Sentiments by Denise

Pumpkin Goodness!

I've been busy with some pumpkins lately - baking, freezing, experimenting.

Word around town is that there is going to be a pumpkin shortage (store-bought canned pumpkin) this winter.

I took several "pie" pumpkins and decided to make my own pumpkin puree to freeze for later use in recipes for the holidays that are fast approaching.

It's very easy to do these yourself and more cost effective, too!

This is how I baked the pumpkins - after removing the seeds, I placed them cut side down on parchment paper on a baking sheet and baked in a 350deg oven for about one hour.

 

Let the pumpkin cool for a bit, then scrape the pulp from the skins.

I put the pulp in my blender with a bit of water (for consistency) and pureed until smooth.

I filled quart size freezer bags with amounts that will work for most of my recipes.

Pumpkin puree freezes very well and since I now have an extra freezer, this is great to have on hand for the abundance of recipes that I have been finding online for some great pumpkin goodness!

One cooking blog that I visit quite often posted a huge listing of wonderful pumpkin recipes - check it out for yourself here.  You are sure to find something fabulous to bake with the pumpkin you are preserving!

Here's some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins I baked recently:
I used applesauce in place of some of the oil that the recipe required. They were so moist and much lower in calories!

I try to bake up several dozens of muffins on baking days so I can freeze them for later enjoyment. However, these did not make it to the freezer. I shared some with both of our kids and took some to work to share with my co-worker.

Unbelievably good!

Thankful Thursday

Blog? I have a blog? Oh, yeah - I remember!

November is a month when we reflect on things we are thankful for and I thought I'd list a few things each Thursday during this month. It's a reminder to me that I have so much - not just tangible or material things, but also things that go beyond sight and touch. Things that matter to the heart.

• Jesus. I'm thankful for my relationship with my Lord and Saviour. I'm thankful that it continues to grow and His love for me is never-ending.
• Ed. My dear, loving husband of 28+ years is the most important person in my life and I love waking up next to him every morning, finding ways to bless his life each day, and sharing new joys that come our way.
• Stephen. I'm so thankful for a son with a heart for God, a love for people, a gregarious spirit and an incredible sense of humor. One of my joys.
• Emilee. I'm so thankful for a daughter who loves Jesus, has a determined spirit, is a blessing to those who know her deeply, and still comes home for hugs. One of my joys.

I have lots to share. I've been busy cooking, creating, and organizing.

I'll be back soon to share some photos and updates of the "doings" at our house.

Thanks for being patient with me.

Friendships

I really should make some new friends.

It seems all my old friends have disappeared.

Or are too busy.

Life cycles can be painful.

A Little at a Time

We've been saving for quite awhile to be able to get new windows and doors in our drafty old house (it's about 57 years old). We've lived here for 15 years and decided that this was going to be the year. No more private school or college for the kids. That's done. No debt besides our mortgage. So we wanted to get this done so our heating/cooling bills would go down and we would notice a change in the comfort level in our home.

Today was the day! It was a good day to do this, though it started out on the chilly side this morning. I stayed wrapped in blankets most of the morning and then went to visit my sweet neighbor for an hour or so midday. There was a work crew of six guys and they began yanking windows out, along with the front door almost immediately after they arrived! Overall, we replaced nine windows and two main doors.

Here's the side kitchen window before - nasty aluminum windows that were never opened because they were hard to navigate; not to mention cleaning them was very undesirable:

I took this photo in the early morning after we got up early to take down all the curtains and blinds in the windows.

I've always thought the windows in my house were an old size - wider than usual. I made curtains for several of the windows when we first bought this house and always had to add yardage because they weren't standard.

Here are two of the installers fitting in the new window. I was amazed at how quickly these guys worked. They were thorough and courteous - cleaning up well after themselves when the work was done.

The company is White Oak Construction and so far we are very pleased with their work.

I really wish I didn't have to put curtains back up, but it does add to the color of the room, besides lending a mode of privacy.

Already we've noticed how much quieter it seems, as the outside noise is definitely more muted than before. And we haven't turned the heat back on - as soon as the windows were all in and the afternoon sun was beating down on the house, everything warmed up again inside! I can't wait to see what my heating bill looks like this winter - everyone says we'll notice a difference right away!

Tonight I made homemade pizza because it was quick and easy. I had some pizza dough that I took out of the freezer last night to thaw in the fridge and also used the last on my homemade sauce. I love making 2 or 3 batches of dough in my bread machine and freezing it for later use. The homemade sauce is so much tastier than commercial and healthier, too, because I know exactly what the ingredients are that are used in it!

Tomorrow is grocery shopping day, plus time spent getting the house back in order. I'm itching to get to the orchard and get some apples to make several goodies - some to freeze for later use. I've been searching the internet (blogs and recipe sites) for some good apple and pumpkin recipes. I love baking this time of year - the aromas that fill my kitchen are just amazing!

What kinds of goodies are you baking on these crisp Autumn days?

Saving Money with Coupons

Yesterday I briefly mentioned that I've been couponing. This is one of the ways that I've found that I can save our family money when shopping for groceries and household items. For example, today I went to Walgreen's and bought over $68 worth of merchandise but only spent $2.50 out of pocket! Obviously this doesn't happen every week and it takes some time and planning to achieve this, but it all helps with the bottom line.

A couple of my friends have asked me about couponing (mostly Facebook friends), so I thought I would dedicate this post to answering some of those questions.

One of the questions I hear a lot is "where do you find all those coupons?" Even the cashiers at the stores ask me that (probably because it overwhelms them when I hand them a massive pile of coupons at checkout!). I have several sources:

• One is the Sunday newspaper. Usually on Sundays there are coupon inserts along with the store ads. Some weeks are more than others, but I usually clip most all of them, even the ones I'm not likely to use because you never know when something will be a deal too good to pass up (like FREE!) and then I can just donate/give that item to someone else who might use it. I also like to trade coupons (example: I don't use baby coupons of any kind, but I still clip them and give them to a young mom I know or donate them to our MOPS group at church). You can subscribe the Sunday paper or have a friend that doesn't coupon save those inserts for you. You can also purchase the paper from the local grocery/drugstore or gas station each week. The gas station just down the road from my house offers a free Sunday paper with a $15 fill up. If I need gas, I sometimes wait to fill up on Sunday and grab a paper while I'm there - no extra out of pocket!
• Internet. I print and clip about 75% of my coupons off the internet. There are many blogs/websites dedicated to couponing and ad deals. The first one I discovered and use a lot is SwagGrabbers, as well as other favorites like: MoneySavingMom, Coupon Gal, Frugal Rhode Island Mama, and AttentionTargetShoppers to name just a few. These blogs update deals quite frequently, so check back often. They will link sites for coupons, free samples, and other deals (like on line shopping discounts). If you're looking for different areas on line to get coupons you can find a good listing here: Printable Coupons and this blogger has also written a beginner's guide to couponing here which is very helpful in answering your questions when you are first starting out. Here's another helpful site when it comes to finding coupons/deals. Take the time to browse through these blogs that I have listed, checking their sidebars for lots of good information and other blogs that link to these. Read and learn.
• Magazines. I don't subscribe to a lot of magazines (use to, but can't find the time to read them anymore). My daughter gets Real Simple magazine and we find a small handful of coupons in there each month. The magazine that I have found to be loaded with them is called All You. You will see when you open this link that right in the middle of the page is a section to click on for coupons. The magazine is full of them. The October issue alone has over $90 in coupons! Here's what it looks like:
  

  

  You can find this magazine exclusively at Wal-Mart, but since that store is my very least store to shop at, I choose to subscribe to it. At the store you can purchase it for about $2.50 an issue, which you will quickly find pays for itself and then some!
• It's a typical woman's magazine, which has health and beauty columns and articles, with tons of ads. The ads are where you'll find the coupons. I try to read through it when I first get it otherwise after I finish clipping all the coupons it's a bit hard to read! LOL!

• Free samples. Often in the blogs mentioned above there will be links to sign up for free samples to be mailed to you. Cereal, snack/granola bars, cosmetics, feminine products, cleaning products, and other goodies will come in your mailbox in little cardboard boxes and often along with the free sample of the item there will be a significant coupon included.
• In store coupons. Keep your eyes open while you're shopping the grocery /drug store aisles and you'll probably see coupons near items on tear-offs. Also, grocery stores (Target, Kroger, Meijer) and drug stores (Walgreen's, CVS) will have coupon books that you can either pick up at the stores or they will mail them to you. These hold big savings, too. Just this morning on my way out of Walgreen's (after my amazing shopping trip!), I picked up their October Coupon Book which has coupons for several items we use in our home.

Coupons only work when you use them, but be careful that you aren't using them just because you have a stack of them. In other words, don't purchase things you/your family won't use just because you can save 50cents. That's not using your resources wisely or in a frugal manner. When using coupons, it pays to be willing to try different brands. Often companies will offer a good coupon or sale price on an item just so you will try it, hoping you will become a loyal customer. Our family has their preferences, but I find they are willing to try new things especially when I bring home a new shampoo or a new brand of cheese and tell them I got it practically free!

I could probably write more on this subject, but this is a good overview and will help to get you started if you are interested in saving money. It takes some time each week to gather the information. I spend a couple hours every week scouring websites, printing coupons, clipping, and assembling shopping lists. But, I have more time these days since my work hours have been cut back. To me, this is part of my "job" in managing my household finances, trying to find the best deals and saving money for my family.

Let me know if you have any questions that I did not answer here OR if you have any good coupon tips yourself that you will share.

Autumn has Arrived!

I think I almost forgot I had a blog!

Autumn has finally arrived in central Indiana and today was cooler with some gusty winds.

As you can see, I am busy making new cards. And there are more to be made. I had a specific request to make more birthday cards so I'll be working on those this week.

I'm continually looking for ways to be more frugal while managing my household. Here are some things I'm doing these days:

• Cooking more from scratch. I love baking homemade bread, muffins, sauces, soups, chilis, and other items from the ingredients that I have available in my own pantry. Recently I took an inventory of my pantry and freezer so I would know exactly what I had on hand. I plan my weekly menus, trying to use most of what I have in my cupboards and freezer.
• Couponing with a vengeance! Since I have a bit more time I've been finding coupons, free offers, and free samples on the internet and in the Sunday papers, as well as some magazines. These help tremendously to lower our grocery bill. I have been able to stock up quite a bit lately on lots of items, especially when they are nearly free!
• Stockpiling (which is related to the above mentioned). Before I grocery shop each week, I check the sale fliers for the local grocery store/drugstore where I purchase. It's so much better to get items on sale (and often with a coupon!) than to pay full price. I try to plan my weekly menu around these items, too. It seems like health and beauty aids are the most expensive things to buy these days, so I'm constantly looking for sales especially on these items. It helps to not be a "brand-snob" and be willing to try new brands, too.
• Sticking to a budget. This is getting harder and harder these days as our income has gone south and fluctuated so much these past several months. But, we have very little debt (small mortgage) and have pared down our household expenses extensively, so this has helped quite a bit - at least when the work comes back full time we'll appreciate the frugalness!
• Clotheslining - I think I've finally talked my husband in to putting up a clothesline in our backyard. I grew up hanging clothes on the line outside. I've been doing some reading lately and found that the clothes dryer is one of the most expensive household appliance to run. I have a couple folding racks that I've been using in the interim and these work very well, especially on warm sunny days.
• Washing dishes by hand. Several months ago I got rid of my automatic dishwasher to make room for the small chest freezer that we now have. I've never been a big fan of the dishwasher. Yes, they are convenient, but I despised the chemical smell that my dishes would carry and always felt that this machine used more water and energy than doing those same dishes by hand. The up side for me is being able to gaze out my kitchen window and watch the little creatures (squirrels and bunnies) and birds scurry around our backyard. I seem to be the only one in my household who enjoys this chore, so I often do it by myself. Once in awhile, Ed will join me at the sink, but it's usually his idea - I never pressure him. I like to have all the dishes washed, dried, and put away at the end of the evening before going to bed. Facing a sink full of dirty dishes first thing in the morning usually puts me in a bad mood. I just like for the sink and counter tops to be clean and clutter-free when I retire for the evening.
• Gardening. This year I had a little garden for the first time in a long while. We've been harvesting a steady stream of tomatoes. Not too many, just enough for our meals basically. I only planted 4 plants this year, along with several varieties of peppers. Next year's garden will be larger, but still small according to other's standards. I like being able to freeze and can fresh produce to eat in the winter months. I have also visited our local Farmer's Market many times this summer and we've been able to have a CSA delivery every other week that supplements are garden pursuits. Fresh is always best!

These are just a few things that have helped us stay on track during these tough times. What things are you doing to be more frugal?

Young Marrieds

I have mentioned several times that Ed & I teach a group of Young Married couples at our church. We enjoy these young people so much and have lots of fun with them. It's so wonderful to see them growing together in their relationships with each other and rejoicing with them when new babies come along. It's like we have a plethora of grand babies - sort of. (There are 3 couples expecting babies right now!).

In the past year and a half since we started working with this group we have seen several couples move away to follow new pursuits - most of them have been ministry oriented. We have a couple serving in Budapest Hungary as missionaries, one in Lafayette IN serving as senior pastors, one in Long Island NY finishing grad school, one here in Indy pursuing a coffee house ministry, one in St. Louis MO working in urban ministries, and this evening we said good-bye to another couple (and their two sweet little girls) as they head to PA to work in youth ministries. It's always a bittersweet thing to let them go - knowing they are following God's plan for their lives, but missing them and the opportunity to talk to them/see them on a regular basis. We try to stay in contact with them through email and Facebook and it's always exciting to hear all the things that God is doing in their lives and their ministries.

Recently I made a couple baby cards - went to two showers for two couples that we don't see very often. One has already had their baby and they are working in urban ministries in St. Louis. They had a sweet baby girl right after they moved there this summer. The other couple is expecting their first baby girl this month and they are working in a coffee house ministry here in Indianapolis. I made the same card design but personalized them with the baby's name:

Here's a close up of one of them:

I've been off work since Sept. 5th (regular down time, holiday, and a couple vacation days) so I've had some time to work on some new card designs. Several ladies at church have asked me to make them, so I'm working on a selection that I hope to have complete before the end of the month. Autumn themed cards are my favorite to make, so I've been working on those, along with birthday, sympathy, baby, thank you, thinking of you, and friend cards. If you're interested in purchasing any cards (and have any requests) please leave a comment or email me.

Ed & I spent most of the day yesterday working on the first phase of landscaping the front of our house. I took some photos, but will wait to post them when we have more of the work done so you'll be able to see the progression. We've lived in this house for 15 years now and are finally getting around to doing some remodeling/updating that needs to be done.

Pumpkin Smoothie

Autumn is on its way and in anticipating all the pumpkin-y goodness that is sure to come with it, I decided to make a pumpkin smoothie for breakfast this morning!

I had some pumpkin puree in the freezer, but you can also use canned pumpkin if you prefer. I hope you give this recipe a try... it is incredibly good!

Pumpkin Smoothie

1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup vanilla low fat yogurt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (more, if desired)
1/2 large banana, cut into chunks
1 cup crushed ice

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth. Makes two 12oz servings.

*******************************************************************************************************

I get some teasing from my friends about the fruit and vegetable smoothie concoctions I create, but they are healthy and a great way to start the day!

Blend up a pumpkin smoothie and let me know how you like it!

Time for Tea

I'm a tea drinker. I love it iced or hot, always unsweetened, unadorned by any creamy substance - just in it's natural state.

I grew up drinking iced tea brewed in the sun with lots of sugar added. That's the way our family drank it. Later, as a young adult on my own, I found that I could make tea without any sweeteners and realized it was a wonderful beverage, standing on its own!

Don't you just love this little tea mug? My sweet friend, Bonnie, gave it to me for my birthday a couple months ago. Look:

The adorable little mug includes the steep pot for the tea bag and a lid to keep it hot.

I use it every morning when I have my cup of green tea and often at night before bedtime if I enjoy a mug of herbal tea.

I keep a Longaberger Tea basket on the counter top filled with an assortment of teas, plus there are several boxes in the kitchen cupboards to choose from. I have to force myself to not buy more tea when I'm out shopping - it seems I always find an interesting flavor I want to try and before I realize it my collection has grown!

Emilee is a tea drinker like me. Ed will drink iced tea (with Truvia added as a sweetener), but not hot tea. I've been encouraging those in our family to drink more tea as opposed to soft drinks (regular or diet) since it's much healthier. I stopped drinking sodas over six years ago and I don't miss them at all. I usually have a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge for family consumption at all times. In fact, recently I found this pretty glass pitcher at a yard sale and snatched it right up - perfect to keep our favorite beverage in!

Isn't it pretty?

When it's full of tea with some lemon slices or fresh peach slices peeking through, it sure looks refreshing!

Are you a tea drinker? What is your favorite flavor or brand?

Oatmeal Honey Bread

In my continual search for wonderful homemade bread recipes, I wanted to incorporate other grains as well. We love the wheat bread that I make every week, but I wanted to try something new.

After searching the internet and many of my cookbooks I came up with this recipe (which I tweaked to make it my very own). Give it a try and let me know how you like it.

Oatmeal Honey Bread

1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup oats, old fashioned
2 T. butter
1-1/2 tsp salt
4 T. Honey
1 large egg, beaten
2 tsp Vital Wheat Gluten
2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp yeast

Put oats in a mixing bowl; pour boiling water over the oats. When oats have cooled, but are still a bit warm, add remaining ingredients. Pour into bread machine and follow directions to complete. **I usually just do the dough setting for my bread and remove the dough when complete, knead it just a bit, form it into a loaf, put it into a bread loaf pan and put it in a "warm" oven to rise about 30 minutes. Then I bake it in a 350deg oven for another 30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack, removing from the bread pan.

Here's how I slice my homemade bread to get those uniform slices:

Several months ago, Ed found this Presto bread slicer at a yard sale for $2 (still in the box). It comes in very handy with my electric knife (ancient wedding gift - still working!) to cut bread slices evenly.

I usually set the bread in the slicer on its side since it can be somewhat bulging on the sides (see photo above).

See? Nice and straight! I store the bread in my bread basket inside ziploc bags to keep it fresh and soft.

When we get down to the last of it or the bread heels are being ignored, I usually toss those "rejects" into a bag in the fridge until I have a bunch and either make homemade bread crumbs or croutons. Nothing goes to waste!

This oatmeal honey bread is really good for sandwiches (fresh BLT's from our garden!), morning toast with homemade jam, or even french toast with my homemade syrup.

Next, I think I'll try a pumpernickel loaf or even a hearty rye. Anyone want to swap recipes?

Where Did Summer Go?

Summer seems to be winding down here in Central Indiana. The cooler temperatures are most welcome. My garden's harvest is dwindling - we're picking about every other day. Emilee made homemade salsa today with a variety of tomatoes and peppers picked from the garden over the last couple days. I whipped up a batch of homemade baked tortilla chips so we could taste-test it appropriately!

I'm still making summer salads every week, mostly to celebrate the abundance of vegetables we've been getting from various sources: Farmer's Market, CSA, our own garden, and even the grocery store. Here's a favorite of mine:

I love fresh broccoli salad! I usually make it with red onion, but didn't have any in the house when I had a craving for this salad last week, so I used a sweet Valdalia.

This is a perfect salad to make early in the day and let it refrigerate all day for a great tasting addition to the evening meal!

Broccoli Salad

1 bunch of broccoli
6-8 slices of bacon (I prefer turkey bacon)
1 small red onion, sliced or chopped
1/2 c. sunflower seeds, salted and roasted
1 c. golden raisins

Dressing:
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. sugar

Fry bacon until crisp. Drain, cool, and crumble. Chop broccoli and onion. Mix with seeds, raisins, and bacon. Dressing: Combine mayonnaise, vinegar, and sugar. Mix well and pour over salad. Let stand several hours or overnight, refrigerated. Makes 10-12 servings.
****************************************************************************

I've also whipped up a quick tuna pasta salad several times recently. This dish makes a quick, yet light meal. I usually boil some pasta (I prefer wheat), drain and cool. Then add a container of water-packed tuna (I usually buy the foil envelopes of tuna), some chopped black or green olives, a cup or so of halved grape tomatoes, about a 1/2 cup of sliced green onions, a turn or two of cracked black pepper and a couple dollops of Miracle Whip. I like to serve this salad on a lettuce bed with some raw veggies (carrots, celery, cuke slices) and hummus. Em & I like to take this for our lunch on the days we have to work.

Soon it will be time to think about homemade soups and stews, baked apple dishes, and wonderful pumpkin goodies. But for now, I'm savoring these last days of Summer.

For other great recipes/ideas, join me in viewing the following great blogs:

Tempt My Tummy Tuesday hosted by Blessed With Grace

Tasty Tuesday hosted by Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Tuesday at the Table hosted by All the Small Stuff

Aw Shucks! (Freezing Corn)

I love corn on the cob! In the summer, I anxiously await for the harvest of corn about mid-August so I can get my fill. This year I am even more excited because now we have an extra freezer so I can put some up for winter (if it lasts till then!).

Today Ed and I drove down to a small town south of us and bought a bushel and a half of freshly picked corn. After lunch, we shucked all five dozen ears and then began the process of freezing the corn.

We love the bi-color corn and this is what was available today at the market. This little market also has many other fresh fruits and veggies - like the enormous and sweet blackberries we bought today also! I don't think they'll last to put into a cobbler - we're eating them like candy right out of the quart box!

When freezing corn, it must be blanched first. Blanching is the process of placing the vegetable in boiling water for a certain amount of time to stop the enzyme action. Enzymes cause the vegetable to grow and mature - this continues even after the vegetable is harvested ( that's why veggies/fruit ripen and can spoil if the vegetable isn't eaten or blanched (preserved) soon after harvesting). I blanched six ears of corn at a time in boiling water in a pot on my stove for 4 minutes.

After the ears of corn have been blanched for four minutes, I removed them from the boiling water and immediately immersed them into a sink full of ice cold water. See the big chunk of ice floating around with the corn? Anticipating this day, I froze a couple half gallon jugs (paper milk or juice containers work well) filled with water. Just pop them into the water and the corn will cool quickly.

I leave the ears of corn in the cold water for about 4 minutes, then remove them to an absorbent towel to dry thoroughly.

Now, at this point you can cut the kernels off the cobs and I had originally thought to do this with half the ears I bought, then changed my mind. I think I'll get a couple more dozen later and do that. This group is staying as is!

I can fit six ears into a gallon sized freezer bag and this is a good serving size for our family. I can always cut it off the cob when I thaw it out, too.

So, my freezer is loaded with five dozen ears of corn and I am thrilled!

In other news, my oven has finally conked out for good (which is not making our resident baker very happy - Emilee!), so we're off to buy a new gas range/oven tomorrow. It's the last of our appliances to be replaced since we moved here 15 years ago. We bought all new appliances when we bought this house and have slowly replaced each one of them over the years (the fridge, just a year and a half ago), so it's time.

Thoughts on Thursday

Sorry about my absence here. My laptop is still damaged, but we have more than one computer in the house so I really don't have an excuse not to blog!

I've been busy:

• making freezer jam (peach this time and soon, blueberry!)
• browsing through my MaryJane books (love these books! actually borrowed from the local library)
• making more handmade cards for my stash - to have on hand and maybe to sell
• poking around in my garden daily (tomatoes & peppers are coming on!)
• researching some winter compost ideas
• harvesting and drying herbs from my little herb garden
• contacting relatives for a cousin's reunion
• thinking about my 30th year high school reunion coming up
• exercising - mostly walking and biking, but I need to get back to strength training
• only working 3 days a week outside the home
• planning some remodeling work on our home with my husband
• thinking about Autumn (not wanting to rush Summer away, but I love anticipating the crisp days ahead, cooking more soups and hot meals, and the smells this season brings)
• ridding out - cleaning out some closets, purging some unused items
• reading my Bible, learning what God has in store for me/my family next and drawing closer to Him just because it's the best place to be right now (or anytime!)
• enjoying my husband - I love to spend time with him! (even if he's watching TV and I'm reading - if we're in the same room, I feel close)

What are you doing these days as Summer draws to a close?

Sympathy Cards and More

I believe my laptop has healed itself - just took a few days to dry out! So, I'm back in business!

I wanted to post a couple more cards. I've made several Sympathy cards lately, as I have lost several dear friends and also have friends/relatives who've lost their loved ones. I've sent out a dozen sympathy cards in the past week. It's a good reminder to me, also, to continue lifting these families in prayer in their time of loss.

This first card is a design that I've made many times using a retired Stampin Up set. The card is quick to make and the sentiment can be changed to anything.

I rarely stamp anything on the inside of the card because I like to write my own message or note. I usually end up filling up the entire space inside the card - I'm so wordy!

This card design was a sketch I found on someone's blog (not sure whose) and I drew a little sketch in my idea book for future reference. I pulled out that little book the other day while making cards for a bit of inspiration.

A wedding card, using the colors from the wedding (red, black and white) - along with a splash of turquoise!

The idea for this card came from an older Stampin Up Idea Catalog, except instead of using a stamp for the cake, I pieced it out of cardstock run through my Sizzix with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. The hearts on top are pearl stickpins!

I also made a sweet gift for the newly married couple - a set of note cards! This idea came from Michelle Wooderson's blog (a favorite of mine - she always has such great ideas!).

These cards are made to write a message on the back.

I used the couple's monogram as the focal point on the front of the card.

I could've stamp a sentiment on the front the way Michelle did on hers, but chose to leave it blank so the bride could use them in any way she wants to.

Here's how I finished the set of eight cards so that it was ready for gift giving:

I found these clear card boxes at PaperTrey Inkseveral months back. They are great for packaging gift sets of note cards that I make.

I slipped the same amount of envelopes in with the notecards and put my logo on the back of the package.

A great, fun and simple gift that is handmade especially for them.

Now that my computer seems to be back to normal I have much to catch up on in blog posts. Ed & I are celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary tomorrow and are heading out to the lake to do some boating, relaxing and enjoying just the two of us. I'll write more later!

Laptops and Cards

My laptop is sick and it's all my fault!

I spilled some water on the keyboard last weekend by accident (yes, my glass of water was sitting too close and I knocked it over!) and it hasn't work right since. So I've been using Ed's desktop computer, which is fine, but somewhat limiting. For one, it doesn't have any of my FAVs bookmarked and I can't carry it around from room to room with me to suit my fancy when I'm reading or typing on it! Such a sad state of affairs!  *sigh*

Anyway, I've recently made some cards that I'll share:

My niece, Ashlee, graduated from Ball State last weekend so I made her this card to hold the little "gift" we got her - it was one of those paper gifts! I hope she liked it!

Ashlee is already heading to grad school, plus she's getting married on January 1st! A busy girl, indeed!

Well, I was going to post a couple more cards, but Typepad isn't letting me for some reason so I'll stop while I'm ahead. I'll come back later and finish this post when things cooperate.

Read Any Good Books Lately?

It seems I always have a stack of books available to me because I love to read!

Here's what is in my latest stack:

 

I read a lot of different books - some fiction, some non-fiction, some Christian inspirational, some secular. My favorite genre to read is suspense thriller. I think it goes way back to when I was a little girl and I was introduced to Nancy Drew Mysteries. My Mom (who I believe I inherited my love for reading from) would buy me one or two of Nancy Drew's books (hardbound) for different occasions - I would covet books as a gift far more than toys or clothes! I still have a huge box of my Nancy Drew books in storage that I will never part with. They are a treasure to me!

I also enjoy Amish inspirational fiction and have been literally spoiled with the writings of Beverly Lewis. I've read many other authors of Amish fiction, but really none compare to the way she illustrates with words to give the reader a near perfect picture of authentic Amish life. I grew up in northern Indiana (near Nappanee and Shipshewana) and horse & buggies, prayer kapps, and old fashioned living were commonplace for me. Still, the life of the Amish intrigues me. I love reading about these people.

Cookbooks, stitchery books, and simple living books are also at the top of my list of books I enjoy. I often will curl up in bed at night before going to sleep and read through a new cookbook that I've recently acquired - does that make me weird? Maybe I'm not the only one who does that? Here's a sampling of a couple books I also picked up from the library tonight - I just discovered this author. Apparently, she has her own magazine that looks like a fun read, too!
 

Now, don't these books look like fun!? Here's a page sampling - can't wait to dive into this one!

 

Beautiful pictures, gobs of recipes, fun facts, and loaded with literary goodness!

I am one of those who visits my local library often (as you can tell!). Rarely do I purchase a book, unless it is going to be used long term/for reference. The book Love & Respect in the top photo is one we purchased, as we are considering using it in the class we teach with our Young Marrieds. Since I live in a fairly large city, there are numerous libraries all linked to one main central library. Nearly any book I could ever want can be borrowed and if they don't have it, you can request it and they'll get it! I can't justify buying lots of books for this reason (plus, I really don't have the space to store them).

Emilee just recently was hired at Barnes & Noble to work part time (in addition to her regular job) and that makes buying books very appealing, but I'll stick to borrowing them from the library and even from friends.

I keep a running list of books I want to read, especially if I find an author that I enjoy, I'll want to read everything they've written or if I find a series - I'll start from the first book (if I can find it) and go from there. I like to read sequentially. I rarely read a book more than once (though my daughter can read books over and over again! I always tease her by saying, "but you know what happens in the end!"). Sometimes I'll read a book and part way through I'll realize that it sounds familiar because I've read it years ago. That happening a few times caused me to start keeping a list of books I read each year.

So what are you reading these days - any good books you want to recommend?

Homemade Substitutes

I am finding more and more the need to make different food and food additions from scratch at home rather than purchasing them from the store, where they usually contain excessive amounts of sodium, MSG, and other preservatives that I don't want in my body.

This morning I cleaned out my refrigerator to find out what leftovers needed to be eaten and take care of some things like chicken broth (that I freeze in ice cube trays) and stale bread. I like to make homemade bread crumbs with the stale bread - some of us don't eat the heel of the bread, so it gets tossed into a ziploc bag in the fridge until I have enough to make a batch of bread crumbs. Since I make my own homemade wheat bread from scratch, I know exactly what's in the bread and the bread crumbs! Here's what I do:

First, I break apart the pieces of bread and toss them into my food processor. I suppose you could use a blender for this, too. I just use the large blade at the bottom of the processor to blend the bread chunks into crumbs.

I usually only add about half of the bread, then process into crumbs. If I'm making plain bread crumbs, this is the whole process completed.

    
If I'm making seasoned bread crumbs, like I made this morning, I add all of the seasonings (recipe to follow), then add more bread chunks, processing until well blended.

A bonus is some of the herbs that I'm growing in my herb garden can be used either fresh or after they are dried! Another way to cut cost and steer from buying store-bought herbs.

Here is the seasoned bread crumbs fully processed and ready to be used. Even though the bread was stale going into the processor, the crumbs are soft and the seasonings give them a wonderful aroma!

Ready to go into the freezer! I usually place these bags of bread crumbs into the door space of my freezer so I can find them quickly. I have one labeled Plain and one labeled Seasoned.

It's great to have homemade bread crumbs on hand for recipes and not have to worry if they are loaded with sodium or MSG. Next time you're in the grocery store, stop in the aisle and read the list of ingredients on a container of bread crumbs - you'll be shocked, I'm sure!

Here's the recipe for seasoned bread crumbs:

Seasoned Homemade Bread Crumbs

Stale bread, torn into pieces (I used about 8 bread "heels")
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp parsley flakes
3/4 tsp oregano
3/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 Cup parmesan cheese (optional, but it adds wonderful flavor!)

Place bread pieces into food processor and blend until fine. Add seasonings and process until combined completely. Store in ziploc storage bags - should be refrigerated or frozen for long term storage. Makes approx. 2 cups.

Other items I'm making from scratch these days are homemade cream soups that are added to recipes instead of buying the cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup and Cream of Chicken Soup. So many quick recipes call for these ingredients and it's so easy to just open a can and toss it in, but did you know that one 10.5 oz can of store bought contains 870mg of sodium, MSG, artificial color, disodium phosphate, maltodextrin, soy lecithin, citric acid, dextrose and several other ingredients that seem unnecessary except for the fact that they are needed for long term preservation. It makes you wonder what these ingredients do to our health - hmmmm.

I've searched the internet, looking at different recipe sites and blogs and have found several homemade cream soup recipes that work great for adding to casseroles, etc. in place of a canned version. Some are dry mixes that can be stored in bags or jars on your shelves and just add the wet ingredients when needed, and others are soups made complete and stored in the fridge/freezer in portion appropriate containers for quick use in recipes. Here are a few I've found (I'm still in the process of trying different ones to find my favorite):

Condensed Chicken Soup Recipe (bonus of a dry onion soup link,too!)

Cream of Mushroom Soup - Dried

Make it yourself Cream Soups (I love her blog!)

Healthy Substitute for Cream of Chicken Soup

These are just a few I've found. You can also do a search on the internet, which will reveal several recipe sites and food blogs that contain many different recipes that you can experiment with. **Something to note - when the recipe calls for beef or chicken bouillon granules, I prefer to buy this ingredient at a natural/health food store, as this is one more way you can avoid MSG additives in this product. Look at the labels before you buy to ensure you are getting an MSG-free product. Otherwise, I purchase organic grass-fed beef and free range chickens, so I make my own broth a lot, freezing it for different uses in recipes (see link at the top of this post).

Do you have a recipe that you've adapted to homemade from something you use to buy from the store? Please share in the comments section!

For more Kitchen Tips, see Tammy's Blog.

A Little Catch-Up

It's time for a little catch- up of what's been happening in our lives lately:

• Last week was an emotional week, as I've already written about. Two funerals, two birthdays, a major doctor's appt...I'm ready for things to calm down a bit.
• Stephen had a birthday yesterday, but since he had planned to be out of town visiting friends, we celebrated on Thursday night. All of us went to Famous Dave's Legendary Pit BBQ, per Stephen's request. He had been there before, but it was a first for the rest of us. We all rated it a big thumbs up! Very tasty BBQ sauce - I tried all of them on my chicken!
• Saturday afternoon we had a Pool Party at a friend's house with our Young Married group. This is the group Ed & I teach at church. There were about 12 couples there, plus a bunch of little ones, too! I love that our group has such fun together. Unbelievably, it was barely 70 degrees yesterday here in Central Indiana, so only the brave ones (mostly guys!) got into the pool.
• Emilee and I went to the Farmer's Market again yesterday morning (it's a Saturday morning ritual these days!) and I picked up some more green beans (going to freeze those) and a half dozen of corn. We ate some of the corn for lunch today and it was so good! I love fresh corn on the cob! I could make myself sick eating it - I love it so much!
• I made another summer salad yesterday that I'll be sharing with you (pics, etc) in a few days. This one uses lots of garden-y goodness!
• Made a couple cards recently for some birthdays - two sweet little girls who are special to me!

Summer Salads - Waldorf

A couple weeks ago I posted about some salads we're making at our house during these hot summer days (although lately, it's only been in the mid-70's!). Today I have another recipe to share.

We buy apples often - they are a good fruit to keep on hand for snacks. Some favorites around here are Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious, and Granny Smith. Any of these, or another favorite of yours, would work in this recipe.

Emilee made this for my birthday dinner a few nights ago. This recipe made plenty for the four of us, plus we had a few servings left over to take for lunch the next day.

I think this recipe compliments any chicken dish quite well.

Waldorf Salad

3-4 apples, unpeeled, cored and cut into bite size pieces
1 T. lemon juice
1/3 C. raisins
1/2 C. grapes, halved
2/3 C. celery, chopped
1/3 C. walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 C. mayonnaise
1 T. sugar

Cut up 3 or 4 apples to get about 3 cups of apples. Do not peel. Sprinkle with lemon juice to keep apples from turning brown. Mix remaining ingredients together. This recipe is best when made ahead and allowed to chill for a couple hours. It's a crunchy and chewy salad. Serves: 6

Green Beans

Last Saturday, Emilee brought home two pounds of green beans from the Farmer's Market. I didn't grow any beans in my garden this year because I wanted to keep it small, but next year the plan is to plant some green beans in my (hopefully) bigger garden!

Since I was busy doing other things, Emilee got started snapping the beans. I was planning to help her with this part of the process, but then got a phone call.

She ended up snapping the whole mess. I like the beans to be snapped into three pieces, but she wanted to just snap them in half. After bantering back and forth about it, the beans are not uniform in size. Ah well!

After all the beans were snapped, they were ready for the next step in the process of freezing them.

A big pot of water was brought to a high boil and the beans were added, boiling them for 3 minutes. This process is called blanching, which preserves the color, texture, and flavor of the vegetable.

The next step in the blanching process is to remove the beans from the boiling water and immediately submerge them into ice cold water.

This stops the cooking process and helps to promote that crispness we like in fresh produce.

We left them in the cold water for about 3 minutes, also.

Them we removed the beans from the cold water and placed them on several towels to absorb much of the moisture. Look at the first batch we did:

An interesting thing to note is that our son, Stephen, has never been a fan of green beans unless they are freshly picked. He will tolerant beans made from freshly frozen, too.

After the beans have been patted dry with an absorbent paper towel, I measured them into 2 cup serving sizes and placed them in quart size freezer bags. This is the best size for our family for a meal.

Then, I just tossed these bags into my freezer to use at a later time.

A little bit of work, a bargain price, and we have some yummy veggies put away!

What are you harvesting from your garden already? Are you eating it as you pick it or have you been doing some canning/freezing with your fresh produce?

An UPDATE:
My PET scan came back clear today and my oncologist said I am boringly normal. I guess in his line of work that is definitely a good thing!