On August 3, 2012 I found out that i was pregnant! This was something I had wanted for a long time, but never thought would happen. I had prayed for years that God give me a child, but I had not been able to conceive. Several doctors had told me that I would never be able to have a child, but still i tried multiple drugs and fertility treatments. I did not want to give up. With my new life of being a single women again at my age, I had resigned to the fact that this was something I was not meant to expereience.
Kyle and I had discussed the possibility of having children and he understood my plight. We both desired children and decided that when the time was right we would try and possibly adopt.
God finally answered my prayer with a positive pregnancy test! It was scary and exciting at the same time. Kyle was ecstatic and overjoyed. I was super scared that i would miscarry, since i had once before, but Kyle helped me remain positive. After all the mere fact that i was pregnant was more than we ever thought possible.
Fast forwarding in this journey..... I have a beautiful baby girl who is now four months old, and i have a wonderf1ul man who is a great father and will be a great husband!
So the lesson i learned... God answers prayers in three different ways: yes, no, and not yet... This was definitely a not yet for me! So again i had to learn that God's timing is much better than mine!
Thursday, August 29, 2013
SPAGHETTI SAUCE
It's been over two years since I have been able to do any canning, but i finally got to can some spaghetti sauce yesterday. A good friend of mine gave me a bushel of tomatoes from her garden with a few bell peppers thrown in on top. So I was overwhelmed with the urge to do some canning, and i had everything i needed already to get the job done. It was a hard decision as to what i wanted to do with the tomatoes, but we eat a lot of spaghetti, so it really was a no brainer!
I forgot how much work actually went into canning, especially with a four month old daughter begging for my attention. But i was able to keep her entertained (I think). I put her swing in the kitchen with me and told her all about how to can tomatoes and of course broke out in song on occasion. I am one of those cooks who doesn't like to measure, so my sauce never turns out the same way twice, but i will detail the things that are constant.
First thing i had to do was wash the tomatoes and discard the bad tomatoes that i couldn't use. Then i prepared one pan with boiling water and another with ice water. I would blanch the tomatoes for 10ish seconds and then dip them in the ice water. Now i say 10ish because it depended on the size of the tomato. You want to blanch them just long enough to peel the skins but not turn the tomato mushy. So next step peel the skins off of the tomatoes. If you leave them on they become really chewy and are not good tasting once they cook down.
Next step, take the seeds out! This also eliminates alot of the juice. You can strain the seeds and make tomatoe juice, but i did not do that this time. Towards the end of my bushel of tomatoes, i got a little lazy and just began squeezing them with my hands. And yes some seeds still got into my sauce.
Then comes the long part... cooking the tomatoes down. While the tomatoes are cooking I clean up my kitchen and prepare the next step. I cut up 4 onions, 2 green peppers and 2 yellow bell peppers and pureed them in my power blender. I add this to the tomatoes along with some salt, garlic powder, and sugar. I let this cook for about an hour and the scraped the foamy stuff off of the top of the sauce. I then added about 2TBSP baking soda. Now be careful when adding this because it will bubble up and over flow if your not careful ( i love chemical reactions). Again i scraped off any foam on top of the sauce. I then allowed the sauce to cook for about an hour stirring periodically.
Now for seasoning, i added italian seasoning, basil, oregano, black pepper and a little more garlic. This is all done to taste, so remember the seasoning will get stronger as it cooks down. I then add 5 cans of tomato paste. Several hours later it is ready to can. I like a thick sauce, so i let it cook for quite a while. I test it by putting a spoonful on a plate and draw a line through the middle. If the line doesn"t go back together it is done!
After this it's standard canning instructions! So now i have 7 quarts of spaghetti sauce that look wonderful and taste just as good!!
I forgot how much work actually went into canning, especially with a four month old daughter begging for my attention. But i was able to keep her entertained (I think). I put her swing in the kitchen with me and told her all about how to can tomatoes and of course broke out in song on occasion. I am one of those cooks who doesn't like to measure, so my sauce never turns out the same way twice, but i will detail the things that are constant.
First thing i had to do was wash the tomatoes and discard the bad tomatoes that i couldn't use. Then i prepared one pan with boiling water and another with ice water. I would blanch the tomatoes for 10ish seconds and then dip them in the ice water. Now i say 10ish because it depended on the size of the tomato. You want to blanch them just long enough to peel the skins but not turn the tomato mushy. So next step peel the skins off of the tomatoes. If you leave them on they become really chewy and are not good tasting once they cook down.
Next step, take the seeds out! This also eliminates alot of the juice. You can strain the seeds and make tomatoe juice, but i did not do that this time. Towards the end of my bushel of tomatoes, i got a little lazy and just began squeezing them with my hands. And yes some seeds still got into my sauce.
Then comes the long part... cooking the tomatoes down. While the tomatoes are cooking I clean up my kitchen and prepare the next step. I cut up 4 onions, 2 green peppers and 2 yellow bell peppers and pureed them in my power blender. I add this to the tomatoes along with some salt, garlic powder, and sugar. I let this cook for about an hour and the scraped the foamy stuff off of the top of the sauce. I then added about 2TBSP baking soda. Now be careful when adding this because it will bubble up and over flow if your not careful ( i love chemical reactions). Again i scraped off any foam on top of the sauce. I then allowed the sauce to cook for about an hour stirring periodically.
Now for seasoning, i added italian seasoning, basil, oregano, black pepper and a little more garlic. This is all done to taste, so remember the seasoning will get stronger as it cooks down. I then add 5 cans of tomato paste. Several hours later it is ready to can. I like a thick sauce, so i let it cook for quite a while. I test it by putting a spoonful on a plate and draw a line through the middle. If the line doesn"t go back together it is done!
After this it's standard canning instructions! So now i have 7 quarts of spaghetti sauce that look wonderful and taste just as good!!
Friday, August 16, 2013
beginning again
Beginning Again...
Since my last blog my life has changed dramatically! I do not want to dwell on the past, so i am going to keep this short. The man i was married to for 7 years
decided he did not want to be married to me any longer. Of course at the time i was completely devastated, but now I know that i had to endure that in order to receive the blessings God had in store for me. throughout the beginning rough days of my new life, I prayed and cried continuously, but i never lost faith in my Lord. Finally, while praying one night, i said okay Lord, whatever you have in store for me, i am willing, i just want to be happy again! I stopped praying to be brought back together with my ex, and I filed for divorce. A few days later, i met the most wonderful man in the world! At the time i didn't know how much meeting this man would change my life, but I had to learn to let God have control and he would show me the way! So, Long story short, i learned two valuable lessons. 1. It is God's will not mine 2. It is God's timing not mine. Okay three lessons... God will provide to those who remain faithful!
decided he did not want to be married to me any longer. Of course at the time i was completely devastated, but now I know that i had to endure that in order to receive the blessings God had in store for me. throughout the beginning rough days of my new life, I prayed and cried continuously, but i never lost faith in my Lord. Finally, while praying one night, i said okay Lord, whatever you have in store for me, i am willing, i just want to be happy again! I stopped praying to be brought back together with my ex, and I filed for divorce. A few days later, i met the most wonderful man in the world! At the time i didn't know how much meeting this man would change my life, but I had to learn to let God have control and he would show me the way! So, Long story short, i learned two valuable lessons. 1. It is God's will not mine 2. It is God's timing not mine. Okay three lessons... God will provide to those who remain faithful!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
It's too HOT to eat
I was thinking about what we could eat in this horrible heat. I don't have air in my home, so when it is hot outside it is like a sauna inside. So here is a simple recipe for a vegetable dip that is very refreshing.
1 large container plain yogurt
1 medium cucumber - peeled, seeded, finely copped
2-3 cloves of garlic -pressed
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients. How simple is that. Sometimes the cucumber makes it a little watery, so you can strain the chopped cukes if there is too much liquid, but i usually leave it in because it adds flavor. The amount of garlic is just a guess, so just add to taste without overpowering the cucumber flavor. If you are not a huge fan of garlic then add less. Remember a little garlic goes a long way and it will get stronger as it sets. This a wonderful bread and vegetable dip! Plus it is very good for you. Enjoy!
1 large container plain yogurt
1 medium cucumber - peeled, seeded, finely copped
2-3 cloves of garlic -pressed
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients. How simple is that. Sometimes the cucumber makes it a little watery, so you can strain the chopped cukes if there is too much liquid, but i usually leave it in because it adds flavor. The amount of garlic is just a guess, so just add to taste without overpowering the cucumber flavor. If you are not a huge fan of garlic then add less. Remember a little garlic goes a long way and it will get stronger as it sets. This a wonderful bread and vegetable dip! Plus it is very good for you. Enjoy!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Banana Bread
I have been baking a lot lately. Need to get it out of my system before it is too hot in my apartment to do anything but sit and sweat! One of my favorites is Banana bread! I bake several at a time and freeze them so I can enjoy them later too. I use disposable (reusable) aluminum mini loaf pans. They clean up easily and can be reused multiple times. I have had mine a couple of years now, even though I aspire to buying a set of non-disposable pans. That being said, I have had many requests for my recipe, so here it is. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3-4 ripe bananas (approx. 1 1/2 cups) (wait until the peel is black)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup canola oil (vegetable oil works too)
2 Lg Eggs
2 tsp vanilla (i never measure the vanilla so this is also just approximate)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease bread pan(s). I use crisco canola oil non-stick spray.
Mash bananas and add sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs. Add baking soda, salt and baking powder. Fold in flour. Pour into pan and bake 55 to 60 minutes for large loaf and 25 to 30 minutes for mini loaves. Each batch makes 4 mini loaves. Bread is done when it is "toothpick" clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pan(s). Place on cooling rack to completely cool. Wrap in saran wrap and put in fridge. I will put these into a freezer bag to go into my freezer.
Ingredients:
3-4 ripe bananas (approx. 1 1/2 cups) (wait until the peel is black)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup canola oil (vegetable oil works too)
2 Lg Eggs
2 tsp vanilla (i never measure the vanilla so this is also just approximate)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease bread pan(s). I use crisco canola oil non-stick spray.
Mash bananas and add sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs. Add baking soda, salt and baking powder. Fold in flour. Pour into pan and bake 55 to 60 minutes for large loaf and 25 to 30 minutes for mini loaves. Each batch makes 4 mini loaves. Bread is done when it is "toothpick" clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove from pan(s). Place on cooling rack to completely cool. Wrap in saran wrap and put in fridge. I will put these into a freezer bag to go into my freezer.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Homemade Laundry Detergent
Do you ever walk down the laundry detergent aisle at the store and cringe at the high prices? Then quickly began scanning for the lowest prices trying to find the most for your money? Yeah that used to be me too. For a little over a year now I have been using homemade laundry detergent. It feels so good to walk past the detergent aisle and know I don't need anything. Of course I laugh and think suckers, you are spending way too much money!! Is it appropriate to approach a stranger and tell them about making their own?? Probably not a good idea, so I just keep walking with a big smile on my face.
I just made my second batch today, which ends up being 10 gallons. And since I am writing a blog about it, I should probably share my recipe. My mother-in-law gave me this recipe, which is the same recipe that the Dugger family uses (www.duggerfamily.com). For those you don't know who the Dugger family is, well it is a husband and wife who have like 19 kids (not for sure how many), so you can imagine they need to try to save money any way they can.
So here is what you need....
One time expenses ( You will want to buy utensils that you only use for soap - buy cheap = save more money)
1. 3- 4 quart soup pan (got mine at Goodwill for $1)
2. Large plastic ladle (Dollar Tree $1)- need long handle for stirring
3. Metal cheese grater (Gift - but they have them at Dollar Tree)
4. Measuring cup (had an old set I didn't use - works great for soap)
5. 5 gallon bucket with lid (Lowes, but I think you can get them at Meijer's in the painting section)
6. Funnel (Dollar Tree $1)
Ingredients
1. 4 cups Hot Tap Water
2. 1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
3. 1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (DO NOT USE BAKING SODA)
4. 1/2 cup Borax
What to do
1. Grate bar of soap into saucepan and add water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is completely melted.
2. Fill a 5 gallon bucket half way with hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda, and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover, and let sit overnight to thicken.
When ready to use
1. Stir bucket to mix.
2. Fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser (old jug) half full and then fill rest of way with water.
3. Shake before each use.
How much to use
Top Load Machine - 5/8 cup per load (approx. 180 Loads)
Front Load machine - 1/4 cup per load ( approx 640 loads)
Tips
* For extra soiled loads use a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of vinegar
* Soap will not suds much, so don't add more!
* Meijer's has all of the ingredients, but shop around for the lowest prices !!
I just made my second batch today, which ends up being 10 gallons. And since I am writing a blog about it, I should probably share my recipe. My mother-in-law gave me this recipe, which is the same recipe that the Dugger family uses (www.duggerfamily.com). For those you don't know who the Dugger family is, well it is a husband and wife who have like 19 kids (not for sure how many), so you can imagine they need to try to save money any way they can.
So here is what you need....
One time expenses ( You will want to buy utensils that you only use for soap - buy cheap = save more money)
1. 3- 4 quart soup pan (got mine at Goodwill for $1)
2. Large plastic ladle (Dollar Tree $1)- need long handle for stirring
3. Metal cheese grater (Gift - but they have them at Dollar Tree)
4. Measuring cup (had an old set I didn't use - works great for soap)
5. 5 gallon bucket with lid (Lowes, but I think you can get them at Meijer's in the painting section)
6. Funnel (Dollar Tree $1)
Ingredients
1. 4 cups Hot Tap Water
2. 1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
3. 1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (DO NOT USE BAKING SODA)
4. 1/2 cup Borax
What to do
1. Grate bar of soap into saucepan and add water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is completely melted.
2. Fill a 5 gallon bucket half way with hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda, and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover, and let sit overnight to thicken.
When ready to use
1. Stir bucket to mix.
2. Fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser (old jug) half full and then fill rest of way with water.
3. Shake before each use.
How much to use
Top Load Machine - 5/8 cup per load (approx. 180 Loads)
Front Load machine - 1/4 cup per load ( approx 640 loads)
Tips
* For extra soiled loads use a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of vinegar
* Soap will not suds much, so don't add more!
* Meijer's has all of the ingredients, but shop around for the lowest prices !!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Butterscotch cookies
As the mid-west was preparing for "snowmegedon" or "snowpocolypse", I decided to bake. In the event that we would lose electricity I wanted to make sure the apartment was already warm. Since our heat is all electric, I was preparing for a cold night. However, I was also really in the mood for some homemade cookies. Then came the big decision of my day...what kind of cookies should I make? Since it has been almost three years since I have had butterscotch cookies, that was the winner. Also, numerous friends of mine had shown interest in the butterscotch cookies, so I will post the recipe at the end of this blog. Hope you enjoy the cookies, I know I have!
Butterscotch cookies
1/2 cup Butter 2 Lg Eggs 1 1/4 cup Flour
1/2 cup Crisco 1 tsp Vanilla 3 cups Oatmeal
3/4 cup Br. Sugar 1 tsp baking soda 2 cup butterscotch morsels
3/4 cup Gran. sugar 1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven 350 degrees
Mix softened butter, crisco, brown sugar, granulated sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla, baking soda and salt. Add flour. Fold in oatmeal. Add butterscotch morsels. Place dough in fridge for 10 minutes. Scoop tbsp size balls onto baking stone. Bake 10-12 minutes, until edges start to turn lightly brown. Allow to cool on stone for 5 min and then place on cooling rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Butterscotch cookies
1/2 cup Butter 2 Lg Eggs 1 1/4 cup Flour
1/2 cup Crisco 1 tsp Vanilla 3 cups Oatmeal
3/4 cup Br. Sugar 1 tsp baking soda 2 cup butterscotch morsels
3/4 cup Gran. sugar 1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven 350 degrees
Mix softened butter, crisco, brown sugar, granulated sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla, baking soda and salt. Add flour. Fold in oatmeal. Add butterscotch morsels. Place dough in fridge for 10 minutes. Scoop tbsp size balls onto baking stone. Bake 10-12 minutes, until edges start to turn lightly brown. Allow to cool on stone for 5 min and then place on cooling rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)