Happy Monday!

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a great day so far. We have worked on half school today as we are going to get haircuts this afternoon. I found this new recipe for bread and so I am taking this loaf to Mrs. Faye as a thank you for cutting our hair. We also plan on sharing these cinnamon buns with her.

I got this recipe from http://redfarmhouse.blogspot.com/search?q=one+rise+bread.

I also wanted to share another new recipe I am trying. I got it from here http://belovedsbride.blogspot.com/ I had a beef roast to put in the crockpot this morning. Amazing how things work out that way. It sure does smell good cooking.

Another new thing I did last month was bake our bacon in the oven. Jess does this all the time so I thought I would give it a try. We buy our bacon at Sam’s in a 3 lb package. Last month, I baked the entire package at one time. Instructions are here: http://blog.makezine.com/craft/kitchen_101_cooking_bacon_in_t/ I then froze the precooked bacon. Wow, I’m thinking, why hadn’t I thought of this before. Now all I have to do is get out the amount of bacon needed for breakfast, heat it up in a skillet or microwave and ta-da bacon is ready. I am impressed with how fast it is and how crispy the bacon is. Of course, the instructions on the post said to throw away the bacon grease that accumulates in the pan. I’m sure that ain’t right! I would never throw away good bacon grease. Mine is in a jar in the fridge and has already been used several times. Once, for some refried beans I made the other day that was delicious.

Well, that’s about it. I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

February 4, 2013 7

Apples

Monday, the girls and I went to the pastor’s home to pick apples.

He has about 10 trees (I think) and they all look like this one. We picked three 100 lb. feed sacks full. I am estimating each sack holds 1 and 1/2 bushel of apples. So that means we got close to 5 bushels of apples. At our local store, apples are selling for $20.00 a bushel. That means I have about $100.00 of apples sitting in my kitchen that were just gave to me. God is good!! They also gave us the last of their grapes-about 1 bushel. Yesterday, the girls and I juiced the grapes they gave us and did one batch of juice from our grapes. We also did a batch of apples in the juicer and tried a new recipe crockpot maple apple jam. It is very good. It reminds me of apple butter but has a distinctive maple taste.

We picked the last of our grapes today-about 1/2 bushel. We put them in the fridge for today. Maybe we will just eat on them for a while instead of juicing them. I hope to do more apples this evening but I’m not sure. We might have to wait until tomorrow to start on them. I am wanting to try a new recipe I saw for apple pie using honey instead of sugar. It looked really good.

Well, I guess that’s all that has been going on around here-just grapes and apples. I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

September 5, 2012 8

Now and Then

I posted this picture on March 11, 2012.

10 days later it looks like this. Amazing! Things are really popping out here and I am so glad. Monday and Tuesday, I had to help Hubby with the electrical at the the job site. Today, I am very glad to be here at home. We are hoping to get some outside work done this afternoon after school. I’m not sure though. The morning has been chilly with lots of fog. The fog is lifting now and the sun is starting to lighten things up. It is looking hopeful for outside work.

I wanted to share with you all something I just recently purchased for our kitchen. It is called a butter keeper. Are any of you familar with them? Well I just love it. I love using real butter but do not like the fact that it is so hard to spread when kept in the fridge. Well, this butter keeper allows me to leave the butter sitting on the table without spoiling. And it looks cute, too.

Here’s how it works. Every couple of days, I put cold water in the bottom of the crock. The butter then stays nice and cool but spreadable. I really like it.

Well, it is time for me to give a history test. I hope you all have a wonderful evening and God bless.

March 21, 2012 6

Easy Pie Recipe

I thought I would share with you all this super easy pie recipe. I don’t know the name of it but years ago when I worked, one of the ladies I worked with used to make this a lot. It uses simple ingredients and takes very little time.

I used 1 store bought graham cracker pie crust. For the filling use, 1 container cool whip, 1 pkg cream cheese-both at room temperature. Add 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Mix with your mixer until well blended. Pour filling into pie crust. Then for the topping I used fresh strawberries and a little strawberry glaze. Set in fridge for a little while to chill, then enjoy. You can make this with blueberries, peaches, almost any type of fruit. If you do not want to use the store bought glaze you can always just add sugar to the fresh fruit and let it make its own glaze. Its all up to your taste.

Well, Julie ended up with strep throat. She started running a fever yesterday. I called the doctor’s office and he called us in a prescription. Needless to say, we will not be going to church today. Just staying home and recuperating.

I hope everyone has a great Sunday and God bless.

April 10, 2011 3

Pinwheel Candy

It is raining outside today. We did not want to go to the building to get decorations so we just decided to make some candy. I usually make this only at Christmas time but I should make it more often as it is one of everyone’s favorite. This recipe came from a dear friend of mine and I have used it now for about 25 years. Wow, that makes me feel old(maybe I should leave that sentence out). Anyway the recipe is:

1/4 cup butter-softened, 1 tsp vanilla. Gradually add in 1 box powdered sugar. You will need to add a little evaporated milk at the end-only add about 1 tbsp at a time. 1-3 tbsp should be all you will need. It needs to be a little dry. Roll out and spread on peanut butter. Roll up candy length wise and put in fridge until chilled. Cut and enjoy.

Just a little note about the lady who gave me this recipe. Her name was Vanessa Looney and she was one of the finest Christian ladies I have ever known. When it became obvious to those who loved her that it would soon be time for her to be with the Lord, she made a profound statement to me. We were talking and she said “You know, I am not afraid of dying. I have lived my entire life for this moment. I will finally see my Jesus.” I consider this one of the most important statements a Christian could ever make-that we would all live our lives for the moment we will see Him. Just a little remembering on my part.

Well, I best be going. My girls want to play a game of cards. Enjoy your day and God bless.

November 30, 2010 5

Pickled Eggs

Here is how I make our pickled eggs. First I boil the eggs.

After they have cooled, peel them.

Put them into a large glass container. I use a wide mouth half gallon canning jar. Using a wide mouth jar makes it easier to get the eggs out. We grow beets in our garden. In the fall we harvest them and make pickled beets. I use the pickled beet juice to pour over the boiled eggs. If you don’t have your own pickled beets you can buy them from the store. If using store brought you will need to add pickling spice to the juice. About 1 tsp. per can.

As soon as you pour the juice over them, they turn this beautiful color. Put them in the fridge and they will be ready to eat in about a week. As I said yesterday, Hubby loves them. I think they are just okay so I consider making them an act of love. Last night’s supper menu was pork roast baked in a cast iron dutch oven, mashed potatoes, home canned corn, homemade rolls, and blackberry dumplings made from blackberries we canned last fall. Delicious! Today is sunshine, beautiful sunshine. Warmer temperatures are on the way. Jess is coming up tomorrow with Daniel. She has some shirts she needs altered. We also hope to go the the local greenhouse and check out the flowers. Lots of fun! The girls don’t know it yet but we are taking an Easter break. Half school today and then no school until Monday. They will be very happy. Well, now it’s time for a language test so I better get busy being Teacher. Take care and God bless.

March 31, 2010 1