Christmas Countdowns

December 1^st to Christmas

Is the longest time of year.

Seems as tho’ Old Santa,

Never will appear.

How many days ‘til Christmas?

It’s mighty hard to count.

So, this little candy ribbon

Will tell you the exact amount.

Untie a candy every night,

When the Sandman casts his spell,

And Christmas Eve will be here

By the time you reach the BELL!!

This is the poem that adorns the top of my children’s Christmas countdowns. When I was young, dear friends of my family gave me this red and green felt ribbon filled with chocolate Kisses™, the poem on top and, of course, a bell at the bottom. To me, this was the coolest thing I’d ever seen! Every night, before bed, I’d get my candy kiss. It didn’t take me long to realize that if you suck on the chocolate a little and just let it melt in your mouth, it lasts a long, long time.

As I outgrew my countdowns, nieces and nephews were popping up everywhere. So, my mother copied the design and passed out countdowns to everyone. When my children came along, I did the same thing.

Colleen and Jared have theirs filled with a variety of Kisses™ this year. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate and candy cane kisses make quite the colorful countdown. There are even a few Hugs™ in the mix as well. So far, no one has pilfered any early ones. Missing Kisses don't get replaced!

My mother passed away about four years ago, and there’s a whole passel of great-nieces and great-nephews running around. I think I’d best get busy on a few more countdowns!

Thank you for stopping by! By the way, I did not give credit to the author of the poem above because I don’t know who it is. Every once in a while, I try searching the internet but always come up empty. If you know the author, please, let me know. I’d love to give him/her credit.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

True Couponing

I don’t use coupons. Now, before you start throwing things at me or yelling at me through your computer—which doesn’t actually work, by the way—hear me out. I don’t buy enough items on a regular basis that actually have coupons available to warrant my buying the Sunday paper that has all the coupons in it. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true.

I’m bringing up coupons tonight because we have a local phenomenon going on that I’m not a big part of. It’s called True Couponing. Kati Kiefer, a diligent coupon clipper, streamlined the system of couponing and created a website with wonderful information on saving a lot of money. The website and the hands-on workshops have helped so many of my friends to be more aware of sales and coupons, and they’ve had great success in stocking their shelves and saving money. So, I thought I’d pass this information off to you.

Now, here’s why it doesn’t work for me most of the time. I buy, maybe, 2 boxes of Stove-Top stuffing a year which means I don’t buy any other quick-to-fix boxed food stuff. Did you know it takes just as long to make scalloped potatoes from scratch as it does to make the high sodium, low-nutrition boxed variety? I don’t buy boxed or bagged cookies. Well, except maybe Oreos because I can’t make those. Canned fruit and sugary cereals are a luxury. In fact, the kids get one box of Lucky Charms a year for Christmas. Otherwise, it’s oatmeal, generic Cheerios, generic Rice Krispies, and corn flakes. Believe me when I tell you that even after combining coupons with sales, my generic cereals are still cheaper. As you can see, I don’t buy normal groceries. You find me a BOGO sale and toss in a $1.00 off coupon on milk, produce, meat, and staples like flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder, and I’m there. I could spent three hours sifting through coupons and sales flyers and not even save $5.

This time of year, however, I am the coupon queen, because this time of year is when I actually by junk. The kids have these great Christmas countdowns that need Hershey Kisses. And, of course, we need extra special ingredients for cookies, pies and fudge which often go on sale this time of year and have coupons for more savings. Oh, and I still have to get our Lucky Charms. As you can see, we eat enough junk food over the holidays to last us a year!!

Anyway, just because I can’t take full advantage of this very intelligent, very organized woman’s advice, doesn’t mean you can’t. So, head over to TrueCouponing.com and learn a lot of common sense ways to save money.

Thanks for stopping by! Starting in December I hope to bring you daily cookie recipes and homemade gift ideas!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Menu Plan Monday, 11/29

Well, we’re just about out of leftovers. I simmered that turkey carcass yesterday and instead of turkey and rice soup, I made turkey and dumpling soup. Yumm!! But the refrigerator is just about bare. I suppose I’ll be doing a little cooking this week. Beats having the family starve.

                                                                                              

Don’t forget to stop by Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas!

Menu Plan for Week of 11/29/2010

Breakfast 

Oatmeal, fruit, granola, toast or rice crispies

Lunch

Hubby takes two sandwiches along with chips, carrot and celery sticks and an apple in his lunch. The rest of us will be eating either sandwiches or leftovers.

Sandwich of the week – Peanut Butter and Jam

Fruit of the week – Apples (We eat a lot of apples!) and pears

Dinner

Monday – Spaghetti

Tuesday – Breakfast for Dinner

Wednesday – Baked Chicken, fried potatoes, veggies

Thursday – White Chili with tortilla chips (slow cooker)

Friday – Beef and Barley Soup with fresh bread

Saturday – BLTs and French fries

Sunday – Layered Chicken and Potatoes (slow cooker)

Snacks – Crackers and peanut butter, fruit, carrot and celery sticks, or popcorn.

Thank you for stopping by! I pray that you take a few minutes each week and plan your menu for stress-free meals and one-trip grocery shopping!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Advent

Do you know what Advent means? I didn’t for a long time. Oh, I’d heard the word used often to refer to the Christmas season and I’d seen many Advent calendars, but I never really knew what Advent meant.

The word advent means “coming” or “arrival” and is synonymous with the words “onset,” “beginning,” or “start.” The advent of the holiday season simply means the beginning or arrival of the season. However, capitalize the word, and you have something much more special.

When the church began to observe Christmas in the fourth century, a period of preparation was added. That period of preparation, that exciting time of anticipation is the Advent, a time to prepare our hearts for Jesus’ coming to earth as a baby on Christmas Day. When we excitedly anticipate a special visitor, we prepare our homes to receive that visitor. Advent is a time to prepare our lives for Jesus’ arrival.

Advent is often recognized and celebrated with the Advent wreath and the lighting of the Advent candles. The wreath is a circle of evergreen boughs that remind us of God unending love. Four candles stand amid the greenery, three purple and one pink. A white candle stands in the middle.

Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, today, with the lighting of one purple candle. Next Sunday, both the first purple candle and a second purple candle are lit. On the following Sunday, two Sundays before Christmas, light the first two purple candles and the pink candle. On the Sunday before Christmas, light all three purple candles and the pink candle. On Christmas Day, all of the candles are lit, including the white candle in the middle.

Each candle has special meaning. The first candle is called Prophecy or Hope. This candle reminds us of the hope we have in Jesus, the prophesied Messiah. The second candle is called Bethlehem or Peace to celebrate that the Prince of Peace was born in Bethlehem.  The third candle, the pink one, is the Shepherd candle or Joy, remembering the tidings of great joy heralded by the angels to the shepherd in the field. The final candle is called Angel or Love as we join with the heavenly hosts singing “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14) Last but not least, the pure white candle in the middle is the Christ candle.

Aside from each of their separate meanings, the candles of Advent cast a soft glow in the night to remind us of the Light of the World.

I’ve loved this tradition ever since I learned about it. Unfortunately, because of holiday schedules, we don’t always light the candles on Sunday. This year, the wreath is still waiting to be unwrapped. I think it’s time to light the night and say a prayer of hope and maybe a verse or two of Away in the Manger.

Thanks for stopping by! What Christmas traditions mean the most to you? Why are they important to you? Do you know why you do them? You should find out. Some of the simplest traditions have the most amazing beginnings! The ADVENTure of Christmas by Lisa Whelchel and Christ in Christmas a compilation published by NavPress are wonderful books for helping bring Christ back to the center of Christmas traditions.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear friends,

From my family to yours, we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving! We pray that you will be joyful always, pray continually, and that you will give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.¹

We pray that you come before the Lord with thanksgiving and praise Him with music and song.²

We pray that today you enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise giving thanks to Him and praising His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Finally, we pray that your day is filled with such blessings that you cannot possibly begin to give thanks for them all!

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the day with your dear ones, and please, even if you’ve forgotten the cranberry sauce, do not be tempted to go shopping today. Every time we shop on a holiday we tell the stores that we want their employees working today instead of spending time with their families. Trust me; the meal will not be a disaster if something is forgotten. It could become a great memory instead!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

1 – 1Thessalonions 5:16-18

2 – Psalm 95:2

3 – Psalm 100:4-5

Pie Baking with a Little Help

I had some special help making pies today. Jared decided he wanted to learn. So, we spent a couple of hours together baking pies. We did have a few mishaps like adding too much water to the pie crust dough and missing the button on the oven when it was time to turn it down while baking a pumpkin pie. We also managed to get a lot of flour on each other when we got into a flour tossing match, but all in all, it was a wonderful day with my Little Bear, who isn’t so little anymore.

My son insisted that this is a picture of Mount Cinnamon on Brown Sugar Island. The "sea" is all white and "foamy" because "the fish all farted at the same time."

By the way, did you know that if you bake a pumpkin pie at 425° for an hour it comes out of the oven breathing? It still tasted pretty good, but boy, was it creepy when I first took it out of the oven!

Last but not least, this is what happens when you play Charlie Brown Christmas music around here.

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you have some special kitchen adventures of your own this holiday season!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

On Your Mark...

My husband and I went to Best Buy on Saturday to see if they had some software we needed. Imagine our surprise when we pulled into the parking lot and saw tents already set up at the door in anticipation of Black Friday. “They must be giving away something special this year,” I thought. Why else would anyone want to spend a week in a tent in front of a busy store? I’d spend a week in a tent in the woods, but tent camping in the concrete jungle? Definitely not for me!

Every year the line in front of Best Buy starts earlier and earlier. But we were there a week before Black Friday. I might be persuaded if there was free money involved. Gobs and gobs of money. Or maybe a year’s worth of housecleaning. But not much else could tempt me to pitch a tent on the sidewalk while shoppers wandered past, straining their necks to gawk at my campsite all the while taking notes in order to accurately blog my craziness to the world. Oh, wait, that was me. Never mind.

Anyway, a very nice sales person, Richard, asked if he could help us. So, in my usually shy, reserved way I asked him why people were already parked outside the door. He chuckled and in a very respectful manner, mirrored my husband’s and my thoughts that these people were odd indeed. In fact, he informed us that the campers had actually been set up since Wednesday! They were the first Best Buy Black Friday shoppers in the nation!

So, what is a nine-day camping trip to your local Best Buy parking lot worth? Apparently, it’s worth 2 FREE IPads! Usually, each Best Buy store awards the first people in line a gift card. However, because the early bird gets the worm, these folks received Free IPads. And, according to our wonderfully chatty salesperson, free food from nearby restaurants. Now, I’m not sure who’s crazier: the campers or the stores?!

You can read more at Tampa Bay Online about the two couples who are living at Best Buy until Black Friday. By the way, they don’t even know what they’re going to buy on Friday!

Apple Cider: According to Jared

Everyday, for school, Jared writes in a journal. Sometimes I’ll give him a prompt to get him started. Sometimes he’ll have something already in mind. We really enjoy a steaming cup of mulled apple cider around here, so the other day I asked him to write about apple cider using all five senses to describe it. After thinking about it a while and interviewing the family, here’s what he wrote:

Apple Cider

The apple cider tastes like Fall, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

It smells like pine trees, a wood fire, turkey, and food.

It feels like happiness, cheerfulness, God, and relaxing.

It looks like holiday spirit, twinkling lights, family, and the falling leaves.

It sounds like the church bells ringing, leaves crunching, people laughing, music playing, happiness, ice skaters, parties, and friends.

Apple cider is family, and it always will be.

By: Jared

Of course, I loved it. I’m sappy like that. Can you describe apple cider using all five senses? Feel free to share!

Menu Plan Monday, 11/22

It’s Thanksgiving week! That means a little extra kitchen time at the beginning of the week along with very easy meals followed by a wonderful weekend of leftovers! We actually like our Thanksgiving leftovers. We’ll have our Thanksgiving dinner, and then I won’t cook again until Sunday. What’s not to love!

                                                                                              

Don’t forget to stop by Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas!

Menu Plan for Week of 11/22/2010

Breakfast 

Oatmeal, fruit, granola, toast or rice crispies

Lunch

Hubby takes two sandwiches along with chips, carrot and celery sticks and an apple in his lunch. The rest of us will be eating either sandwiches or leftovers.

Sandwich of the week – Veggie Sandwiches

Fruit of the week – Apples (We eat a lot of apples!) and pears

Dinner

Monday – Chicken and vegetables in a creamy basil sauce over rice

Tuesday – Ham and Potato Soup, fresh bread

Wednesday – Spaghetti

Thursday – Thanksgiving Feast

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday – Leftovers

Sunday – Turkey and rice soup

Snacks – Crackers and peanut butter, fruit, carrot and celery sticks, or popcorn.

Thank you for stopping by! I pray you all have a beautiful, thankful, stress-free Thanksgiving!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

New Slow Cooker Recipes

I tried two new slow cooker recipes this week with mixed results. One dish was a big hit, and the other dish was a big miss. Ok, it was actually a big disaster. I haven’t made many dishes that were completely inedible in my lifetime, but this one was awful and unfit for human consumption!

I’m certain that a normal Country Captain recipe is very good with its apples, raisins, and curry powder. However, the recipe I followed had me putting rice in the slow cooker. Silly me, I forgot why I don’t put rice in the slow cooker. For me, there’s a fine line between raw, teeth-chipping, crunchy grains and a flavorless mush even the dog won’t eat when it comes to rice in the slow cooker. This time, I ended up with both in the same dish. Yuck!! And for as much curry powder as was in the recipe, the final dish was horribly bland. Praise God for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which make for a great back-up plan!

Thankfully, the second slow cooker dish I tried this week was surprisingly yummy and filling. I was concerned. The recipe is just meat and vegetables. If you cook for the big appetites I cook for, you’d worry, too. I need something to fill these tummies up and keep them full for more than an hour. Evidently, squash is stick-to-your-ribs filling! I did pair this dish with a crusty loaf of French bread which disappears completely on salad nights. This time, though, only half the loaf disappeared.

By the way, I’m sharing the recipe the way I made it, not the way it was originally written. The original recipe used ingredients I don’t usually use. So, rather than buy ingredients I wouldn’t normally buy, I substituted similar items I already had on hand. Check out the footnotes below the recipe for the original ingredients.

Pork Sausage and Squash

1 small onion, diced*

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 medium apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1-inch cubes

¼ cup real maple syrup or maple-flavored syrup

4 tablespoons apple cider**

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 ½ pounds mild Italian sausage***

In a 3 ½- to 4-quart slow cooker, layer onion, squash, and apples. In a small bowl, mix syrup, cider, salt, and pepper. Pour over apples.

Cover and cook on low setting for 4 to 5 hours.

Remove sausage from casings, if necessary. In a small skillet over medium-high heat, crumble and brown sausage. Gently stir cooked sausage into squash and apple mixture. Cover and cook an additional 20 minutes on low. Makes 4 servings.

* The original recipe called for 2 tablespoons of dried minced onion.

** The original recipe called for 2 tablespoons of frozen apple juice concentrate. I happened to have a gallon of cider in the refrigerator. I doubled the amount to compensate for the more intense flavor of the juice concentrate.

*** The original recipe called for 2 7oz. packages of frozen brown-and-serve sausage links, thawed and cut-up. This isn’t an item that I normally purchase, but browning some fresh sausage worked very well. I used a mild Italian sausage because it was handy. Any breakfast or country sausage would also work wonderfully well with this recipe.

Now, I’m sure you’ve probably figured out that I didn’t follow the Country Captain recipe exactly either, and that maybe my substitutions were part of the problem. You may be right. I’ll let you know when I try it again.

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did. I had no idea how similar butternut squash is to sweet potatoes in flavor. We’ll definitely be eating it more often!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Cinnamon Spiced Pancakes

I love cinnamon. A hot bowl of cinnamon-laced oatmeal, cinnamon covered snickerdoodles, the scent of cinnamon wafting from my coffee mug…these are a few of my favorite things! As you can imagine, I love cooking this time of year when every other recipe is sprinkled with cinnamon…even our pancakes!

Yep, I put cinnamon along with a few other spices in our pancakes the other day just to make them a little more festive, and Wow, were they good! Here’s the recipe:

Cinnamon Spiced Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Dash of nutmeg, ginger, and allspice

1 cup buttermilk or sour milk

1 beaten egg

1 tablespoon honey

Cooking oil

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and set aside.

Combine buttermilk, egg, and honey. Add milk mixture, all at once, to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. The batter should have lumps.

Lightly grease a griddle or heavy skillet. Heat griddle over medium heat. Pour ¼ batter into a circle on hot griddle. Cook about 2 minutes. Turn pancakes when the surface is bubbly and the edges appear dry. Cook for about 2 more minute or until golden on the bottom. Serve warm.

Tips:

• If you buy Pumpkin Pie Spice every Thanksgiving and end up throwing it away because you only used a small amount in a dessert or two, use that spice up in your pancakes! Substitute the spices in this recipe with ½ teaspoon of Pumpkin Pie Spice. You’ll enjoy yummy pancakes and no wasted spices!
• For a nice, hearty whole-grain alternative, substitute some or all of the all-purpose flour with fresh-milled whole wheat or multigrain flour.
• Thick batter makes thick pancakes. Likewise, thin batter makes thin pancakes. Adjust your batter according to your tastes. Add a couple of tablespoons of flour for thicker pancakes or a couple of tablespoons of milk for thinner pancakes.
• Out of buttermilk? Use this sour milk mixture in place of the buttermilk. Pour one teaspoon of lemon juice into a liquid measuring cup. Fill with milk until mixture measures one cup. Let sit for 5 minutes.
• Pancakes store well in the refrigerator. By doubling or tripling the recipe you’ll have leftovers that can be heated in the microwave or popped in the toaster for a hearty breakfast on the quick mornings.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Thanksgiving Dinner: Are You Ready?

The holiday season should be a time of celebration and great joy, a time of fellowship with family and friends, a time of giving thanks for God’s beautiful blessings and the hope that came with the birth of Jesus Christ. It is not a time of crazy cooking laced with a Martha-like bad attitude.¹ However, as much as we try to remember these holidays are not about the food, it’s hard not to look forward to that scrumptious Thanksgiving spread filled with those heirloom recipes that only see the light of day once, maybe twice, a year.

So, how do you change from a frantic, stressed-out Martha to a serene, everything-will-get-done-when-it-gets-done Mary? A little planning, a little delegating, and a lot of prayer!

I’m running a little behind this year, but I usually have both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners planned by about November 1^st. Early planning means I can take advantage of sales and avoid the shopping madness in the last days before the holiday. By the week of the holiday, all I usually need to purchase are the fresh veggies that I buy at a local produce stand which keeps me away from the last minute lunatics who pray they can shape a can of Spam into something that loosely resembles a turkey. Trust me, they’re crazy. I know this. I used to be one of them. Not anymore! A little planning goes a long way!

Along with planning, delegating also takes a lot of the pressure off the cook and hostess. Everyone has their specialty. I haven’t met a guest yet that didn’t enjoy showing off a little of their own cooking talent by bringing a favorite dish to the gathering. By the way, if you have control issues and find this idea of delegating—trusting—parts of the meal to others distasteful, then you absolutely need to do start doing it. It won’t take long for you realize how much more everyone enjoys participating in the festivities over sitting back and being served. Even perfectionist and hostess extraordinaire Martha Stewart has an entire staff of people who create her you-can-dream-but-don’t-try-this-at-home cooking and decorating extravaganzas.

Last but not least, don’t forget to pray! Pray over the menu. Pray over the shopping list. Pray over the budget. Really pray over the budget. And if in doubt that your prayers were heard, by all means pray some more! Pray for peace. Pray that your actions and words are pleasing to God even if the turkey is a little dry. Pray without ceasing!² And always, always, always pray the prayers of true thanksgiving even if your bountiful feast is filled with fried Spam sandwiches and crushed potato chip bits because that was all you could wrestle out of the arms of an unsuspecting blue-haired old lady in the crowded aisle of the local Wal-mart before she smacked you with her cane. What can I say? I have issues.

So, what’s my plan for Thanksgiving dinner this year? We are hanging out with friends, enjoying our usual traditions and tasting a few new ones. Is it going to be a Southern Living cover story event? I hope not!! I want to actually enjoy the meal!

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

Turkey

Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes and Apple Casserole

Mashed Turnips

Green Bean Casserole

Cajun Spinach

Cranberry Sauce

Corn

Rolls

Desserts

Pumpkin Pie

Dutch Apple Pie

Lemon Meringue Pie

Chocolate Meringue Pie

My friend Karri and I are splitting the menu. She’s taking care of the turkey, the green bean casserole, and this Cajun spinach dish that I’m really looking forward to trying. We haven’t drawn straws on the mashed potatoes yet, but my family is taking care of the rest of the side dishes. Let’s face it, these side dishes are super easy compared to taking care of the turkey! Besides, Colleen will probably make the Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole, and my hubby will most likely make the mashed turnips, as usual. Oh, and I volunteered to bake the pies because my eleven-year-old son wants to learn how to bake. I am more than happy to sit back and supervise!

Now the question is are you stressing about Thanksgiving dinner or are you excited about it? Do you dread the work or relish the challenge? And is the day going to be about the food or about the fellowship?

Thanks for stopping by! I’ll be praying for all of your Thanksgiving Day meals whether it’s a cozy meal for two or a family reunion blowout. Remember, many hands make light work, and there have been many an interesting conversation over potato peelings.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

1 Luke 10:38-42

2 1Thessalonians 5:15

Menu Plan Monday, 11/15

As predicted, I didn’t make anything from the menu last week. Praise God for family and good friends who so graciously made sure dinner was not on my list all week. We had baked ziti, chicken casseroles, and more pork and sauerkraut than I ever want to eat in a single week again! I jest. We did end up with a lot of pork and sauerkraut, but I was so grateful to not have to think about dinner last week that I enjoyed every bite! Thank you, dear friends, for your thoughtfulness and all your prayers. It was a hard week filled with raw emotions, tears, and, believe it or not, laughter. Because of the lack of routine, the whole week felt like a serious of Saturdays! Now, it’s time to get back to life and our normal routine, whether I want to or not!

                                                                                              

The cool weather really inspires me in the kitchen! It’s difficult to want to cook and be creative in a hot kitchen when the temperature and humidity are both pushing 100! But with temperatures back down into the 70s, soups and stews are looking mighty yummy! Yeah, I know. Temperatures in the 70s means summertime to most of you. To us, it’s wonderfully cool! And watch out when that sun goes down and the temperature drops into the 60s. That’s apple cider around the fire time!

Don’t forget to stop by Organizing Junkie for more menu ideas!

Menu Plan for Week of 11/15/2010

Breakfast 

Oatmeal, fruit, granola, toast or corn flakes

Lunch

We’re back to peanut butter and jelly this week so I’ll be packing two sandwiches in hubby’s lunch, along with chips, carrot and celery sticks and an apple. The rest of us will be eating either sandwiches or leftovers.

Sandwich of the week – Peanut Butter and Jelly

Fruit of the week – Apples (We eat a lot of apples!) and pears

Dinner

Monday – Country Captain (slow cooker meal)

Tuesday – Leftovers with a salad on the side

Wednesday – Breakfast for dinner (Pancakes, eggs, some kind of breakfast meat, and fruit)

Thursday – Pork Sausage and Squash (slow cooker meal)

Friday – Homemade pizza and tossed salad

Saturday – Leftover homemade pizza and tossed salad

Sunday – Swedish meatballs over pasta and vegetable

Snacks – Crackers and peanut butter, fruit, carrot and celery sticks, or popcorn.

Monday’s meal makes a lot, so we’ll be eating leftovers on Tuesday and adding a salad if we indulge too much on Monday.  I love one-dish meals like this Country Captain and the Sausage and Squash dinners. These meals have a little bit of prep work but very little clean up! I’ll be posting the recipes during the week along with the recipe for some yummy spiced pancakes I made this weekend.

Thank you for stopping by!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Good-Bye, Brother Jim

My brother passed away last week. He was only 54 years old. My heart grieves the loss, but at the same time, I celebrate knowing he’s in Heaven, hanging with Jesus, and reunited with our mother who passed away just four years ago.

Life with Jim was never boring that’s for sure. There are ten years between us so I have a lot of vague impressions from when we were children. Just when I was becoming conscious of the world around me, he was becoming an adult and starting a new family or his own. Even though my memories of our childhood are just shadows of our life together, some things are present in every picture: his charming smile, his endless patience for his pain-in-the-behind little sister, and his love.

Sadly, so many years have been lost because of being in different places at different times, financial burdens, illnesses, and just life in general. We didn’t get to see each other as much as we probably should have, but I never doubted that he loved me. I pray that he never doubted my love for him.

These pictures are just a small glimpse of my brother. He was so much more than these pictures will ever capture. He was my brother in life as well as my brother in Christ. He was a son, a brother, a brother-in-law, a father, a husband, an uncle, and a friend. Jim struggled sometimes with saying just the right words, but his actions spoke volumes. He was always quick to fix things for his family, his friends, and his church. God made him a talented builder and handyman, and he used those talents whenever possible to give glory to God.

I’ll leave you with just one more note of insight into my brother Jim’s character. You see, I actually have three brothers. Jim was the oldest. When describing her three sons, my mother would say, “If a man walked up to the three boys and needed a shirt, your one brother would tell him where he could buy one, your other brother would buy it for him, but Jim…Jim would give him the shirt off his back plus five more from his closet whether he could spare them or not.” Jim was patient. Jim was kind. He did not envy. He did not boast. He was not proud. It is my honor to call him my brother. He will be missed.

Menu Plan Monday, 11/08

We’ve had a death in the family, and a lot of out-of-town relatives will be visiting. I still have my menu plan, but I’m not sure how much of it will be followed with the pending chaos.

                                                                                              

Check out menu ideas at Organizing Junkie!

Menu Plan for Week of 11/08/2010

Breakfast 

Oatmeal, fruit, granola, or toast

Lunch

We actually have lunch meat this week! For my hubby’s lunch, I’ll be packing one sandwich, chips, carrot and celery sticks, pickles, and an apple. The rest of us will be eating either sandwiches or leftovers.

Sandwich of the week – Salami, ham, or bologna

Fruit of the week – Apples (We just got a bushel of apples from 4H. We’ll be eating apples for a while!)

Dinner

Monday –Dinner supplied by my Mother-in-law

Tuesday – Scalloped chicken and potatoes (slow cooker meal)

Wednesday – Texas Ranger soup (slow cooker meal)

Thursday – Breakfast for dinner (Pancakes, eggs, some kind of breakfast meat, and fruit)

Friday – Homemade pizza and tossed salad

Saturday – Leftover homemade pizza and tossed salad

Sunday – Italian Wedding Soup, fresh bread

Snacks – Crackers and peanut butter, fruit, carrot and celery sticks, or popcorn.

Thank you for stopping by! Between the cooler weather setting in and the chaotic week ahead, that slow cooker is really going to come in handy!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

Want to See Something Gross?

Want to see something gross?

That lovely clump of crud came out of my coffee pot today. Yuck!!

We have hard water here and that bit of icky-ness is actually from mineral deposits left behind by our water. Can you imagine what it would look like if I didn’t clean my coffee maker every month?

Cleaning your coffee make is quite easy and vinegar makes an effective and inexpensive cleaner. Here’s how I get the gunk out my coffee maker:

Pour 4 cups of white vinegar into the water reservoir of your coffee pot. Place a clean, dry filter in the filter basket. Place empty decanter on warming plate.

Brew 3 cups of the vinegar through the coffee maker. Turn off coffee maker and let stand for 30 minutes.

Turn coffee maker back on and run the rest of the vinegar through the machine. Discard vinegar and rinse decanter thoroughly.

Fill water reservoir with clean water. Discard and replace filter. Turn the coffee maker on and allow it to run through the entire brewing cycle.

Discard the water in the decanter. Fill water reservoir with clean water. Discard and replace filter. Turn the coffee maker on and allow it to run through the entire brewing cycle. Discard the water in the decanter.

Your coffee maker should be nice and clean on the inside now. If you brew coffee daily, try to get into the habit of cleaning your coffee maker monthly.

Thanks for stopping by! It’s time for me to get back to my fall cleaning. Honestly, it’s not as bad as you’d think. I have my Jared helping me, and we have some great music playing. It’s amazing how much dancing you can do while cleaning!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty

I Do Not Have a Problem

Around this time of year, in anticipation of the holiday season, I deep clean my house. One by one the rooms are emptied and cleaned. Furniture is moved and cleaned behind. Cabinets are emptied and, if possible, moved and cleaned. Anything that needs re-painting gets repainted. The job is a bit overwhelming to me so I simplify it by doing one room at a time. Closets, by the way, are rooms all to themselves, and the kitchen takes three days, because, let’s face it, just because I want to deep clean the house before the holidays doesn’t mean life stands still just for me. I wish. No, I still have children to teach and meals to plan, shop for, and cook, and laundry piling up and pets to care for and a paying job that I have to work, too. So, with the help of my easily bribed children, the house is getting clean!

Today, while cleaning out the food cabinets in the kitchen, my daughter declared that she thinks her mother has a serious problem.

I have no idea what she could possibly mean. I do not have a problem. What I have is what I believe to be just enough parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, and tarragon stashed away from last season’s herb harvest to get me to next season’s harvest. Well, at least I hope it’ll be enough.

Mulled Apple Cider

One of my favorite things about fall is the abundance of apples! Apples are just such a versatile fruit, aren’t they? They’re yummy just by themselves but also bake up into some of the best treats! Apple pie, apple turnovers, apple crisp, apple dumplings…mmmmm, can’t you just smell all those apples and cinnamon baking away?! 

Well, if you’re trying not to overindulge through the holidays this year, and you’re like me and you’re completely devoid of self-control, maybe a cup of mulled apple cider will satisfy for a while. Don’t get me wrong, this drink is still up there a bit in calories and sugar, but no where near an apple pie, and it has no fat. So, go ahead and indulge in a little apple goodness. 

Mulled Apple Cider

Ingredients

1 orange

1 lemon

1 gallon Apple Cider

5-6 whole cloves

5-6 whole allspice berries

2-4 cinnamon sticks

¼ cup packed brown sugar

2 tea bags

Directions:

Slice orange and lemon crosswise into ¼ thick slices. 

Pour Apple Cider into a large crock pot. Add orange and lemon slices, spices, brown sugar and tea bags. Stir well to dissolve brown sugar.

Heat on low for at least 4 hours to blend flavors. Strain into serving mugs. Strain any leftovers and refrigerate. Mulled Cider reheats very well!

Menu Plan Monday, 11/01

Even though I menu plan regularly, I still sometimes have trouble deciding what’s for dinner when I’m planning. When I draw a blank, I like to look at my old menus or other people’s menus for inspiration. Having old menu plans to look at really de-stresses the planning processes!

                                                                                              

Are you at a loss for what to make this week? Check out some ideas at Organizing Junkie!

Menu Plan for Week of 11/01/2010

Breakfast 

Oatmeal, fruit, granola, toast, and/or rice crispies

Lunch

Hubby is back on his usual schedule this week, so I’m back to packing his lunch everyday. One sandwich, chips, carrot and celery sticks, and an apple.

Sandwich of the week – PB and J

Fruit of the week – Apples (We just got a bushel of apples from 4H. We’ll be eating apples for a while!)

Dinner

Monday – Grilled Chicken salad and fresh bread

Tuesday – Spaghetti

Wednesday – Breakfast Casserole

Thursday – Chicken and Vegetables in Wine Sauce over Smashed Potatoes

Friday – Grilled Sausage Hoagies with Peppers and Onions, tossed salad

Saturday – Chicken Sandwiches, marinated vegetables

Sunday – Meatloaf, smashed potatoes, vegetables

Snacks – Crackers and peanut butter, fruit, carrot and celery sticks, or popcorn.

Thank you for stopping by! Sometimes I think my menu is boring, but my family like sit so I guess I’m okay. We have a crazy Saturday that includes the 4H Open House followed by Senior Survivor Saturday. We’ll be packing a cooler and eating on the road, again. I know that many of you are thinking it’s just too much work to pack a cooler and that when you’re out and about for the day, it’s just easier to hit a drive-thru. You’re right. It is easier, but remember: it’s not cost-effective, and it’s definitely not a healthy eating habit! Packing a cooler is worth the time and effort!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Betty