spices don't always get used anyway so you've got to not play favorites. ;) I then strain this and put it in pint size jars to can. Before I seal them I add salt and about 1 tsp of those reserved chicken pieces. I must say that when I labeled this batch I was so excited to write "Organic Chicken Stock" on them. It's fun to be able to use up the whole chicken too!

4) Picking up:I am by no means the best housekeeper, but I do try. When I'm leaving one room to go to another I pick up something that needs to go that direction. There's always something that needs picked up with 3 little ones and 2 big ones.

5) Saving gas and time: Limit trips in the car. Plan ahead. Make out a list of places you need to go and plan a day to get lots done instead of many small trips. I used to do way more small trips before I had kids but now I've learned. Gas is expensive and it's just plain wasteful to not try to combine at least a few things together. And before you leave home at least pack some snacks like almonds, dried fruit or cheese and crackers, if you don't pack a meal. It helps when you start to get hungry and give-in to that convenient bad-for-you but o-so-good food.

6) Raise Chickens: Get some chickens to use up scraps that would otherwise get thrown in the garbage, down the disposal or tossed out! Plus chickies give you eggs!

7) Use a clothesline to dry your laundry: It saves many dollars in electricity! It's simple to do too! If you don't have a line already made, string up some strong cotton clothesline rope or plastic covered line from one tree to another. String it between two posts on your porch or use an old-fashioned drying rack.

8)Make your own laundry soap: It's a mere fraction of the price. And even if you don't do that, you can save on stain remover by buying a bar of Fels Naptha soap and using it. I keep mine in a canning jar near the washer and when something has a stain, wet the bar and then rub it into the fabric. It has removed even blood soaked pillows from when one of my kids woke up with a bloody nose. I was amazed! And it's cheap too! It doesn't have that toxic smell like some stain removers either. I think it's like $1-$2!! There are lots of ideas online. Mine calls for washing soda, grated Fels Naptha and Borax. It works well too! I haven't taken the few minutes to make this for awhile but I really need to get back into making it. It's so much cheaper!

9) Your Cell phone: If you don't need a fancy camera phone with all the bells and whistles and things to distract you, get a free one when you update your plan or better yet... I'm planning on using a pay-as-you-go phone. That will save us more than $25 per month at least and now we have just a basic plan!

10) Make quilts: out of old clothing or fabric with special memories. Many women in the past have made quilts this way. Way back when, women didn't go to a fancy store to buy specially matching pieces of expensive fabrics to make blankets for their beds. They would cut up old dresses, men's shirts...whatever was still useful. I have the 'new' fabric to use up but I really do like this idea. I guess I do a little of that when I make the borders. I usually end up sewing all of the scraps from cutting out the quilt pieces and make a randomly-colored border. I use up most of those extra pieces doing this.

I know there are more ideas but how much time do you really have to spend here? It's wasteful if it takes you too long! haha!

I hope you learned something that you don't already know or just that you are reminded to live simply. I believe that we are such a spoiled few generations of folks that it's actually kind of ridiculous! It's fun to be creative and come up with meals from your cupboard and not just go to the store for something that sounds good. If you mixed up some flour, milk and some other on-hand ingredients you can have biscuits and make a white sauce with sausage and sage and you'll have biscuits and gravy! Or, when your garden abounds in lettuce, make meals that include it! Taco salad, green salad, chef salad, or use it for tuna sandwiches.

Live simply because you can, not because you have to.