I love to cook! It makes me feel good to see others enjoy something that I have prepared or to hear my littles tell me that I am the best cook in the whole world. I care for my family in many ways, but providing warm and healthy meals for them is one of my favorites.
I love the Food Network, I love kitchen stores, I love thumbing through cookbooks, I love that I have a friend who sells Pampered Chef, I love it when my mom buys me spoons and spatulas to cook with, and I love to gather around the table with people I hold dear! Even the Bible talks about breaking bread and being hospitable......I love that too!
Today I'm going to share with you the easiest and most versatile food that I always have in my pantry. Carb haters beware! It is Jasmine Rice.
We love this stuff! I always start with olive oil and an onion. Finely chop your onion and sautee it in the oil until it starts to caramelize(brown around the edges). Now just follow the directions on the bag, but instead of using water to cook your rice in, you need to use chicken broth(or vegetable broth). This adds so much flavor and makes all the difference.
This rice is so much better than white rice and can easily stand alone, but there are so many great ways to add it to your main dish. We have added ground venison and made dirty rice, roasted vegetales and tossed with it, it even goes great with salmon or as a fried rice. Sometimes we even order some Teriyaki Chicken(just some awesome chicken on a stick) from our local Chinese Restaurant and have it with this wonderful rice. The possibilities are endless.
Bon Appetit!
Being a stay at home and homeschooling mommy, I am rarely away from my children. My days are filled with the most tender hugs and kisses, sweet little voices that say, "I love you, mommy", lots of cuddles and even occasional smiles from precious little faces when our eyes meet. These moments are truly treasured and will one day be missed beyond measure. But, if I am being totally honest, we all know that there is also lots of correcting, discipline, saying the word "NO", and trying to keep my patience.
I cannot begin to tell you how seriously I take the role of motherhood and like most mothers, I fear failing at it! I want my children to have old fashioned values, believe in absolutes, respect those that are older, and mostly I want them to have a true "love" relationship with Jesus Christ. I don't want motherhood to be my job, I want it to be my joy!
My joys, the past few days, have been spending one on one time with Dawson(7) when we went to the Library together, standing at the pantry and having Gage(11) walk up and wrap his arms around me, and having Macy(9) climb into bed in the early hours of the morning, snuggling up to me, and having her tell me that my hair smells so good. These moments are priceless!
Today I am posting a link that gives us 51 ways to bless our children!
http://rachelmariemartin.blogspot.com/2012/11/51-things-you-can-do-that-will-bless.html
I pray that your journey of motherhood is also a joy!
It's Tasty Tuesday! After telling someone how busy we've been for the 4000th time, I thought it would be great to share some recipes that you can make in your muffin or brownie pan(Pampered Chef sells the brownie pan). All of these recipes could be made and then frozen for a quick breakfast, afterschool snack, or even an easy supper with a little salad on the side.
http://www.recipebyphoto.com/24-awesome-muffin-tin-recipes/
Here's to hoping that your week is stress free and you get to spend very little time in the kitchen!
Today is Earth Day and I am excited to use this day to be thankful for all that God created! I am also thankful for the compassion that God gave to people, all over the world, to preserve wildlife and our environment. It reminds me of people like Steve Irwin(the crocodile hunter) and others who work tirelessly to make us aware of what we take for granted each day.
Should we care about recycling and saving trees? Should we care about pollution and all the waste that lays in the landfills? One last question......when was the last time we read the very first verse of the Bible? Genesis 1:1 says "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"(just let that soak in a minute). God loves what He created and he put it here for us to enjoy it's beauty! I think He wants us to appreciate it and do our best to take care of it!
Today I want to share a few links to help us celebrate Earth Day and enjoy God's creation!
1) 20 Fun Earth Facts(these are so interesting!)
http://www.momontimeout.com/2012/04/20-fun-earth-facts-for-earth-day/
2) Great Earth Day Activities for Kids
http://www.mykidsguide.com/great-earth-day-activities-for-kids/
3) Kids books & websites to celebrate Earth Day
http://www.kcedventures.com/earth-day-2012-books-a-websites
Happy Earth Day!
I love a great sale! I found this great article about how groceries go on sale in predictable cycles. Well, thank you grocery blogger lady......thank you I say!
http://www.yourownhomestore.com/grocery-sales-cycles/
I'm sure I will be referring to article often, I might even print this one. I love to save money!
Have a great weekend!
Today, instead of talking about myself, I am talking to myself. I am telling me that I need to have more faith, and this is what I have learned:
Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
This same chapter says that by faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God.
By faith, Abel offered a better sacrifice that Cain.
By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death.
Without faith, it is impossible to please Him.
By faith Noah, being warned by God, prepared an ark.
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed.
By faith, Sarah received ability to conceive.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac.
By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.
By faith Jacob, as he was dying, worshiped!
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents.
By faith, he refused to be called the son of Paraoh's daughter.
By faith, they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land.
By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down.
By faith, Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient.
The Bible also tells us that we are saved and justified by faith, we are to walk by faith, and live by faith in the Son. In 1 Thess 5:8 it says that we are to put on the breastplate of faith. James tells us that when we pray, we should ask in faith without any doubting.
I want the faith of these men and women of the Bible! And I am excited to tell you that God says, "if you have the faith of a mustard seed....nothing will be impossible to you".
As I mentioned yesterday, I am starting my spring cleaning. I am a strange bird when it comes to cleaning as I tend to make things look worse before they look better. I remember when I was growing up that my mom used to tell me that I tear everything down, then put it all back together. You can imagine that this would be a little time consuming.
I don't really have a strategy when it comes to cleaning, but I have learned that I am a "one room at a time" kinda girl. I have also learned that because I spend so much time doing dishes and picking up the living room, that when I do spring clean, I like to start at the back of the house first. Just a change of scenery I guess!
I have found lots of great tips on Pinterest and I am determined to try out a few. I want to try mixing a few drops of essential oil(maybe lavender) with baking soda, sprinkle it over our mattresses, then just vacuum it off after about an hour. I also want to try the all-natural oven cleaner recipe that I found, instead of using so many chemicals. I would really love to master washing my pillows and not having them come out looking like the caricature art where they have really big heads and really small bodies! Wish me luck!
If you have not yet found your inspiration to start spring cleaning your house(I am having company soon), I am going to post a link that has some great tips to get you started. And, just in case you were wondering, there is lots more laundry to do!
http://myblessedlife.net/2011/03/10-simple-spring-cleaning-tips.html
I am off to put that load of towels in the dryer!
I cannot believe that it has been a week since I wrote a post! The days have been so long, yet passed so quickly. We have been in constant motion. Well, today I have decided to pause and do some therapeutic blogging!
I know that I have said this before, but when you homeschool, it is impossible to do all things well. The last few days I have been driven to do some, much needed, spring cleaning. On days like today, where house cleaning is our main focus, school work is at a bare minimum.
In my post last week I mentioned that we like to watch Drive Thru History. I want to share with you a link where you can watch "all" of the Drive Thru History videos. You can use them as a supplement to the history curriculum that you already use or you can watch them just for fun. These videos are biblically based and have even received a Dove Award. The host is very funny(when appropriate) and my little ones often giggle at his antics.
http://www.itbn.org/search?search=drive+through+history&submit_search=search
I am going to go start my fifth load of laundry now(just in case y'all thought I was kidding about the title of this blog)! Today was a perfect day for a little Drive Thru History!
