Kids and Christmas

This is a really cute video where the magic of Christmas is shared through the eyes of Children.

Stuffing or Dressing?

Is if Stuffing or Dressing?

There is much confusion about this breaded side dish that is a staple of holiday menus.

If they both have the same ingredients, then what's diffference?

The difference in the name is only a matter of where is cooked.

Put simply, stuffing goes in the bird, dressing goes beside it.

The recipe being shared today is an easy and delicious comfort food.

(we are going to cook it dressing style)

 Ingredients:

16oz Bread Crumbs

1c celery        1c onion

1c pecan        1c apple

1c mushroom 1c carrot

 

8TB butter          2 1/2c broth

1 1/2 TB sage  1/2 tsp marjoram

1tsp thyme        3TB parsley

1tsp basil

salt and pepper

 

*the recipe calls for 1c of each veggie/ fruit...

we did a bit more than that to feed a family of six, plus leftovers...

 

in a large pot, over medium heat, start melting the butter. Add the celery, carrots, apples, mushrooms, spices and broth. stir until butter is melted and everything is well mixed. Add the bread crumbs and pecans and mix until the bread crumbs are well saturated and all is evenly incorporated.

disperse the dressing in a glass baking pan and bake at 350F until the top has a golden crust

(around 45min- 1hr)

 serve hot

 

From the kitchen of: Kimberly Leinbach

Pumpkin Cake

Today's recipe is from the kitchen of Eliza Jeanfreau!

She is an amazing baker and wanted to share this yummy seasonal favorite.

Pumpkin Cake 

Super tasty! Like pumpkin pie, but with a yummy topping.

Mix together:

1 box yellow cake mix

½ C. butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
Save one cup of this mixture and press the ret in bottom of buttered cake pan ( 9X13 or 10X15)

Filling:
1-29 oz. Can pumpkin
1 ½ cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
½ tsp. ground cloves
1 can evaporated milk

Mix and pour over crust.

Topping:

1 cup of the saved crust mixture
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ cup soft butter

 

Mix topping and sprinkle on top.  (Mine usually isn’t crumbly, so I make little pancakes of the topping and drop it on top.)  Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until knife test proves done.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Kicking off the Holidays

Isn't Thanksgiving a wonderful way to kick-off the holiday season?
Thursday was a day filled with giving thanks for the wonderful blessings God has given us.
The Lord's bounty is upon every person who seeks His love. It is such a wonderful gift.

Christmas is a time to remember the birth of our Savior. It is a time of sharing and reverence for His Glory. To celebrate and ring in the Christmas Spirit, the blog will feature a series of holiday themed posts, yummy recipes and fun craft ideas. The hope is that these ideas will inspire you to serve and share your joy with those around you.

Below is a wonderful video to help us all remember the true Spirit of the Season!

May God bless you.

Finding Time

As the new school year is taking off, we need to remember that time is something that were are given to use wisely.  We have 24 hours in a day. That means that have 1440 min to do something incredible. Everyday we are given this gift. However. Trying to manage that time can seem down near impossible.
So to help with that, here are 5 tips to help use time efficiently:

1. Get enough rest
    You can not function unless you are well rested and able to concentrate. Devote enough time in your day to getting good rest. The amount of sleep each person needs is case specific. Learn how much you need and make it a goal to get the perfect amount.
Remeber: too much sleep can leave you lethargic and even more tired.

2. Eat right and stay healthy
    Try your best to eat the right kinds of foods. It doesn't need to be a designer, organic brand to be healthy. Believe it or not, but simple foods, such as oatmeal or beans and rice, are chalked full of vitamins and minerals that the body needs. It doesn't need to be fancy to be good for the body. If these foods are too expensive to buy at the grocer in individually wrapped packages, try buying an off brand in bulk. Save your pennies to get food that will last not just on the shelf but in your stomach. Buy foods that fill you up and keep you full. Try to make sure that the time you spend on food is time well spent.

3.  Always be trying to learn something
     If you aren't in school or are inbetween classes or teaching homeschooling lessons, see what else you can learn. It doesn't need to be school related. Maybe you need to find a more efficient way of doing something. Figure it out! Let those around you help. When you involve others, you will find that life can become very entertaining very quickly. Find something that interests you and learn about it. If you don't know how to do something, learn about it. Become and expert on the topic. Continuous learning helps the brain to focus. Take a break from the typical reading, writing, and arithmetic, and discover something worth while. Pick up a hobby. Learn random facts. With the magic of the internet, there are so many opportunities to learn. All we need to do is utilize the information.

4.  Don't waste time with endless hours of television
     There is nothing wrong with taking a break from your day and watching a little TV. Sometimes your body needs to stop and just breath for a spell. But don't let television and computer games rule your day. If you are especially motivated, learn how to multi-task. Work on a project while watching your favorite show; learn to knit, crochet, sew, paint, make cards, jewelery, cook even! Many times when you are able to distract your mind for a period of time, when you return to a task, you are better able to focus.

5.  Make time for the Lord
    He gives you 86,400 seconds in a day. Give him a couple back. Let Him know that you remember Him. Give Him praise. When you are focused on Him, He will make the rest of your load seem more managable. It won't always change or ease up, but you will feel better about being able to handle it. If you let Him help, you will find more time for accomplishing what needs to be accomplished. You will be focused and ready to complete the tasks that He gives you.
With that, you must also serve Him. How you ask? Help others. It doesn't need to be anything big. It can be telling someone something kind. If you can make one person feel loved, good. But don't stop at one. It feels like a lonely world. Change that. "The worth of souls is great in the sight of God." Don't squander that. Make feel their worth. Don't give them the option of not feeling like someone can be kind;even when others arent. Let His Light so shine through your actions.


As the journey from 2012 into 2013 progresses, may you feel His strength upon you. May you find that the challenges we face in life are meant to make us-not break us. May your time be well spent and full of many positive memories and learning experiences.

God Bless you through the journey.

The Lost Art of Baking Bread

Who doesn't love the smell of baking bread? It's warm and makes you just feel good.
When freshly baked bread comes out of the oven and is set to cool on the counter of a nicely clean kitchen, everything seems right with the world. Nothing really matters except waiting for it to cool so it can be eaten with butter. All politics, drama, worry, disappears when a hot loaf of bread is sitting right in front of you. Doesn't it?

Many people are afraid of baking bread. Yeasty breads take a lot of attention; they have to be proofed, mixed just right, kneaded to perfection, and formed. This might seem like a daunting task, but if you start off slow, it can be really easy, and even really fun!

Now, when I just said it would be easy and fun, a thousand images of ruined attempts and baking bread probably just flashed through your mind. Attempts where the bread machine broke, the loaf comes out disformed, the yeast didn't proof, the dough turned to paste, flour is everywhere, your counter is covered in who knows what, flat unrisen dough is all over your clothes, gooey bread that didn't cook all the way through is stuck to the pan; and the worst memory yet, after all of your diligent preperation, after hours of waiting for the first rise, punching it down and letting it rise again overnight, getting your hopes up that you have finally made the perfect loaf of bread, are decimated when you get called away from the oven, the dough is cooked a little too long, you are left with rocks.

SO.

Here is what you need to do. STOP! Stop worrying. Stop fretting. Stop being afraid. Just Breathe. 

Making bread from scratch is not really as difficult as it sounds. Even with yeast bread, the only thing that is truly difficult is not getting stressed if something doesn't go picture perfect. That just means you might need to get creative.

Without further ado, let's learn how to make a basic bread dough.  

Well you can't exactly just start baking unless you have a recipe...This is one of our favorites. It makes fabulous dough in about 20min and rolls in about 30 min

note: If you decide to use the dough for loaves, for pizza or what have you, the cooking time will change.

30min Rolls:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Bake for 10-12min

1 1/4c Warm Water(make sure it is warm not hot or boiling)

1/3 c Oil (most oils work well for this dough. although, I wouldn't recomend any that are solid at room temperature...such as coconut oil...I generally use generic olive or canola oils the difference in taste between them is minor)
2TB instant yeast (we could proof the regular yeast, but that can get messy and sometimes makes the bread making process stressful if one is unsure of what they are doing.It is also roughly the same cost as regular yeast and doesn't require the 15 min proofing time.)

1/4 c Honey or Sugar (honey stickier, but I prefer to use it to sugar. Sugar is quicker, but honey has more nutritive values, and I think it tastes better...)

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

3 1/2- 4 c Flour (I generally use All-Purpose white flour, but when we truly make bread entirely from scratch, we grind about a 50/50 blend of hard-red and soft-white wheat.)

Now. You have the recipe, so tie your apron strings and let's start with the basics.

When baking most anything (especially yeast breads), you want to remember to mix you dry ingredients seperately from you wet ingredients, then combine them wet to dry (unless instructed differently by the recipe). This ensures that the yeast will activate before it is combined with the flour.

An easy way to remember how to start this recipe is by remembering "First Four First".

In a medium bowl, combine the first for ingredients (water, oil, yeast, and sugar/ honey).
Mix it all thoroughly.

Then add the egg and salt. Break the egg and again mix it thoroughly.

In a larger bowl (preferably a large metal one), put the flour. Make an indentation in the middle of  the flour mound.
Slowly pour the now wet ingredients in the center of flour. It will look slightly like a large flour volcanoe is spewing frothy egg.

With a spatula or spoon, mix the ingredients until a dough forms. You may need to add flour or water until the dough is a good consitancy. It needs to be wet enough to be able to form it, but dry enough to work with it and not stick to your hands/ spoon.

Now you have a beautiful dough. The next step is to knead it.

Remember that if you don't knead it enough, it will not have the right consistancy, but if you over knead it, the dough will become really tough. Don't fear!

Keep the dough in the metal bowl and start to knead the dough with the spoon/spatula.

If it starts to get difficult with the spoon, start using a pastry scraper or your hand. remember to keep your hand relatively flat when working with the dough.
If you plunge your fingers into it, you will make a mess, and your hand could get stuck.

While you are working with the dough in the bowl, you may still need to add some water or flour (depending on your particular dough).

Now for the fun part!

Sprinkle flour on a flat surface (a counter, bread board, pan, wax paper, etc). Slide the dough out of the bowl and onto your floured surface (the flour helps it not to stick to the counter). Knead the bread with your palms away from you. Pick up the dough from underneath to move it. Use your hands like paddles when rearanging your dough. Knead it until you see it "tear" slightly when you push it away from you.

When you feel that it is ready, you can decide to make it into rolls or use it for other purposes.

For Rolls:

On your floured surface, form the dough into a loaf shape. Round the top so that it is smooth. Using your pastry scraper, or a sharp knife, cut the dough into even sizes. For 1 dozen rolls, it gets cut in half, reformed into two loaves. Those loaves are cut into thirds, reformed and each third is cut in half.

Form the smaller pieces of dough into a roll shape. Make sure that each roll is smooth on the top. The bottom does not need to be as smooth, but each roll needs to look uniform from the top.  Place formed rolls on a greased cookie sheet.

 

Bake for 10 -12 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown.

Be careful because they might be moist on the inside and golden on the outside.

A good way to check is to pull the rolls slightly out of the oven and gently nudge one. If it is slightly firm to the touch, it is done. If it still feels doughy, keep it cooking a little longer.

Let it cool. Doesnt' that smell wonderful?

See? Bread isn't that hard! It just takes practice. The more you practice, the easier it gets. Don't be afraid, just try it!

If you have questions, need advice, have any tips/ recipes, or just want to chat, feel free to email or leave a comment!

In Congress, July 4th, 1776

Hello! It's been a while hasn't it? Life gets crazy and the next thing you know, June is gone...Anyways, posts should start to pick back up again:)
So. In honor of yesterday being the 4th of July,
The links below will provide some background on the true nature of that day in 1776.

http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/
Declaration of Independence and some various histories...very interesting!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States)
Yes, a wikipedia link...there is a description of observance traditions if you scroll down...

And there is also a very sweet description of a Fourth of July celebration in the Laura Ingalls Wilder book, Little Town on the Prairie.

The Lord works in His time, and His ways are not our ways...May His Love and blessing be with you and may you see His Hand in all things, even those that are not the most desirous of events.
He has a purpose for His work, and is ultimately for our betterment:)