New toy

I got a new net-book from my DH for Christmas ! This is my first time trying to post from it . I don't have any pics on here yet .. and I am not yet used to the mini keyboard . So I can't type without looking at it . Still a lot of things I don't know about this yet . It offers me things I can down-load . I haven't investigated any of that yet .
The princess is away at a conference in MO . Her intended we as well . We are watching it on a live webcast . Go to IHOP.org and investigate . It is F*R*E*E* . And has been really neat .
We are gearing up for the New Year celebration . We will be at a church with friends giving and receiving prayer. I love that ~
I wanted to take the tree down today . But it didn't happen . I broke a jar of honey on the kitchen floor . I had to clean it up , triple strain what was left (big process) and the sweep and double mop the floor . Sigh ....There went the energy for anything else !
hate to change the mantle already tho' . I really like it. I also really like some of the clingy decorations I put up too . I put snow men and snowflakes all around the house ...even in the bathroom . I PUT SNOWFLAKES ON THE TANK OF THE TOILET !! My friends said I had gone too far then . LOL .
I already warned my family the cute snowman on the front door is probably with us for a while . I thing he is my favorite ...and he is not especially Christmas-y .
The prince got lots of teckkie things for Christmas ... so he is a rare site these days . It makes me long for re-starting school . Then I have him down here at least 1/2 the day ! LOL . Kudoes to the folks who made Praise Guitar . It is a great game . Maybe with the prince is doing his Algebra next week I will try it out . LOL :-D

kitchen marathon ~

Today I am having a marathon baking day ! I have batches of bread dough going . (one on 1st rise , one on 2nd) I am making mini loaves of bread with one and monkey-bread minis with the other . This will all be gifts for our Pastors and for a few friends .
I am also trying cake-balls for the first time ! I found the recipe here http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2007/12/red-velvet-cake-balls.html (Thanks Bakerella ! I am making yellow cake (already cooling) mixed with chocolate frosting and dipped in chocolate ! When they are all done I might give them a drizzle of mint chocolate . I found a bag of Andes chips in the panty I had forgetten about . :-)
Right now I am between risings on the bread so I had a few minits . I guess I better go check it all ! I will post pictures when I am done !
Merry Christmas ya'll !

Trying new stuff

We got a whole deer worth of Venison last week . Not as much as I would have thought . But a good amount ! I cleaned out both freezers ...got rid of the yuck that needed to be purged anyway . Got it all put away and then promptly started hunting for recipes ! LOL !! No big surprize to those of you who know me .
I made my first attempt tonight . I made meat balls and they are quite tasty ! I mixed one small "tube" of breakfast sasuage with about 1 1/2 lbs of ground venison . I had to let it warm up a bit so it would incorperate well . I added 1 egg , and 1/2 cup of italian bread crumbs . That's all . Then I oven baked them on a broiler pan for about 25 mins @ 350 .
Presently there are 30 of them simmering in some sauce waiting to go in the bread I made today . Yummy ! I can hardly wait !!

Feeling morose today
wishing I could shake it someway
wanting to enjoy the season and play
instead of watching so much unravel and fray
knowing soon they'll be a day
when the Christmas tree is put away
and the memories are hidden from the day
then smiles and laughter can stay and play
and the farce of forgiveness can pretend to stay.

So sitting in the prayer room @ ATL IHOP . I am reading bits of Dr Dale Fifes "The Secret Place" Ahhh....very convicting . I wonder if I am planted by the well and happy to be there . I am asking the Lord to awaken in me a longing for intamacy with Him . I want to learn how to drink . It makes me think of teaching my babies how to use a straw . they watched me and knew it was possible . I demonstrated over and over and they kept trying . But one day they got it right and they never forgot how after that ! Before they we OK with getting a trickle from the straw when I held my thumb over the end and dripped it in thier mouth . I feel like that with God right now . Just getting enough from others to really taste . I gotta learn to DRINK . To get my own , ya know ?!?

Menu Plan Monday (on Tuesday)

Well , better late than never ! Here's my week ....

M-Pan-fried cube steak with baked beans and blue box mac&cheese

T-Baked pork chops with crashed potatos and green beans

W-Speg. with venison meatballs (will share the recipe if we really like them)

T- Breakfast for dinner . Eggs , fried spam , biscuits

F- We are going to a friends house , I might bring something snackish

Sat.-Home made chicken noodle soup , grilled cheese

Sunday (after church) Crock pot chicken ?? have not picked a recipe yet !

Lunch is usually left-overs or something quick like biscuit pizzas

Breakfast is always cereal (hot or cold) , organic pop-tarts, or choco-chip muffins (recipe from HHW)

It's been almost a month !

Oh dear ! I can hardly believe that it has been almost a month since I posted on here .
It has been really busy ...since of course this tends to be the busy-ness season . There has been alot of sick-ness . The Princess has a tummy virus pick up from the pre-school she works at . I have had to viral illnesses . The latest one came with a horrible cough that just left me exausted and sleepless and sore . My hero DH hooked up a humidifier and put the mentholated goop in it and that helped alot . I also found that Delsym really is the better cough medicine . The cough I had laughed at the Robitussin . But the Delsym helped alot . And , as a bonus , it had a pleasant taste . I think my kids missed seeing me do the "Gad , that's nasty" dance in the kitchen tho' . LOL
Today my darling Prince is sleeping in . He was not feeling well yesterday . And I am wanting to head this thing off at the pass . Sleep and Vitamin C . I loaded him up on C before bed last night . I will have to go buy some today , as I only have 1000mg left .
He is really pitiful when he is ill . I guess it is because he is normally so animated .
School is going pretty well . DS finished Lit last week . We will be adding a more in depth bible study in Jan. He will take the Biology 1st sem. final this week . and Alg I is moving right along . He likes History this year . And tolerates English and spelling . He found a contradiction in the 2 yesterday . One said hanged and the other hung . Same publisher ....he was very frustrated .
I am going to go and work up a quick menu plan , I really do better with one !
I'll try not to let another month go by with out posting !

Menu Plan Monday

This week DH is out of town . So I am trying not to make all the days "fend for yourselves night" LOL

M-Eggs and sausauge with fresh baked biscuits

T-left-over porkchops (unless we go to Grams then prob. subs)

W - Thanksgiving dinner at Church

T-Meatball subs on fresh Italian bread

F- soup (it's just ME)

S-French toast

S-Chicken and rice in the crock-pot

Strange week ...I'll explain more in a post later or tomorrow ! :-) Love ya'll !

dinner !

I just got dinner ready and realized I had never put that recipe on here ! It is SO good ...easy too . And can be made at a very reasonable price .
We call it taco bowls
cook rice
cook ground beef (drain fat)
put in taco seasoning (simply organic is my fav.)
add a can of beans ( I use black if I have them )
Simmer it all together for a while.
That's all for the basic recipe .

Then we add sour cream , shreadded cheese & salsa
I serve it with tortilla chips or tortillas (to make a burrito)

They are wonderful ! We cooked them in the Dutch Oven while camping one time and we had people coming up asking what we were making that smelled SO good ! LOL .

If you give them a try let me know what you think of them ! Its really a what's not to like recipe since it is so amendable to personal tastes ! Next time I think I may try adding a small can of tomato paste !

SIGH !

Well , I made it thru election day ! We had over 540 voters in our precinct . It was a REALLY busy day . I had several interesting situations pop up during the day . The absolute high light for me was a German couple who had just gained citizenship came to vote . Due to a glitch , he was cleared to vote but she was not . She went all the way back into the office and showed all her paper-work to the right officials . Then once she was cleared she came back to vote ! With no warning or coercion all of our crew applauded her effort when she walked in . She even had on a t-shirt that had an American flag on it claiming "GOD BLESS AMERICA" .

I woke up pretty sore from being on my feet on the hard school floor all day . When you get there at 5:30 am and don't leave until after 8pm it a LONG day .

I am a little dis-appointed over the election results . Tho' not the election turn out . The turn out was astounding ! I hope we as individuals and as a nation will turn our hearts towards heaven and our Heavenly Father in unprecedented numbers that puts the election turn out to shame . God is our only hope . Always has been , always will be . It's just becoming more apparent in these days and times .

I stand with the German born new American and say "God Bless America" ! I pray she survives with some semblance of dignity as our elected officials attempts to act out a parody of the captives being led off into Babylon . May God raise up many legions of people with the heart of Daniel . And more so a heart for the One True God .

It has been an odd week . Last Tuesday something happened to my DH back and he was home the rest of the week . He was maxed out on personal time , so he did need to take some . We had just rather been able to use it under different circumstances . But God was very kind ! The time was there to take . We got along pretty well and just hung out . And today when he had to go back to work he said it was completely fine ! WOW !
Friday we tried to go to a local Judgement house . But they were not doing it that day . So we went out to eat @ Ruby Tuesdays and went to see Kung-FU Panda @ the dollar theater (which is actually the $1.99 theater) LOL . We treated the Princess and her intended to a pretty fun evening .
But then Friday a very tragic accident took the precious life of one of said intendeds friends . He has worked hard at dealing with his own loss and trying to be there for others who are hurting . He held together all Friday night and then Saturday when he got to our house he fell into the princesses arm and sobbed like a baby . It was SO heart wreching !! It is a new place for her to be learning to stand with the gallant young man the Lord has so graciously given to her ! It is awesome watching God develop this relationship . And , with His grace , He is letting them learn many important things before they are married and out on thier own .
It looks like , with out Gods intervention, the princly proteg'e may have to have some surgery . Yet another thing for them to learn of each-other thru . What satan means for harm God is always redeeming for our good . Wow ! It truly amazes me !!
Ok , I guess I have rambled enough today ...there is just SO much on my mind !
My next post will be a late MPM . Sigh ....life is many things , but seldom boring !

Saturday

So .. I get to watch the most amazing thing happen . God has brought my daughter her future spouse . And they are trying hard to do things the right way . Wow . They are courting/dating .

Back on Track MPM

Monday - Homemade Chili served with cheese , crackers , Fritos and sour cream

Tuesday - Chicken Pot Pie (homemade crust , frozen veggies)

Wednesday- We have been eating out on Wednesdays , it give J & R a little more time together

Thursday - Chicken and Dumplins ....hear the cheers rise ! Mom finally said yes to making this ! LOL

Friday - Hot Dogs with corn and salad , it has to be quick - we are prob. going to see one of the Judgement House type plays

Saturday - Big breakfast in the morning , but evening will be all left-overs

Sunday - Cornbread and beans (kept warm in the crock pot for after church)

I made Pizza Pockets last week that turned out WONDERFUL and I will post that recipe later ! Blessings for your week ! Lora

TGIF

Yep , I am Thanking GOD it is Friday ! DH is coming home from TN today . And I have many other reasons to celebrate the day ! :-) I love my family , even the furry ones : even when they're sick ! One of the kitten got really sick in the house today . Thankfully it was on the dogs bed and it is washable . So out in the rain it went for a few minits and then directly into the washer ! Which lead me to the discovery that I need laundry soap . Ah , it really is constant , isn't it ?!?

I love Rachel Anne's post over at Home Sanctuary today . Yall go on over and check her out ! I am trying to post her site on my blog roll ...but it's being difficult .

better go , that banana bread is smelling done so I need to go check it . If we like the results I will post the recipe here later in the week .

Blessings !

Life

Well , life gets crazy ...as we all do know ! So ...I have not posted in a couple of weeks . I was really beating myself up about it and thinking of doing away with the whole blog . But then a friend told me that she is a sporadic poster as well and may post a few days in a row then not at all for weeks . So , with renewed vigor , I am back ! LOL .... Thanks Donna !

I took the prince bowling with a couple of his friends today . It was pretty good . And since Donna is always full great info , I also got some great ideas . We might be able to get involved in some 4H stuff that would actually be enjoyable ...like archery ! The idea bears more investigation on my part .

I did some more canning . I did alot of pear combos . since I had gotten quite a few pears for free . I did a lovely spiced pear jelly . It used red-hots , which were really hard to find by the way . You can find that recipe here
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Cider-Jelly I used fresh pear juice , not cider . The taste is very good and it is such a pretty red that I think it will make lovely Christmas gifts .

I haven't been posting my menu , and DH is out-of-town so I am not good at doing the whole routine when he's gone . But DD intended has been coming for dinner once a week so that keeps me anchored on task a little better . It is definately something I continue to work on ! I will ost the menu for next week ! And to be realistic .. may not be back on here until then ! So go find me on facebook , I am there more often ! LOL

changing , re-arranging

Hmmm....seems like a time of change around here . I am trying to do better in many areas ...and suceeding to varying degrees !
We re-arranged the furniture , changes some curtains & rods out .
The weather has made a drastic change (for the better) . The a/c is off !
I got a major hair-cut .
DD is officially "in a relationship" .
DH is back to traveling after a little more than a month at home .
And I started a couple of new bible studies .

Did I mention change is usually not my fort'e ?!?

So ...I skipped menu - planning this week . And I am wishing I had just went ahead and done it . So I hope to be back on track next MPM .

SIGH ! I think I will de-stress and go make some jelly ! (LOL) yeah , I know :WEIRD !

Week end ?!

Oh my ! Where did the week go ?? I have been busy doing some canning , changing my furniture around and truthfully , just having on LAZY day this week . I have been trying to do the FlyLady thing . I must admit that it is looking a little better . Next week begings something called a "super-fling" Hummm....I am a little apprehensive . But as is one of her mottoes .....anyone can do anything for 15 mins . So I will try , 15 mins at a time !
We met with friends last night and had prayer with some really good , rousing discussion of scripture and events . There is SO much to pray about ! This must be the times like God was talking about in "Weary not"
Just wanted to pop in on my cyber friends ! I'll be back for MPM . And I have some pics to post too . :-) Ya'll get to meet a couple other of the fur kids !

Kitchen Tip Tuesday

Here’s an easy substitute for sweetened condensed milk that’s much less processed than the commercial variety. This can be used in recipes that call for one can of sweetened condensed milk:
Ingredients:
1 cup dry milk powder
1/3 cup hot water
1/3 cup sugar
3 T. butter (melted)
Directions:Combine all ingredients in a blender, layering wet and dry ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Found on www.hobbyfarms.com
One of my new favorite sites !

Today I am making Muscadine JAM and probably doing something with more of the pears ...not sure what yet ! Any ideas out there ?

Menu Plan Monday

This week it is just the Children and I . But I am trying to not have it be SO different . I am really bad about totally slacking on cooking if DH is away . My intension is to do well this week , lol , we'll see huh? Gas prices are OUTRAGEOUS here because of the storm "Ike" , personally I think it is mostly hype . Thursday I filled up for $3.44 (with card discount at Ingles) and Friday is shot to $3.99 and is now $4.19 ....some places are even quite a bit higher than that . SO ... I am going to try to live mostly out of the pantry and freezer this week . I may need to stop at the store for fruit and salad . And I will incorperate it into taking DD to work so as not to waste a trip out .

Monday - Flank steak in the crock-pot similar to a roast with veggies (potatoes , carrots,celery,onion and maybe a handful of frozen green beans)

Tuesday - Breakfast for dinner french toast casserole and fried spam or bologna

(prayer meeting at church , so we will be eating late)

Wednesday - Smoked sausage , mac & cheese and garden fresh crowder peas

Thursday - Roast Beef sandwiches (made on bread machine bread) , and carrot and celery sticks and canned pineapple

Friday - Steaks , loaded mashed potatoes , limas and honey-oat bread from the bread machine

Saturday - lentil soup and grilled cheese

Sunday - Crock=pot Chicken & Rice with Ceaser salad

Lentil Soup

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method-------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1 cup Red lentils

1 cup Brown lentils

6 cups Water

3 No MSG boullion

1/2 small Onion -- diced

1 Carrot -- diced 1

Rib celery -- diced

1/8 teaspoon Celery seed

3 tablespoons Instant Potatoe flakes*

1 large Potato -- diced

2 tablespoons Olive oil

2 Bay leaves

2 teaspoons Red wine vinegar (Optional)

mix all ingredients except the vinegar in a soup pot and cook until the lentils are very soft, about one hour. Stir in vinegar at the end, and serve. NOTE: Brought soup to boil, turned down and simmered uncovered 45 min. *If thinner soup is desired, omit potato flakes, or use lesser amount.

Used 3 quart sauce pan.

Ummmm....one of the few meatless things my DH likes

week-end up-date

Well , the week-end went by way too fast ! But isn't that always the way that seems to work out ?! Saturday we went and put up a Christmas display at church trying to set up for taking some family pictures . Yes , I know it is only Sept. ! But this is the best time and gives people plenty of time to get the pics printed and on cards or what-ever they want .
Sat. evening we went to a small group meeting over in Dacula Park . It was fun ! Mostly kids ...but it's all Gods anyway . There were even some skaters that sat on the fringes for a while . And every one handled them being there well . Some people did not seem serious about wanting to be there but that is pretty much going to be in any function . And , of course , I try not to judge too . SIGH ...but it is hard ...I just have to remind myself only God know the motives of the heart .
Sunday our church had a special guest named Murray , who is a Messianic Jew . It was SO good . Very informative and right on time since we had just recently gone to Beth Hallel to see Paul Wilbur . By-the-way...if the opportunity ever presents it's self for you to see Paul Wilbur GO ! He is phenomenal in person !
And Sunday after church we came home and Rick discovered a leak in one of the pipes for the Hot Water Heater . SO ~ we had to make an un-planned trip to Home Depot and he spent quite alot of time working on that . SO we did not go anywhere in the evening , as then he needed to pack .

And then next thing I knew it was MONDAY ! UGH ! :-)

The pita making went well . I want to use some of the left-overs to make some cinnamon-sugar chips . These were easy & worth it ~I used the bread machine to do the mixing . :-) And if you Really wanted to cheat , you can get the bagged salad mix in ceasar (comes with dressing!) and just add your own cooked chicken . Next time I will do Greek . With spinach salad , feta ,seeds of change greek feta dressing and I will cook the chicken in Greek spice mix . Ummm....

Works for me Wednesday

Ok ...so I am trying to think of what works for me . Well what works for me and might benefit someone else anyway . I think I have to go with my *new* bread machine . We had a field trip to the Atlanta History center yesterday . So I put Speg. & pre-cooked meatballs in the crock-pot . Put Italian Herb and Cheese bread ingredients in the bread machine and set it to be done at 6:30 pm . Well except for the glitch of forgetting to push start it went great ! My DH was home before me , caught the boo-boo and correctly re-set everything and everything continued smoothly .
And I felt pretty accomplished !
Here's the recipe I based the bread off of . Ummmm....

Italian Herb and cheese bread
1 1/4 cups tepid water
3 cups bread flour
1/2 cup shredded pepperjack cheese (I used real Asiago, 'cuz that's what I had)
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
2 tablespoons powdered cheese (found in mac and cheese dinners)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the machine's manufacturer. Select White Bread or Basic cycle. Start.
This recipe yields a 1 1/2 pound loaf.

My first MPM

My very first posted menu !~Yeah

Sunday - Chinese after church

Monday-Red Beans and rice w/smoked sausage (I start with the Mahatma bag and add 1 can lt.red kidney beans and an extra cup of brown rice . Cook it all up in my Favorite CIS(cast iron skillet)I will also make a wonderful fruit salad to go along with it (recipe to follow)

Tuesday-Hamburgers , pasta salad , pinto beans with banana pudding for dessert( I made a huge one for a Labor Day cook-out and my dh hardly got any, so now he gets his own!)

Wednesday-(church night) Pasties with big glasses of cold RAW milk

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1627,153169-230201,00.html here's the pasty recipe (I omit rutabagas)

Thursday-Chicken Ceaser Pitas served with Corn on the Cob . I will be trying Pitas from scratch for the first time . If they are as wonderful as I hope I will post the recipe later in the week!

Friday-Steaks with Baked Potatoes and garlic cheese bread (from the bread machine)

Saturday-Grilled cheese and homemade chicken or lentil soup (using honey wheat bread I made Sunday)

Fruit Salad

combine any friut you have on hand : we like diced apples,grape halves,mandrine oranges,sliced bananas,peaches,strawberries etc...

Make a sauce using 1/2 cup sour cream

and 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar (more or less to taste)

mix sauce up well , spoon onto servings of fruit salad

Works great as a dip for strawberries and pineapple and looks lovely layered in fancy glasses with small cut fruits !

Have a great week ! May the Lord Bless and Keep you and make His face shine upon you !

It's Saturday and I have had all afternoon to myself ! :-) Of course I was running errands most of the time but that's OK . I got to stop at a couple of yard sales and treated my-self to lunch at ABC . I had the waldrof chicken salad sandwich and fruit salad . Light and yummy . Then I got a chocoate crossiant to go ...ummmm...not so light . If anyone knows the calorie content on these things , please , DO NOT TELL ME !~
Kuduzs still in bloom ! It smells faintly like childrens Dimetapp . Fakey grape-ish .
DH and DD have been taking the "Omega Course" at IHOP all day . They should hit the door like a hurricane any minit now ...so I better get off of here . I'll go inventory so I can make my Menu Plan . :-)
Ya'll have a great week-end !
Lora
PS No post on Sunday (for the most part)

TGIF

Yesterday was rough . The young Prince was sick . Fever and everything sick !~Thankfully that doesn't happen very often . So it was a bit of a down day . And not much got done ...except school ! It is a joke in our house that there are NO sick days here . When the Tylenol is working you can read you Lit. Book , right ?!
Happy to report that today has been better . The young Prince has recovered from the mystery bug quite nicely . And I did get a bit done .
The dad man and the #1 daughter have a class in the morning , the Prince will be at his Grams and I will be A-L-O-N-E !! I do have errands to run (like Sams) but I will do something for just me too . Hummm....ABC is calling ....LOL > I definately need to find some something nice for me's that don't go to my hips ~

Puppy power !

AbbyJean is in heat . That means we have had quite a few male doggy visitors this week . A big yellow Lab showed up yesterday . He was SO not her type . She tips the scale at about 14lbs ! She is the black dog in the pic under the about me spot there in the side-bar . I will post more pics of her and the other critters when I have time and actually figure out what I am doing !~This is a different world to me !

Any way ... I realized AbbyJean can't go to the groomer until she is out of heat . Which is a bummer , 'cuz she needs her nails cut pretty bad - - - and I am not going to do it . She knows what a push-over I am ! If she hollers one good time i break out in a cold sweat and I am done ! So it is useless !

Anyone tried the file thing-y they are showing on TV now ? I'd love to see one or talk to someone who has one !

MPM

Next week I will be trying to do MPM ....Menu Plan Monday . For today I just wanted to say that last night we had one of our family favorite . Home-made Pizza ! I started with a good crust , pre-baked it . Then topped with Alfredo sauce , cooked & diced chicken , real bacon bits , chopped fresh spinach , and several handfuls of Mozz. Cheese . Just bake until the chesse is bubbly ~UMMM. I made 2 so we could have planned-overs . That's what we call when you make enough on pourpose to have "left-overs" . LOL
Next time I will try to get a picture of it . It was church night so we were in a hurry . Speaking of church , I wonder what ever we shall do on Wed now that the home group we were going to stopped meeting until January ! UGH !
Today I am going to try to get several loads of laundry done . And I have a new Craigslist find to go pick up ! I think I am addicted to Craigslist . Does anyone else have this problem ?

Apples

It's glorious apple season here in GA ! I have got the privilege of picking from a few different trees around here . I have been busy making juice and canning cobbler filling for later use . I just completed 7 quarts and 2 pint jars last night . Every jar sealed ! Yeah ! I can hardly wait for the first good cold snap so I can bake ! I also hope to put a batch in my new dehydrators :-) !