Our garden has really been producing this year, we have had good rain and lots of sunshine. I think our tomatoes are going to do well also. I am looking forward to the hubbs salsa and if you are good I might share his recipe with you, it is super secret don't you know. He also makes pepper jelly that is so good. If you have never had pepper jelly you need to try it, you might have seen it at Christmas over cream cheese or Brie with crackers. It is usually red but it could be green too. You can buy it in the grocery store and those fancy specialty shops. Make sure you do not get the mint jelly because they have that too along the same isle. Pepper jelly is a blend of sweet and hot and it is yummy with cream cheese and crackers. I told you I do not can, well I fibbed just a bit, we have canned pepper jelly before successfully. I hope we will get to make some this year.
Our peppers are just starting to come in and the hubbs is already picking them. We had them stuffed on the grill over the fourth. Several years ago we picked up a pepper popper grill pan, it has holes to put your peppers in to hold them upright on your grill. This is a wonderful pan to have if you like stuffed peppers. For our peppers, the hubbs browns some ground meat and then blends with a block of cream cheese and a taco seasoning packet. This goes in the fridge to chill just a bit while he cores his peppers. The cream cheese mixture needs to chill a bit so it will not run out of your peppers or be to mushy. Once you have your peppers ready stuff them with your mixture, if your peppers are too small to sit up in the popper pan you can stick a long tooth pick through them to help hold them up. We do this for the jalapeno peppers because they are usually smaller than the other peppers we use. I like to dip mine in a little sour cream too when I get ready to eat them. These are wonderful on the grill.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
A New School Year Fast Approaching. . .
A little over a month left of Summer vacation and so much to cram in there. Sprat has camp, a college tour, and lots more football practice. Our Church is going to do some mini mission camps on Saturdays around our Church neighborhood. A lot of our kids work and our youth leaders work too so we are going to fit our mission work in on the weekends. How is that for teaching our kids to serve others? I like it. Maybe they will remember this when they get older and are on their own and not forget to serve. I know I forgot as I got older, it took having my own children to remember that we should serve others just like Jesus did.
We have the best youth leaders at our Church, they really get our kids involved in the community and I think that is very important. Our kids are going to host some date nights for the parents so that they can leave their children with our youth and be able to go and enjoy themselves. They are going to offer these as we get closer to Christmas so that the parents can do their Christmas shopping. We have done this in the past and it has been a huge hit.
We set up in our fellowship building and show age appropriate movies and have snacks and goodies. They also do a craft and play games, the youth enjoy it and I think the kids that came did too.
We also have movie nights on the lawn with popcorn and slushies. Those are a lot of fun for the whole family.
The picture below is when the youth built our Labyrinth beside our Church. Big T taking his stroll.
We have the best youth leaders at our Church, they really get our kids involved in the community and I think that is very important. Our kids are going to host some date nights for the parents so that they can leave their children with our youth and be able to go and enjoy themselves. They are going to offer these as we get closer to Christmas so that the parents can do their Christmas shopping. We have done this in the past and it has been a huge hit.
We set up in our fellowship building and show age appropriate movies and have snacks and goodies. They also do a craft and play games, the youth enjoy it and I think the kids that came did too.
We also have movie nights on the lawn with popcorn and slushies. Those are a lot of fun for the whole family.
The picture below is when the youth built our Labyrinth beside our Church. Big T taking his stroll.
Monday, July 4, 2016
Be Prepared for the Storm. . .Life Lessons. . .
I have debated and debated on whether to write about something going on in our lives. You may or may not know that we are a single income family, I have written numerous times about how much I love Dave Ramsey and how his plan helped us get out of debt. I have also written about my faith in God and how he works in our lives. We are by no means a perfect family but, I know that God loves us and that he is constantly at work in our lives. I am writing this today to inspire and encourage others that may be facing similar circumstances.
My husband was a pharmaceutical sales representative with the same company for 23 years, I say was because he was just recently downsized. Now we are a no income family of four. We have not shared this with anyone but our family thus far. We are a prime example of why you should use Dave Ramsey's plan to get out of debt. To use Dave Ramsey's words, you never know when it is going to rain so, you better be prepared. I always talk about how God works through our lives and this is a huge example. I was able to take the Dave Ramsey class in 2012 and we had just bought a new car. Before taking his class I had dabbled in the envelope system but only got serious after taking the class. Dave's class showed me that we had to get out of debt and how debt is bad. In 2012 we started following a budget and using the envelope system to curb our spending and save for special things that we wanted to do. I know that it was God that pointed us in that direction because he knew his plan for us. I was able to pay our car off and get out of debt, except for the house, in two years. Since our only debt is the house we have been working like crazy to get it paid off too.
I said earlier I do not want anyone to pity us because I know this is God's plan and because he got us on the Dave Ramsey road to financial peace, we are at peace financially. If you have not checked Dave Ramsey out I encourage you to do so. Dave Ramsey has a plan that anyone can work if they want, you have to want to get out of debt though and you have to be serious about it. I am not being compensated in any way for this post. This is just something that I am very passionate about and a plan that I believe in and that is working for my family.
This is a shining example of why everyone, even those professionals that think it could never happen to me, need to be preparing for the rain. I am so thankful that God pointed us in the direction of Dave Ramsey because otherwise we would not have been prepared for this storm. Not that anyone can be prepared for something like this but I feel we are better prepared than we were five years ago. We had our six months worth of expenses emergency fund in place and no debt other than the house and our house payment is manageable. As our storm rages there are so many emotions; there is anger, frustration, sadness, shame, and yes guilt.
This is why you have been seeing so many garden and recipe posts from me. I have not really known how to talk about this but I feel like I need to talk about it because it is happening all over the country these days. I have put my classes on hold for the time being, the hubbs did get a severance package and that is a huge blessing and we used my tuition money to buy him a new laptop. His laptop was company property so it went back to the company.
I know this is God's plan and I do feel blessed that he is working in our lives. He has blessed us with a bountiful garden this year and I am truly thankful. The hubbs and I could live out of our garden and have been these last few months but the kiddos want meat and well, I cannot bring myself to raise anything to butcher just yet.
Stay tuned this and the garden will by my focus these next few months.
"There is hope in your future." Jeremiah 31:17
My husband was a pharmaceutical sales representative with the same company for 23 years, I say was because he was just recently downsized. Now we are a no income family of four. We have not shared this with anyone but our family thus far. We are a prime example of why you should use Dave Ramsey's plan to get out of debt. To use Dave Ramsey's words, you never know when it is going to rain so, you better be prepared. I always talk about how God works through our lives and this is a huge example. I was able to take the Dave Ramsey class in 2012 and we had just bought a new car. Before taking his class I had dabbled in the envelope system but only got serious after taking the class. Dave's class showed me that we had to get out of debt and how debt is bad. In 2012 we started following a budget and using the envelope system to curb our spending and save for special things that we wanted to do. I know that it was God that pointed us in that direction because he knew his plan for us. I was able to pay our car off and get out of debt, except for the house, in two years. Since our only debt is the house we have been working like crazy to get it paid off too.
I said earlier I do not want anyone to pity us because I know this is God's plan and because he got us on the Dave Ramsey road to financial peace, we are at peace financially. If you have not checked Dave Ramsey out I encourage you to do so. Dave Ramsey has a plan that anyone can work if they want, you have to want to get out of debt though and you have to be serious about it. I am not being compensated in any way for this post. This is just something that I am very passionate about and a plan that I believe in and that is working for my family.
This is a shining example of why everyone, even those professionals that think it could never happen to me, need to be preparing for the rain. I am so thankful that God pointed us in the direction of Dave Ramsey because otherwise we would not have been prepared for this storm. Not that anyone can be prepared for something like this but I feel we are better prepared than we were five years ago. We had our six months worth of expenses emergency fund in place and no debt other than the house and our house payment is manageable. As our storm rages there are so many emotions; there is anger, frustration, sadness, shame, and yes guilt.
This is why you have been seeing so many garden and recipe posts from me. I have not really known how to talk about this but I feel like I need to talk about it because it is happening all over the country these days. I have put my classes on hold for the time being, the hubbs did get a severance package and that is a huge blessing and we used my tuition money to buy him a new laptop. His laptop was company property so it went back to the company.
I know this is God's plan and I do feel blessed that he is working in our lives. He has blessed us with a bountiful garden this year and I am truly thankful. The hubbs and I could live out of our garden and have been these last few months but the kiddos want meat and well, I cannot bring myself to raise anything to butcher just yet.
Stay tuned this and the garden will by my focus these next few months.
"There is hope in your future." Jeremiah 31:17
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Cucumbers and More. . .
The sauerkraut is almost ready and we have started another jar. We are truly blessed with our garden and so very thankful. The cucumbers are now flowing like water and the hubbs did plant some picklers so, you guessed it, he now wants to make pickles. We still are not that sure about true canning so we are going to try refrigerator pickles. The hubbs is quite an adventurous man these days and is willing to try new things. Youtube may be the death of us. Yes, he found a recipe and directions on youtube.
We are using wide mouth quart sized mason jars. We did two jars of pickles to start, so if these mess up we have messed up two jars. I did not realize how easy refrigerator pickles could be to fix and they will last up to 3 months in the fridge. I love pickles and have since I was little. In our first jar I used whole cucumbers, the picklers, and in the second jar I sliced the cucumbers and did spears. I was really surprised at how easy these are to fix, we have not tried them yet so I guess I will have to update you later on how they taste.
As with everything I do, I tweaked this recipe too. We also have a good crop of onion so to our pickles I added onion. Here is what we did:
In a clean quart sized mason jar we added:
3 cloves of fresh garlic crushed
3 tsp black pepper corns
1 small onion sliced (3 slices)
2 pinches of red pepper flakes
2 bunches of fresh dill (1 bunch on the bottom and 1 bunch on the top)
place your cucumbers in your jar.
Liquid:
2 cups of water
4 Tbsp white vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp Kosher salt
We are using wide mouth quart sized mason jars. We did two jars of pickles to start, so if these mess up we have messed up two jars. I did not realize how easy refrigerator pickles could be to fix and they will last up to 3 months in the fridge. I love pickles and have since I was little. In our first jar I used whole cucumbers, the picklers, and in the second jar I sliced the cucumbers and did spears. I was really surprised at how easy these are to fix, we have not tried them yet so I guess I will have to update you later on how they taste.
As with everything I do, I tweaked this recipe too. We also have a good crop of onion so to our pickles I added onion. Here is what we did:
In a clean quart sized mason jar we added:
3 cloves of fresh garlic crushed
3 tsp black pepper corns
1 small onion sliced (3 slices)
2 pinches of red pepper flakes
2 bunches of fresh dill (1 bunch on the bottom and 1 bunch on the top)
place your cucumbers in your jar.
Liquid:
2 cups of water
4 Tbsp white vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp Kosher salt
The happy little guys that get to go in the fridge.
Our jar with all the spices
The final product to go in the fridge.
These have been in the fridge for three days and I tasted the spears yesterday and boy were they good. If you like the Claussen pickles you will love refrigerator pickles. I am going to try the whole pickles today and see how they turned out. The spears are fabulous!!!! The hubbs hit a home run with these. We will be making more of these.
Monday, June 27, 2016
Updates on a Few Things. . .
We tried the sauerkraut, it was a little salty for my taste but the hubbs liked it, we are going to let it perk just a day or so more and then call it done. We did fix another jar since we have so much cabbage and we used less salt this time.
Potatoes are all up and the hubbs has planted field peas and some okra, our first okra did not produce so we are going to try it again. We have put a few quarts of fresh peas in the freezer this year and of course I would say I have eaten at least a quart raw. Shhhh, do not tell the hubbs, though. I made my very first potato salad and boy was it good, my hubby is quite picky when it comes to potato salad so I was thrilled when he gave it a thumbs up. This was a no frills potato salad, no onion or pickles. It was just potatoes, egg, mayo, mustard, and vinegar. I did use some onion and garlic powder.
Big T enjoyed a lacrosse camp at a local University this last week. It was hot as blue blazes but he had a blast. At the hottest part of the day they took them in the locker room and let them watch game films just like the University players would. This is a beautiful facility and the kids had a blast.
Sprat is knee deep in Summer workouts for football and working with the youth at our Church doing different things. He has Church camp coming up, a College tour, and Mission camp too. We pack all we can into our Summer.
Potatoes are all up and the hubbs has planted field peas and some okra, our first okra did not produce so we are going to try it again. We have put a few quarts of fresh peas in the freezer this year and of course I would say I have eaten at least a quart raw. Shhhh, do not tell the hubbs, though. I made my very first potato salad and boy was it good, my hubby is quite picky when it comes to potato salad so I was thrilled when he gave it a thumbs up. This was a no frills potato salad, no onion or pickles. It was just potatoes, egg, mayo, mustard, and vinegar. I did use some onion and garlic powder.
Big T enjoyed a lacrosse camp at a local University this last week. It was hot as blue blazes but he had a blast. At the hottest part of the day they took them in the locker room and let them watch game films just like the University players would. This is a beautiful facility and the kids had a blast.
Sprat is knee deep in Summer workouts for football and working with the youth at our Church doing different things. He has Church camp coming up, a College tour, and Mission camp too. We pack all we can into our Summer.
Big T at Camp
Sprat at Church serving for the youth Evening Under the Stars
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Amazing Meatballs. . .
The meatballs were wonderful! Everyone liked them except Big T, no big surprise there, he does not like sauces. You could say, he is not a saucy kinda boy. He does not like spaghetti sauce, he will eat my Alfredo every now and then but he would rather not.
Of course I tweaked this recipe to make it my own and I encourage you to do the same. If a recipe calls for something you do not have or you do not particularly care for swap it out for something else.
This is how my recipe goes:
Of course I tweaked this recipe to make it my own and I encourage you to do the same. If a recipe calls for something you do not have or you do not particularly care for swap it out for something else.
This is how my recipe goes:
Almost 2 lbs of ground beef
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 cup grated fresh Parmesan
2 eggs beaten
1 Tbsp milk
2tsp garlic powder
Mix the above together to make your balls.
Sauce:
1 jar favorite marinara sauce (I use Prego)
2 Tbsp garlic powder
2Tbsp onion powder
2tsp dried oregano
2 cups beef broth
1 can tomato paste
1 jar favorite marinara sauce (I use Prego)
2 Tbsp garlic powder
2Tbsp onion powder
2tsp dried oregano
2 cups beef broth
1 can tomato paste
If you like your sauce a little sweeter you can add some sugar.
This is the meatballs just placed in the sauce
Meatballs ready to go in the sauce.
I cooked these on low in the crock pot for about 7 hours. We made sandwiches but you could serve over pasta too. Enjoy. . .
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Sugar Cravings. . .
Over the weekend I had a craving for something sweet and decided I would make something. I went to my trusty Pinterest and found a recipe for homemade Twix bars. Yes, I made them. They are not as easy to make as the recipe sounds. As par for the course and my baking, things did not go just right.
This is the shortbread layer, it did not do exactly as it should have. I need more work on this part.
This is the homemade caramel and it was very good.
This is the caramel spread over the shortbread.
This is the finished product. The shortbread did not set up just right but it was good. I need more practice with this one.
The Shortbread
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup butter softened
Caramel
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbsp corn syrup
Chocolate
2 cups chocolate chips
1 tsp vegetable oil
For the shortbread you combine your dry ingredients and then cut your butter into the dry. It will form a crumb mixture. Then you press it into a 9X9 pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
The Caramel, add butter to a medium sauce pan and melt over medium heat. Stir in your brown sugar to dissolve. Add corn syrup and SC milk then bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and keep stirring for 2 minutes. When it starts to thicken pour over your shortbread. Allow to cool.
Once your caramel has cooled mix your chocolate and oil. This recipe called to do this in the microwave but all of my microwave safe glass dishes were dirty so I did mine on the stove in a sauce pan and it did just fine. Let your chocolate cool just a bit before pouring over your caramel and shortbread. I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and it took my chocolate a little longer to set up.
My kids loved this and it did not matter one bit to them that the shortbread did not stick together.
I have been making meatballs this morning so stay tuned to hear about that tomorrow.
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