Merry Christmas!

What child is this, who, laid to rest

On Mary's lap, is sleeping?

Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,

While shepherds watch are keeping?

This, this is Christ the King,

Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:

Haste, haste to bring him laud,

The Babe, the Son of Mary!

So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,

Come peasant king to own Him,

The King of kings, salvation brings,

Let loving hearts enthrone Him.

Raise, raise the song on high,

The Virgin sings her lullaby:

Joy, joy, for Christ is born,

The Babe, the Son of Mary!

Hope you all have a blessed Christmas!

God Loves Me More Than That (Review)

I recently received the book God Loves Me More Than That by Dandi Daley Mackall for review from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing.  This is a beautifully written and illustrated book for kids about a little boy who wants to know how much God loves him.  Each answer of how high, wide, deep, even how heavy God's love is are all very easy ways for children to grasp how much God loves them.  The colorful illustrations by David Hohn bring each of the answers to life and are beautifully done.  My kids loved reading this book together.  Each question and answer got them thinking of other ways to answer and they came up with a lot of them!  Even though it is hard to fully understand the depth of God's love for us, I think this book does a great job of helping do this by looking at it through the eyes of a child.  I highly recommend this book!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Tasty Tuesday: Homemade Crescent Rolls

A few weeks ago, Melanie at Out of the Miry Clay shared a sweet roll recipe on her blog that can be used for quite a few different things, one being crescent rolls.  I love crescent rolls, but rarely buy them since they cost so much for the few rolls you get in the tube.  So I was so excited to try out this recipe!  If you use all the dough for the rolls it will make a lot of them.  54 to be exact.  The first time I made them, I used 2/3 to make 36 rolls and we ate them all at one meal!  They were so delicious, way better than the store bought ones.  I also used the remaining dough for the crust of an egg breakfast casserole which called for a tube of crescent rolls and it turned out good too.  For other ways to use the dough, be sure to check out Melanie's post.

½ cup warm water (110-115 F)
2 pkg active dry yeast (1 pkg = 2 ¼ tsp)
1 ½ cups lukewarm milk

½ cup sugar

2 tsp salt

2 eggs

½ cup soft butter
half of 7 to 7 ½ cups sifted flour

Mix until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to handle easily. I used my stand mixer and kept kneading for about 2 more minutes, but you could also turn onto lightly floured board and  knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 min.). Put in a greased bowl and turn to grease the top. Cover with damp cloth. Let rise in warm place until double (about 1 ½ hr). Punch down; let rise again until almost double (30 min).  Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Roll each 1/4” thick into a 12” circle. Spread with soft butter. Cut into 16 pie-shaped pieces. Beginning at rounded edge, roll up. Place on lightly greased pan, point underneath. Let rise 15-20 min. Bake 10-13 min at 375 F. (You can also shape into clover leaf rolls, twists, etc.)

Sweetie loved helping me roll them up

My mouth is watering just looking at this picture! We might have to make this for dinner tonight! Delicious!

Linked up with:

Laminator is on sale!

Remember the laminator I got a good deal on from amazon and got free with my Swagbucks?  Well, it is on sale again!  It is the deal of the day at amazon and is only 16.99!!!

If you need a laminator, go check it out quick, who knows how long it will last!

Our Property Value Rose Overnight!

Thanks to the Pineapple Express we now have waterfront property!

 Our former driveway

Our former front yard

That should increase our property value, right?

Tasty Tuesday: Favorite Frosted Brownies with a Christmas Twist

I just noticed that it's been a few weeks since I shared a recipe!  Between a newborn, kidney stone, school, and much more I haven't had a lot of computer time lately.  Since most of my kids are gone to Grandma's while I wait for my kidney stone to pass (pain killers work wonders!), I have a few mintues to share a new recipe. A couple days ago, Buddy asked me to help him make some chocolate cookies for Sweetie.  (I thought he was being so sweet and came up with the idea on his own, but have since found out Hubby put him up to it so we would have some cookies in the house.)  We decided to make these heavenly chocolate brownies and we added a twist for the holidays! I am warning you right now though that these are so good that they will be gone fast, so you should hide a few to save some for yourself!

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons baking cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips, optional

FROSTING:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup evaporated milk (or Twin Brook Creamery Cream will work also!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons baking cocoa

3 cups confectioners' sugar
Decorating sprinkles or crushed candy canes, optional

Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Add chocolate chips if desired. Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. For frosting, in a bowl, beat the butter, milk and vanilla; add cocoa. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over cooled brownies. Decorate with sprinkles (or candy canes) if desired.


Linked with:

Shutterfly is Helping With My Mission Impossible

I usually order my photos and cards online from several different places, but I have yet to try Shutterfly.  This year I am hoping to change that!  I have been checking out all their beautiful cards for our Christmas cards and they have a great selection. 

This Snow Flurries Cocoa one is one of my favorites.  But so is this O Holy Night one.  And then there is the Kaleidoscope Stars one.  I am going to have a hard time picking which one I want to use this year!  First I guess I need to get the kiddos together for a picture. That might be even harder than choosing my card! Remember my mission impossible?  I may just have to use that picture even though the kids aren't in their nice clothes!

Shutterfly also has photo calenders, mugs, and books which would all make great gifts!  I've had a photo calender before and loved it, so I might have to look into those for some Christmas gifts this year.

They also have great birth announcement cards and birthday card.

Shutterfly is going to give me 50 FREE holiday cards for sharing this with you.  Check out all the details here: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Nutrimill Grain Mill

Beth over at Happily Domestic is having a giveaway for a Nutrimill Grain Mill.  I really want to win one of these because they are very pricy so I am letting you know about it so I get some extra entries, but please don't go enter so my chances are better! ;)

Our New Yard Decor

I think that this picture shows less than half of the shingles that were blown off last night.  I don't think there are any left on the roof!

Scentsy Review

I've seen a lot about Scentsy on other blogs and websites lately and have wondered about all these cute warmers and good smelling waxes that everyone seems to love so much.  So when Kimberlee, an independent Scentsy consultant, offered me a warmer and wax (also called bars) to review, I was super excited! 

I received this beautiful Malta full-sized warmer and the Cozy Fireside bars, which come in a pack of eight bars.  The warmer has a removable top in which the bars are placed and a light bulb in the base that warms the wax.  I immediately plugged in the base, added one bar of wax, and turned on the light.  Within a few minutes the wax was melting and my kitchen was beginning to smell like a delicious spicy cinnamon mixture.  After having it on a few hours, I can smell it throughout the entire house, and we have a large spread-out house!  This never happens when I burn a regular candle in the kitchen.  And one bar lasted a long time! 

I highly recommend Scentsy.  As a mom, I love that this is a great option for adding fragrance to my home without the danger of open flame around my kids.  The Malta warmer is beautiful and fits in nicely with the decor in our home.  And I really love the Cozy Fireside wax bars. If you want other styles of warmers or different fragrances, there are lots to choose from. The prices of the warmers vary and the bars are $5.  I think these would make a great gift!  I will definitely be getting some more wax bars to try out some of the other scents.

Scentsy is a party based sales company that began in 2004. If you are interested in becoming a Scentsy consultant, please check out Kimberlee's site or become her friend on Facebook to learn how.  If you decide to sign up, please tell Kimberlee that you heard about Scentsy from my blog!

This is a MamaBuzz review. Kimberlee provided me the products free of charge in exchange for my honest review. Thanks Kimberlee!

Tasty Tuesday: Rich Mashed Potatoes

My hubby loves mashed potatoes.  I think if he could only eat one food ever again, it would be mashed potatoes.  And when I added in a few things to make rich mashed potatoes, he loves them even more.  This is a really tasty side dish that even potato-hating Buddy will eat.  It would make a great addition to one of your holiday meals this year.  Everyone will be asking for seconds though, so make sure you make enough!  I always use 2 quarts of my home canned potatoes, which are ready to mash, saving me the time of boiling the potatoes.

Ingredients
5 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 tablespoons butter, divided
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2 teaspoons onion salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions
Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain. Mash potatoes with 3 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the cream cheese, sour cream, onion salt, garlic powder and pepper until smooth. Spoon into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Melt remaining butter; drizzle over the top. Cover and freeze for up to 1 month. Or bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through. To use frozen potatoes: Thaw in the refrigerator. Bake as directed.

Tasty Tuesday! Eggnog Cream Pie

Since eggnog season is here, I've been looking for new recipes to use it in.  The other day I found this one, and it is tasty! Of course it tastes best with Twin Brook Creamery eggnog and cream!

Ingredients

1 package (5.1 ounces) cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-1/2 cups eggnog
2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped
1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked
Additional whipped cream and ground nutmeg, optional

Directions
In a saucepan, combine the pudding mix, nutmeg and eggnog. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes longer or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Cool.  Fold in whipped cream. Pour into crust. Garnish with whipped cream and nutmeg if desired.

If you would like to try some other eggnog recipes, be sure to check out Eggnog Pancakes and Eggnog Cookies!

Our Chore System

I really dislike having to keep nagging my kids to do their daily chores.  It gets old fast and just makes me frustrated.  A couple months ago, I decided we needed a new chore system to help us out.  I went online and found a few that are working for other people, so I used ideas from those to come up with something that would work for us.  First I printed off or made up little cards with all the chores on them and put magnets on the back of them. (I got most of my printables from Homeschool Creations if you are interested in using these yourself.) While doing this, I also got ideas for chores they could be helping with and weren't, so those were added to the list too.  I also made some for things that aren't chores they get rewarded for, but they still need to do them everyday like brush their teeth and hair.  Then I made a chart for each kid divided into morning, afternoon, and extra chores.  Then each night I put all the cards on their chart for the chores they need to do the next day.

I also made a pocket for each of them to put their finished chore cards in when they were done with each chore.  Then at the end of the day I can just pull out all their cards to see how many chores they did, instead of having to reward them after each chore or try remember to do it later.

For their reward, they get a marble for each chore that they complete.  They each have their own jar and when the jar gets full, they earn a dollar.  Their jars each hold about 30 marbles and they are averaging about $1 a week.

We are also trying to teach them about tithing and saving, so when they earn a dollar, we give it to them in quarters.  One quarter gets put in their tithe jars, one in a savings jar, and they get one for spending.  They get to decide where they want to put the last quarter.  They really like having their own money to take to the store and decide what they want to spend it on and they also enjoy bringing their own money to church for tithing.

So far it has been going really well and it is so nice just to remind the kids to go look what is left on their chore list rather than me have to figure out what each kid has already done or needs to work on yet.  We are only using this system for Buddy and Sweetie, since Lovebug is too young to understand how it works, but we are trying to figure out something to help encourage him to help out with the chores.  Any suggestions?

Tasty Tuesday: Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

If you tried making homemade yogurt, you might be looking for some good recipes to use it in.  I tried these Blueberry Yogurt Muffins last week and they were really good!  I didn't have any wheat germ, so I left that out and they still tasted fine.

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 Tbsp toasted wheat germ
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs or 1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk eggs and yogurt. Whisk in sugar and oil. Add to flour mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in blueberries. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Bake 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and cool slightly.

If you have any good recipes to use homemade yogurt, please share!

Linking to Raising Homemakers

My Newest Toy

Last week, my newest toy arrived at our front door.  I got a great deal on Amazon's deal of the day and to make it an even better deal, I got it FREE using my Swagbucks!

I have been using contact paper to laminate things, but using a laminator makes it go so much faster!  And I have tons of school stuff to laminate, so this will save me lots of time. 
If you want to find out how to get free stuff with Swagbucks, check out this post I wrote a while back and start Swagging today!

Tasty Tuesday - Caramel Corn

There is a great site that I love to read called Raising Homemakers.  They share all kinds of wonderful ways to spend time with your daughter and prepare her to become a godly homemaker.  Recently they shared a recipe for caramel corn that Sweetie and I made together this morning.  It was so easy and fun to do with her. It is also really good, so I thought I would share it with you too.

You will need 6 qt.of popped corn

In a sauce pan melt and stir:

2 c. brown sugar

2 sticks butter (salted)

1/2 c. light corn syrup

1/2 tsp. salt

Cook and stir occasionally over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Once it comes to a rolling boil keep it on medium and stir constantly for 5 minutes (keeps it from scorching). Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp. baking soda and stir. Pour it over the corn (the bigger bowl to fold it in, the better!) and fold until coated.
Pour onto 2 ungreased cookie sheets with raised edges. Bake 200 degrees for an hour and gently flip over the caramel corn every 20 minutes.
Store in airtight container.

My True Nature Winner!

Thank you to all who entered the My True Nature giveaway!  Remember today is the last day to use the discount code if you still want to try any of their products. I used random.org to pick a winner and this is what it said:
Random Integer Generator


Here are your random numbers:

17

Timestamp: 2010-10-06 20:47:58 UTC

 
Comment number 17 said:
Julie said...

follow your blog as jelaws5
aunteegem@yahoo.com

Congratulations! I sent you an email and you have 48 hours to reply or I will have to pick a new winner.

Tasty Tuesday: Homemade Yogurt

Since I am most likely in the hospital enjoying my new baby this morning, I thought I would auto post a fun Tasty Tuesday recipe for you to try out.  Making your own yogurt can seem pretty intimidating at first, at least it did for me, but now that I've got it all figured out, it is a piece of cake.  There are quite a few different ways of doing some of the steps in the process, so you might have to try out a few before you find what works and what you like.

First you will need to heat up your milk to 185 degrees.  The easiest way I've found to do this without scorching the milk is to put it in a jar in a pan of water.  At this time, I also take out a couple of tablespoons of my yogurt that I will use for a starter and let it warm up to room temperature.  If this is your first time, you can use plain or vanilla yogurt from the store (make sure it has live and active cultures) and after that you can just use some from yogurt that you have previously made.  You will need about 2 tablespoons per quart of milk.


After you have heated it, it needs to be cooled to about 115 degrees.  I do this by setting the jar in my freezer and checking and stirring it every 15 minutes or so.  You could also do this in the fridge or just on the counter, but it will take longer.
Once it is cooled I always add some non-fat dry milk powder to make the yogurt a little thicker.  This is completely optional, but if you want to try it, add about 1/4 cup per quart of milk.  Then you need to gently stir in the yogurt starter that should be at room temperature by now.
The next step can be done many different ways and can produce a wide range of taste and consistency of your yogurt.  The milk mixture needs to be kept warm for anywhere from 4-12 hours at a temperature anywhere between 90-120 degrees in order to incubate and let the cultures grow.  I have read many different ways of doing this, including putting it in the oven and leaving the light on, putting it in a cooler with a pan of boiling water, crock pots, or any other place you can keep it warm.  I tried a few of them, but always had to keep a thermometer by it and check the temperature often. Since I knew I wanted to make yogurt often, I purchase a yogurt maker for about $20 and that way I can just set my jar in it and not worry about keeping it the right temperature.  Anyway that you try it, it needs to be in a place where it won't have to be moved for several hours.  You will get sweeter yogurt with lower temps and shorter incubating times and tarter yogurt with higher temps and longer times. 

Then you will need to refrigerate it for several hours before eating it. Before using any of the fresh yogurt, I always take out about 2 tablespoons and store it in a separate container to use as my starter next time.

Even though it takes quite a long time to make, it really doesn't require constant attention and is not a time consuming process.  You may need to try it several different times in order to get the taste or consistency you like (my first time it was really soupy and I've also had it not work at all!) but don't give up!  There are many uses for your yogurt once you get the hang of making it.  It is good for eating plain or topped with fruit, granola, or other things,  making smoothies, and using it in recipes in place of sour cream, mayonnaise, cream, or buttermilk.  It can be frozen or used to make yogurt cheese, which can also replace sour cream or cream cheese in recipes.
Hopefully you enjoy trying this fun process as much as I have!  Be sure to leave me a comment and let me know how it turns out!

Your Comments: Thank You and Replying

I just wanted to thank all of you who have been kind enough to leave comments for me. I love getting them, they make it much easier to keep up with writing posts knowing that someone is reading them. I also wanted to let you know that I do reply to all your comments, but have just recently realized that not all of you have your email on your profile, meaning you don't get my email replies! I apologize if you have left comments and it doesn't seem like I respond. I will try to pay more attention if your email is public or not and reply on your blog if it's not. If you are interested in making it possible to reply through email, all you have to do is make your email public on you profile. If you are worried about getting a lot of junk mail, I really haven't gotten any more since adding my email to my profile. And if you want to reply to someone who has left a comment on your blog, you just need to hit reply to the notification email and they will get your reply if they have their email on their profile. Thank you again and hopefully I will find time for a few posts at least in the next few weeks and months!

My True Nature - Review, Discount Code, & Giveaway! **CLOSED**

My kids love bath time. They especially love it when we add some bubble bath. When Kelly from My True Nature contacted me about reviewing her new bath products, I knew my kids would be all for it! I was also excited to try them because they are all natural and organic which means they are safe for my kids! Kelly sent us the Bubbly by Nature Bubble Bath and the Stinky by Nature Shampoo and Body Wash. After we received them, we immediately started using them. The bottles had adorable little cartoon characters on them that the kids loved to look at. The kids also loved the bubble bath! One thing I don't like about a lot of bubble baths is that they produce only small amounts of bubbles that don't always last that long. The Bubbly by Nature created huge amounts of bubbles that lasted for a long time! The Stinky by Nature did a great job of getting the kids clean, and the only small issue I had with it was that is was rather difficult to rinse out of their hair. When I asked Kelly about this, she said that it was due to the amount olive oil in the wash and already had plans to reduce it in the next round she manufactures to resolve this issue. Overall we had a great experience using the My True Nature products and can't wait to see what else the offer in the future!

My True Nature is in the process of launching the first of their products and hopes to add more soon. Here is a little bit more about My True Nature from their website:

The idea for My True Nature came after my first baby was born. Like many mothers, I wanted to create a safe home environment. But when I couldn’t find a line of soaps and shampoos that had 100% natural ingredients, performed as well as typical mainstream products, and were completely free of genetically modified organisms, parabens, petrochemicals, phthalates, sulfates, synthetic dyes, synthetic fragrances, triclosan or preservatives, I decided to start producing them myself. Before I knew it, I had a line of products that my friends and family loved. I started selling them by word of mouth, and the business has grown from there.

When I started using my products at home, I put cartoon labels on the bottles to make them laugh. I mean, who doesn't love to make their kids laugh? It is intoxicating. My kids loved them, and that’s when the idea for TubbyTown™, a make-believe bath-time wonderland, was born. TubbyTown™’s residents currently include Bobo the dragon, Milo the skunk, Clio the teddy bear and Ollie the octopus. Each has its own distinctive personality, and its own dedicated bath-time product. I know your little ones will look forward to playing with them each time they step into the tub just like mine do.

Currently My True Nature offers the bubble bath, shampoo & body wash, and gift bags for boys or girls. They also have a holiday version of the products and gift bags available, perfect for Christmas gifts for your favorite little ones! They will soon be launching their bath books and toys and also hooded bath towels, all built around the bath time characters and their personalities.

My True Nature only uses 100% natural ingredients so I know that using them on my kids is very safe. If you would like to read about the ingredients you can check them out on their site here. They also use recycled bottles and eco-friendly bags to package their products.

Kelly and her husband have lived in San Francisco for 12 years and have 2 children, Fletcher who is 5 and Adeline who is 3. Kelly is a big cook and that is how her interest in formulating her products started.
Want to purchase any of the My True Nature products? Head over to the site to check them out. Kelly has graciously offered my readers a 20% discount and free shipping when you use the code munchkin! (Code expires Oct 6, 2010)

Want to win a 4 oz combo package of the Bubbly by Nature and Stinky by Nature? Keep reading!
Please complete the mandatory entry first and then feel free to complete as many of the extra entries that you would like to. Leave your email address (non spam example: name at yahoo dot com) in each comment so that I can contact you if you win. I will verify all entries, so please be honest! The giveaway will end Oct 6, 2010 at noon and I will pick a winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to anyone (and yes even my friends are welcome to enter since the winner will be randomly drawn using random.org!).

Mandatory Entry: Leave me a comment telling me who you would like to win this for (your kids, grandkids, friends, etc).

Extra entries (be sure to leave a seperate comment for each extra entry that you do!)

- Follow my blog publicly

- Subscribe to my blog (box on the left) and make sure you check your email to verify it!

- Add my button to your blog (leave a link to where you added it)

- Head over to My True Nature and tell me something new you learned.

- Subscribe to the My True Nature newsletter here (on the left side)

- Publicly follow the My True Nature blog

- Tweet, facebook, or blog about this giveaway (you may do one, two, or all three for up to 3 entries and leave me a link to each one that you do)

- "Like" My True Nature on facebook (leave me a comment with your name)

That's a total of 11 possible ways to enter, so get started commenting today!

My True Nature sent me these products for free to review. I was not paid for this review and I get to keep the products. All opinions expressed are mine!

Easy Homemade Granola

I really like granola, as a cold cereal or just to munch on. I've tried a few different recipes for homemade granola, but this is by far the easiest. It's probably not the healthiest granola recipe you could make, but it tastes really good and still beats out the store bought stuff since you know what is in it! Even Hubby and the kids really like it. When eating it as cereal, I like it even better if I add raisins, but you could add any dried fruits or nuts that you like, and of course it tastes best with fresh Twin Brook Creamery milk!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
8 cups oatmeal (quick oats)

Directions:
In a large, 4-quart saucepan, melt the margarine or butter and the brown sugar
together. Stir it up and let it simmer for a few minutes (2-3 minutes). Add the salt and cinnamon, then the oatmeal. Remove pot from heat and stir until all the oatmeal is coated. Spread the granola onto 2 cookie sheets (with sides) and bake at 375° for 10 minutes, until golden brown. Cool granola completely on pan, then break up into pieces and transfer to a container. Add raisins or nuts if desired.

Suuthe by Mari Skin Repair Winner!

Thanks to all who entered my Suuthe by Mari giveaway! I used random.org to pick the winner and this is what it said:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

12
Timestamp: 2010-09-20 20:28:32 UTC

Comment #12 is:
Anonymous said...
I like suuthe by marie on FB. as Marie Palmer
cheydodge2@aol.com

Congratulations! I sent you an email and you have 48 hours to reply or I will have to pick a new winner.

Easy Freezer Corn

I got all my corn froze a couple days ago. We prefer the taste of frozen over canned, so that is why I freeze it instead of can it. And I think freezing is easier, especially using a few tricks to make it all go quickly. I did a whole wheelbarrow full and it took me about 2 hours with a few breaks to get the kids lunch or help them with something. I thought I would share with you how I do it in case you might be interested in trying it.

After you have picked and peeled all your corn, you need to get some water boiling. I use 2 big pots to keep things moving. You need to boil the corn for 5 minutes.
Then you need to immediately put them in cold water to stop the cooking. I use my sink full of ice water (all the ice had melted by the time I took the picture).

Then comes the fun part, cutting off the kernels! I use a tube pan and my electric knife and this makes it quick and easy. Just hold the corn on the center tube, saw the kernels off, and let them fall into the pan.

You will be left with a nicely cleaned off cob and you will hardly waste any corn.

Then it is ready to be scooped into the freezer containers of your choice. I always use pint Ziploc bags and this is the perfect amount for most recipes or for our family to eat at one meal.

This year I got 24 pints from our garden, which is kind of a small year, but at least it is done before the baby is here!

My Princess Bible - Review

My Sweetheart loves all things princess. She loves to wear dresses, dance, and pretend she is a princess. She even says she is going to be a princess when she grows up. So when I had the chance to review the My Princess Bible from Tyndale House Publishers, I knew Sweetie would love to read this one with me. And I was right! We have been reading it together before bedtime and she loves it and always wants to keep reading more! This book is written by Andy Holmes and illustrated Sergey Eliseev, who have been done a nice job putting this book together to teach young girls about women of the Bible. Each chapter is about a different woman and talks about a character trait that made her one of God's special princesses. At the end of each chapter there are two lines where you can insert your princess's name to encourage her to be one of God's princesses. For example the story about Eve ends with “________ is God’s special princess; ________ is sad when she does something bad.” I have enjoyed using this book with Sweetie as a way to help her become familiar with these important women of the Bible and how we can apply what we learn from them to our own life.

I received this book from Tyndale House Publishers for free for review and it is mine to keep.

So Much To Do...

...so little time (or energy)! All of a sudden it seems like our new little one will be here soon! I (almost) wish I had a couple more weeks since most of the stuff in the garden has decided to ripen all at once this week! Yesterday I got the potatoes dug and about half of them canned, but I am hoping to get the corn, pears, tomatoes, and maybe some more apples and peaches done before the baby arrives! With an induction date set for the 27th that doesn't leave me much time! And thankfully the monster kidney stone has been staying put and I haven't had any pain from that! If there is a lack of posts on the blog in the next couple weeks, hopefully you will understand!

Tasty Tuesday - Getting the most out of your roast turkey or chicken

I don't really have a recipe to share today, but I thought I would share with you how I get a lot of meals out of one roast turkey or chicken since I did this last week. I used a turkey this time, but this can also be done with a chicken, just on a smaller scale. I can usually get at least a week's worth of meals and a bunch of broth out of one 15-20 lb turkey. On the day that I roast it, we use some of the meat for that night's dinner, along with gravy made from the pan drippings. After it has cooled (usually the next day), I strip all the meat off the bones and chop it all up into bite sized pieces. I divide the meat up into approximately 2 cup amounts (since that is about what most recipes call for) and put all but one into pint size freezer bags. I put all the bags in the freezer and they are all ready to go for recipes that call for cooked chopped turkey or chicken. The remaining 2 cups I use for a recipe later in the week. With my 15 lb turkey last week I put 5 bags in the freezer.
Next I take all the bones and toss them into a large pot to make broth. With a turkey, I usually divide it between 2 pots.

Then add some chopped up carrots, celery (with the leaves) and onions, and about 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper, and a sprig of parsley to each pot. Add enough water to cover it all and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for about 1 hour. Then use a cheese cloth and strain everything out of the broth. Discard all the bones and vegetables and let the broth cool a bit. Then lay a piece of plastic wrap over the top so that it is laying right on the broth and cool completely in the fridge. Once it is cool, the fat will have risen to the top and when you remove the plastic wrap, most of it will stick to the wrap, making it easy to remove. (I was going to get a picture of this for you, but somehow between the cooking and cooling of the broth our camera got broke!) If you don't want to use the plastic wrap, you can still use a spoon and skim off the fat. Then place in freezer bags or containers in the your desired amount. Be sure to leave enough room for expansion! I usually do some in 1 cup and some in 4 cup amounts because most recipes call for whole cup amounts and my favorite soup recipe calls for 4 cups of broth. Then I can just unthaw as needed and it is ready to go! With this turkey I got 4 quart jars and 3 small jars that I put 1 cups worth in.

Do you have any great money saving tips that you use in your kitchen? I would love to hear them, so leave me a comment!

I am linking this post up with Raising Homemakers!

Suuthe by Mari - Review and GIVEAWAY! **CLOSED**

In honor of my birthday and Labor Day I thought I would provide you guys with a great giveaway today! Keep reading to the end of the post to find out how to enter!

Since having kids, I have become much more aware of what is in the products we use in our home and on our bodies. I have really started reading ingredient labels and paying attention to what things are made from. I love finding products that are all natural with ingredient lists that I can understand because then I know if it safe for us or not. Recently I discovered a company called Suuthe by Mari that offers skin care products made with high quality natural and organic food grade ingredients and no addatives or fillers. That sounded great to me and when they offered to send me a couple of their products for review, I was excited to try them out!

Suuthe by Mari was started by Mari Carlin Dart when she was desperate to relieve her son's eczema and nothing else had worked. She came up with a salve that worked and when others began asking for her "magic salve," her business was born! Since then they have developed an entire line of natural skin repair products.

First they sent the flagship product of the business, the Skin Repair. We don't really have too many skin issues in our house, so I wasn't sure I would get a chance to use this for anything too quickly. The only issue we do have occassionally is that Sweetie gets very dry itchy skin in the crooks of her elbows. It usually last a couple days and I put lotion on it to try help it. Well, last week it decided to flair up so I put some of the Skin Repair on it and it was gone after one application! Sweetie said it was much nicer than the other stuff we've used because it didn't hurt when I put it on either! The Skin Repair can also be used for diaper rashes and since most of you know that we use cloth diapers, I had to ask if it was safe for cloth diapers. Well it is, so it is nice to have something around for if Lovebug gets a rash and I don't have to switch back to disposables until it clears up! There is a long list on their site of other skin issues that the Skin Repair is effective for.

They also sent me the Original Lip Balm. In the summer I get dry chapped lips from the sun so I tried this out right away and immediately noticed a difference. After a couple days of use, my lips were soft and smooth again! It is also effective for cold sores, which I get occassionally and I hope it helps me as well for those.

Both products have worked very well for us and I was also excited to read the ingredient labels and be able to understand what each ingredient is: Pure Emu Oil, Shea Butter, Organic Olive Oil, Bees Wax, Essential Oils: Lavender, Lemon, Chaomile Flower Extract-German Blue.

Other products that they sell include: Facial Skin Moisturizer, Natural Body Butter, Pure African Shea Butter, and Pure Emu Oil.

Interested in purchasing any of the Suuthe by Mari products? Head over to their site and check them out! Right now both sizes of the Skin Repair are on sale!

Interested in winning a tin of the Skin Repair? Keep reading! Suuthe by Mari has generously sent me a tin of the Skin Repair to offer as a giveaway to one of my lucky readers!

Please complete the mandaory entry first and then feel free to complete as many of the extra entries that you would like to. Leave your email address (non spam example: name at yahoo dot com) in each comment so that I can contact you if you win. I will verify all entries, so please be honest! The giveaway will end Sept 20, 2010 at noon and I will pick a winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to US residents (and yes even my friends are welcome to enter since the winner will be randomly drawn!).

Mandatory entry:
Leave me a comment and guess which milestone birthday I am celebrating today!

Extra entries (be sure to leave a seperate comment for each extra entry that you do!)

- Follow my blog publicly

- Subscribe to my blog (box on the left) and make sure you check your email to verify it!

- Add my button to your blog (leave a link to where you added it)

- Head over to Suuthe by Mari and tell me which other product you would be interested in trying.

- Subscribe to the Suuthe by Mari newsletter here (upper right corner).

- Leave a comment on the Suuthe by Mari blog (leave me a link to the post you comment on and the name you commented under).

- Follow Suuthe by Mari on twitter (leave me a comment with your twitter name)

- Tweet, facebook, or blog about this giveaway (you may do one, two, or all three for up to 3 entries and leave me a link to each one that you do)

- "Like" Suuthe by Mari on facebook (leave me a comment with your name)

That's a total of 12 possible ways to enter, so get started commenting today!

Suuthe by Mari sent me these products for free to review. I was not paid for this review and I get to keep the products. All opinions expressed are mine!

Bloem and Grow - Review and Discount Code!!

I recently discovered a small business online called Bloem and Grow that offers a variety of different products, most of which can be personalized to your liking! I immediately fell in love with all the cute necklaces!



When Kate, the owner, offered to send me one of her photo scrabble tile necklaces to review, I was so excited! I emailed her a photo of my hubby and this is what she created for me:

(Sorry I tried to get a pic of me with it on, but hubby wasn't around and my large belly wouldn't let me get close enough to the mirror for a nice close up to see the picture!)

I love it and think it is so fun to wear! I also plan to send her another picture of my kiddos after our newest is born to have her make another tile to add to my necklace.

I asked Kate to tell me a little more about herself so we could get to know her better and here is what she had to say:

I have been married to my high school sweetheart for 10 years now and we have 2 energetic kids, Emmah (7) and Jake (5). No pets, but with these two we don't need them! I got started with a love for crafting and a desire to use this skill as part of my job! I started scrapbooking over 15 years ago and it totally snowballed from there. I love making things for people that are unique and special. I love my photo scrabble tile necklaces because they are so great for so many people. And there are just so many options and so many ways to personalize them.

Kate also offers other cute products like word blocks, photo holders, clothes pins, magnet boards, other jewelry and more!

Kate has many more pictures on her site and facebook page, so be sure to head over to them and check them all out!

I think all her prices are very reasonable, especially for being personalized! If you would like to purchase any of her adorable stuff, head over to her site, Bloem and Grow. And Kate has graciously offered a discount code to all my lucky readers! Just mention the code "Michelle" when ordering and she will give you 15% off your order! So what are you waiting for? Head over and take advantage of this great offer to get yourself some cute stuff!

Bloem and Grow sent me this necklace for free to review. I was not paid for this review and I get to keep the necklace. All opinions expressed are mine!

Tasty Tuesday - Sourdough Waffles

We really like waffles around here and I usually make them from scratch with this recipe I've shared before. I recently found a sourdough waffle recipe that I thought I would try out with my starter. They turned out really good and hubby even said he likes them better than the ones I usually make! They taste really good with strawberries, peaches, or syrup and this recipe makes quite a few so you could freeze some for later and then pop them in the toaster when you want to use them! Also, we rarely have buttermilk in our house, so I substituted 2 Tbsp of vinegar with enough milk added to make 2 cups that I let sit for a few minutes. I mixed my flour, starter, and milk the night before and put it in the fridge so I didn't heat up the milk either and it still turned out just fine.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sourdough starter, at room temperature
2 cups warm buttermilk (about 100 degrees)
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, starter, and buttermilk. Mix well. Cover and let stand at room temperature for about 45 minutes (or covered and refrigerated overnight).

Beat together eggs, milk, honey, and oil. Add to flour mixture and stir until blended. Combine baking soda and salt. Stir into batter, then let stand for 5 minutes.

Bake in a pre-heated electric waffle iron. Serve immediately or let cool on racks, package airtight and freeze. Makes twelve 4-inch square waffles.

I am linking this up with Raising Homemakers and Raising Olives. Be sure to head over there to read other posts about homemaking and breakfast recipes!

Living Room Re-do

I think I mentioned a while back that I was trying to get some new curtains for our family room before we had a bridal shower here a couple weeks ago. Well, the curtain project turned into more of a room redo project. Once I got my new curtains up, it just made all the other stuff stand out that needed some fixing, mainly the gap between our ceiling and wall paneling.

So we decided it was time to get the trim put up that we've always been meaning to get up. And of course that meant the ceiling needed to be painted so it would match the trim. One thing always leads to another! But we managed to get it done in time for the shower and I think it turned out pretty good! Sorry for the bad picture though, it is hard to get a good picture with windows in that doesn't reflect the flash or have too much sunlight making it hard to see the curtains.

The curtains are actually just drop cloths that I bought at Home Depot. The guy probably thought I was kinda strange going through all their boxes of drop cloths, but I needed 4 that were all the same color. If you ever try to make these, be aware that all drop cloths are not identical! The drop cloths are nice because they are fairly inexpensive and are already hemmed around the edges! Then I just found a trim that I liked at Wal-Mart and used heat and bond hem tape to iron it on the top on the backside. I folded down the tops and used clips to hang them on the rods. Now we finally have a finished and cozy family room!