Tiller the Killer--

(as he became known as)

See the news today?

The famous abortion doctor will not take another baby's life!
Tis hard not to rejoice(at the thought of no more babies dying under his knife):
"Psa 58:10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked."

But God says;
"Ezek 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?"

This would have been settled long ago, if we were still under the O.T.
Remember this passage?
"Exo 21:22 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.Exo 21:23 And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,Exo 21:24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,Exo 21:25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."

Murder is horrible, wicked, and sinful but:
"2 Ki 24:4 And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon."
There seems to be a difference in shedding innocent blood.

The most shocking thing - is that he was "in church".
hmmm --.......

MENU PLAN MONDAY

SATURDAY:
-rice pudding with coconut
-"normal American lunch"-sandwiches, chips, no-bake cookies
-bean burritos
snack: popcorn, no-bake cookies, watermelon

SUNDAY:
-kids choice
-turkey wraps, bean salad, fruit salad
-baked chicken, pasta salad (simple pasta, veggies, and homemade dressing)
snack: watermelon, popcorn
(self; soak black beans and lay out roast)

MONDAY:
-millet
-black bean soup, cornmeal muffiins
-roast, potatoes, carrots
snack: fruit salad (kiwi, banana, pineapple), cheese-n-crackers, watermelon

TUESDAY:
-bug oats
-tuna salad on pita bread, steamed broccoli
-oven-fried chicken, lima beans, spinach
snacks: bubble gum jello, popcorn, blueberry cobbler

WEDNESDAY:
-millet
-BBQ Drumsticks, beans, slaw, rolls
-meatloaf, green peas, slaw, bread
snacks: coconut-chocolate chip muffins, cherry slushies

THURSDAY:
-brown rice
-turkey and cheese bread roll ups, chickpeas
-monkey meat on flatbread, slushies (cherry-blackberry)
snacks: homemade bread-n-honey, cherry-pineapple salad

FRIDAY:
-homemade cream of wheat
- chicken chapatis, cherry cobbler
-roast beef and gravy, veggie soup, breadsticks
snacks: blackberry crisp, boiled eggs, popcorn



VISIT ORG.JUNKIE FOR MORE MENU PLAN MONDAY!

Chunky Cherry Muffins

3 cups flour (I used 2 unbleached and 1 masa, any combination will work)
1/4 cup cocoa powder

3 t baking powder

1 t salt

1 1/4 cups cane sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups milk (less if you use all regular flour)

1 t almond extract

3/4 cup chopped almonds

3/4 dried cherries

3/4 chocolate chips

Mix well and bake at 375 for 15 minutes.

A Sweet Weekend....

I spent a bit of time Saturday making candy! ...I can't think of much else better to do than make and EAT candy! ('specially chocolate ;-)

I've made coconut Bon-Bons before but these were a little different. DH brought me a piece of paper with a recipe and said, "I want these!"

They are really easy;

1/2 can sweetened condensed milk

beat in

2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 t vanilla

and then mix with

1 bag of coconut

I also mixed in about 3/4 cup chopped crispy almonds.

Then rolled into these balls and chilled for about an hour. Then melted chocolate chips (semi not milk, but milk would work), and dipped them in and placed them on wax paper and allowed to cool and harden.
YUMMY!

Then I shelled and chopped some peanuts to make....

Cracker Candy... which is almost like a candy bar.

MENU PLAN MONDAY...

SATURDAY:
B-oatmeal
L- Crumby fish, quinoa, green beans, corn
S- meatloaf, quinoa, purple hull peas

SUNDAY:
B- kid's choice
L- Pea-ham Soup, Masa cornbread
S- Oven Pork Chops, mashed potatoes, quinoa, sauteed zukes

MONDAY:
B- soaked millet
L- bacon, eggs, applesauce, grits, mango smoothie
S- Steak Casserole, Biscuit-rolls

TUESDAY:
B-bug oats, soaked
L-Turkey patties, garbanzo beans, pasta salad
S- roast, potatoes, carrots, slaw

WEDNESDAY:
B-soaked grits
L-Pan-fried tilapia, lettuce salad, brown rice, peach cobbler
S- meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green peas

THURSDAY:
B- kids choice
L-Red beans and Rice
S-Roast beef and gravy, green beans, sweet carrots

FRIDAY:
B-Bulgar
L-salmon patties, pasta salad, corn
S- baked chicken, pasta primavera

Wanna see more menu plans? Click here: MENU PLAN MONDAY

Extra shot of C?

I got a good deal on lemons the other day so I added some of these to the table at lunch so the kids could squeeze a slice in their water. They thought that was pretty neat!

(I also read that lemon water helps to alkalize the system!)

A nice sweet treat....

I made these and stuck them in the freezer for 'just the right time'. These have some sweetened condensed milk and melted chocolate (leftovers from making candy) and I let the kids have them with 'hot drinks' (coffee, tea, etc) as 'stir spoons. A fun treat to sweeten their drink! (Perhaps you've seen plastic ones sold in some coffee shops and Etsy shops?)

Crumby Fish

white fish, I used tilapia

1 and 1/2 sleeves of regular crackers, crushed

3/4 of a stick of butter, melted

1 1/2 t onion powder

1 T parsley

salt and pepper

Mix all.

Dip fish in 3/4 cup milk whisked with 2 beaten eggs.

Then dip in cracker crumb mix.

Place on buttered pan and bake at 400 15 to 20 minutes until fish flakes with fork.

Yummy!

Chief of Sinners by William McComb

Chief of sinners though I be,
Jesus shed His blood for me;
Died that I might live on high,
Died that I might never die;
As the branch is to the vine,
I am His, and He is mine.

O the height of Jesus’ love!
Higher than the Heaven above;
Deeper than the deepest sea,
Lasting as eternity;
Love that found me—wondrous thought!
Found me when I sought Him not!

Jesus only can impart
Balm to heal the smitten heart;
Peace that flows from sin forgiven,
Joy that lifts the soul to Heaven;
Faith and hope to walk with God
In the way that Enoch trod.

Chief of sinners though I be,
Christ is all in all to me;
All my wants to Him are known,
All my sorrows are His own;
Safe with Him from earthly strife,
He sustains the hidden life.

O my Savior, help afford
By Thy Spirit and Thy Word!
When my wayward heart would stray,
Keep me in the narrow way;
Grace in time of need supply
While I live and when I die.

The gift of a Godly example...

When I was a younger mother, God gave me a beautiful gift for a season in my life. I will be forever grateful!

Her name, I won't mention here, but she was the mother of 3 grown children, 2 of which she home schooled- back in the day when it was completely unheard of!

I wanted to share one of the things that she did for her children- they were not aware of!

She took one day a week, every week, and fasted- and prayed!!! She rotated through her children where each had the entire day, reserved especially for them, as she brought their name to the Throne! She had done that throughout many, many years of their life. Perhaps their entire life, I do not recall if she told me.

But the results...
Oh, well, ...this side of heaven...who could say for sure? But as for her children- good kids! Great kids! They each knew and loved the Lord. I can't think of anything greater than that!

The kids were certainly above average and talented. But the mother's devotion stood out to me more than anything. She meant for her kids to be the Lord's and she knew it was a greater job than her strength alone could accomplish. In her weakness, the Lord was strong! She understood her desperate state and she threw herself at His mercy. What love! What a great sacrifice! Years of taking ONE DAY A WEEK to humble herself before The God of heaven and earth, and beg for His parental love, care, and guidance for her children.

Its been years since I saw her, but I am touched today, remembering the depths of her love and sacrifice for her children.

3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

My latest experiment!

I love the kefir sodas mentioned in NT and Eat Fat Lose Fat!

But I love coming up with new ones even more- it's just fun!

This time, I tried orange juice and kefir! It worked pretty good, but I might should have added a little cane sugar as it took a little longer to work its magic!

The kids were not as fond of this one- one of them said it tasted like buttermilk and orange juice!

A-washing we will go. A-washing we will go....

For our Bible lesson today, I had the kids dig out of the "rag bag" for old socks!

Then I told them to bring them outside as we worked around the yard and get them as dirty as possible! Which they thought was big fun!

Then we studied a little about the Exodus in the Old Testament, and we also learned a little from a history book about how they might have lived during that time. We read some about what they would have likely had for dinner and then how they likely washed their clothes! (Suddenly they began to wonder if they had perhaps went to far in getting their sock dirty! ;-)

They were then excited to find that we were going to get the big water jug out and use it and a little mixture to wash their socks in-- nothing like water to perk a kid up!

The little mixture was made of olive oil and baking soda. (The book said they would use plant ash, something like baking soda...I don't know what plant ash would be so....baking soda ruled!)

They made a "soap" by mixing the oil and soda. One of them claimed that if he dipped his finger in the oil and held it in the sun that it got hot- 'magine that! Roasted fingers!

But anyway, they went on to rub the dab of mixture into their sock, dampened them with a little water, and continued to scrub. Didn't take long for them to be thankful for good ole bleach!

Then we took the big water jug and "rinsed" the socks.

Oh water! Love love love water!

Rinsing and wringing and rinsing and ringing...

Didn't take long before they became very thankful for the good ole washing machine!

But we had fun learning just how thankful we really should be!

Got clean socks?

:-)

Works for Me, Wednesday!

(click to see what works for others today!)

Buckets, buckets, and more buckets..love 'em!

Some friends gave me a few of these last year and said if I could find a use for them, they could get more. I put them right to work in the kitchen!

The first ones I used as 'compost buckets' last year. Shells and scraps would go straight in them until 3 or 4 were full and then I would have the boys go dig them into the garden.

Then I started using them to hold some of my herb teas. I left them in their bags, but rolled them up tightly and placed them in these. They will stack on each other and they are a little neater than a half dozen ziploc bags.

Then I started using them for other things and asked for more! :-)

Now they house brown rice, popcorn, beans, lentils, split peas, egg noodles, barley, cane sugar, etc.

I've grown to enjoy my little (big) freebies! All of those bottles are vinegars, red wine vinegar, raw apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and hot sauce and then there's my jar of Rejuvelac!

(These are all in a cabinet.)
*
(In the top picture-

These are in my pantry/laundry room.

There's nine of them under there!
There's also a bucket up front of red beans

and a box of homemade jellies and fruit sauces in the back.)
Know anyone who works at a restaurant? Perhaps you can ask them for some of their empty food containers! :-)

Gratituesday...

Several months ago, my oldest ds asked me about several things as he began planning and wondering about his future. I had thought for years and years that I would advise him along the same lines as had been laid out for me...turn 16, get a job, get license, get auto insurance, and get a job and help fund those things! (particularly insurance, mm hmm- not cheap for a teen!)

Well, he turned 16, and the Lord worked some miracles for him and he was able to get a truck and insurance-- but he wasn't allowed to just run anywhere. In fact, he was a little bummed out at first because he thought I was just going to let him go I think-- he should have known better than that but.... I couldn't bring myself to just throw him out into the big world with all sorts of people (home school kids are sheltered you know?).

*

I prayed that God would put Him in just the right place, with believers, good people, not bad examples for a young person.

*

Well, God opened a grrrreat door for Him! A door that I had not given much thought to at all really. (We moms-- we think we have it alllll figured out! ;-)

*

He began volunteering at our community's Volunteer Fire Department which also means that he is a 'first responder' in our area. (If you are like me and you didn't know what this means once upon a time, first responders are the people that are usually part of the 'emergency team' that reach the 'scene' before anyone else because they are in the area- wrecks, health issues of an urgent nature, fires, etc.)

*

Well, it has exposed him to so many things:
- A bad wreck- that helped him see how a mistake behind the wheel could really be costly! (Not to mention he was able to help two young children be "entertained" while their mother was being treated. Yah for them that he has younger siblings!)
- First-aid classes, always great information to know!
- CPR training, again, a great thing to know!
- A couple of fires- where he saw a young man make a mistake that he learned from! (Keep all gear on when dealing with fire, heat, and smoke!)
-He saw death- and the reality that we will leave these bodies one day. A very painful thing, and some young folks would not be cut out for it, but- my little boy grew up a little more that day and he learned a good lesson that day. We are not invincible and there is a life after this one and our hope in Christ is such a great gift!
- He's around several different age groups and this is exposing him to many different ideas about career choices. Things that he would not have considered prior to this exposure.
- He's also exposed to some really great men. Men who give of themselves and their free time, to do all they can to preserve another's life or another's home. (That is far more precious to me than him earning his own keep right now!)

*

I'm grateful that God gave him this opportunity for this season in his life!
God knows the end from the beginning and I trust He will continue to direct our paths!

*

Your turn! What are you grateful for this week?? Why don't ya head on over to Laura's and join in our weekly Gratituesday?!!?!!

What's cookin' at your house?

This is some things cooked at mine the last couple of days....Whole Wheat Pita Bread...with tuna salad.

Chocolate Muffins made from leftover bug oats and unbleached flour.

More Pita Bread with Tuna Salad, Chocolate Muffins, and diced pineapple.

Alfredo and green beans...yummm!

What did you do this weekend?

I spent several hours Saturday making several different kinds of bread. DH asked me to 'come up with' a good Breakfast Bread for toast! (No way I'm gonna let that slide! Especially after paying $1.88 for a decent loaf of REAL wheat from the store with no HFCS. :-) "Why dear, I thought you'd never ask!" ..So I happily worked on that and sliced them up and put them in Ziploc bags to store in the fridge!!!

**Update: He was very please and compared my Wheat and Flax Bread to Ezekiel Bread (the texture, when toasted)- mind you a $4 and $5 loaf of bread! Woo hoo! Above is the Wheat and Flax.
These two are Whole Wheat and pretty close to perfect! ;-)

One loaf of the wheat was eaten right away with butter and honey. (You can see the price sticker for $11.89 in the back?? It's on my 5lb bucket of honey from Cash-n-Carry!)


Fresh tea and bread with butter and honey to wind up my baking....but as usual...every time we do this....on a warm day....the next day is cold...I don't know why....80+degrees one morning, the next 56!
:-)

Why eat out when...

You can have something that looks this pretty at home?!? So simple, yet soooo good!

Fried corn tortillas, shredded lettuce, refried beans, sharp cheddar cheese, chopped green onions, chopped tomatoes, salsa, and blue corn chips with guacamole for a side!

What we'll eat, this week!

SATURDAY:

--kids choice
--Honey-baked Chicken, brown rice, sauteed yellow squash, aduki beans, leftover soaked carob cake with cream cheese frosting
--Bean tostadas, blue chips and guacamole- handful of chocolate chips and a spoon of peanut butter (because they thought they HAD to have something sweet)
**snacks: Whole Wheat Bread with honey and butter

SUNDAY:

--Bug Oats
--Tuna Salad on Pita Bread with lettuce, pineapple, chocolate muffins (made from leftover breakfast grains)
--Fettuccine, Chicken, green beans, scratch brownies
**snacks: bananas, pretzel sticks, graham crackers, kiwi

MONDAY:

--millet
--Zucchini Bites, Cup-o-bone-broth Soup with veggies, leftover brownies and cantaloupe
--BBQ Chicken Legs, lima beans, tomato salad, rolls or breadsticks
**snacks: buttered popcorn, apple slices
***note to self: self soak beans!

TUESDAY:

--kids choice
--beans, potato wedges, corn and cornbread, fried bananas
--Chili, fruit salad
**snacks: homemade ice cream, salsa and chips

WEDNESDAY:

--soaked oats
--turkey patties, potato wedges, mixed veggies, leftover ice cream cups
--Five-ways(pasta, spaghetti sauce,chili,cheese, onions), cake
**snacks: Cherry-blueberry slushies, bananas and popcorn

THURSDAY:

--kids choice
--Crockpot Pizza, steamed broccoli, corn
--Chicken Fillets on Homemade Buttermilk Buns, slaw
FRIDAY:

--Almond Coconut Granola with milk
--Breaded Fish, brown rice, green beans, corn salad
--Honey-baked Chicken Thighs, mashed potatoes, green peas, Choco-cherry Muffins

FOR MORE MENU PLAN MONDAY, CLICK HERE!

Make/Sprout Your Own Salad....

Living from the pantry? or from your food storage? or wanna eat more healthy foods? Do once a month shopping like I do and run out of fresh veggies by the end of the cycle? Then this Frugal Friday tip may be one that you can use! :-)

Sprouts!

Yes, simply sprout!

Seriously! You can make your own 'salads' and even sandwich toppers by sprouting beans and grains!

Almost instant 'fresh' food!

Most are just soaked in water overnight, then drained, and rinsed two to three times during the next 24 to 36 hours (some shorter, some longer)while you wait for them to sprout! (You can even rinse them for another day (or night) and let them grow a little bit longer!) What was about a cup of beans or grains can almost become about 2 cups of 'fresh' food!
Here, you can see some wheat I sprouted. (I sprouted quite a bit for 3 reasons; Rejuvelac, Bulgar, and sprouts!)

On this site, you will see a neat little pictorial of sprouting, that I came across while searching for this post!

Here's a great link! -Towards the bottom, you will see all sorts of seeds, grains, and beans that can be sprouted and a time table of how long to soak, how long to sprout, etc.

It's also super easy to do! How long does it take to dump seeds in a jar and fill with water?

:-)

And, they are super good for you! Vitamins are increased during the sprouting and if you eat them in a salad or lightly steamed, all the enzymes are still there! Woo Hoo!

Here's another great article from the Dollar Stretcher called "Sprout Seeds for Cheap Nutrition"- a neat read!

-What could be more frugal than making/sprouting your own salad?-

***And sprouting also makes a great homeschool experiment!***

Click HERE for more Fight Back Fridays!

Wanna see how 'Cooking School' went?

Whole Wheat Pizzas! Not bad! I give it a Yummy!

Yummy Snack Bars...

Blend 1 stick of melted butter with

1 1/4 cup cane sugar.

Beat in 3 eggs.

Blend in

-2 cups wheat flour

-2 t baking powder

-1 cup rolled oats

-1 cup chopped walnuts (or other, opt)

-1 cup chocolate chips

Spread in 10x15 pan and bake at 350 for approx 25 minutes until slightly golden and edges are slightly browned. Cool and cut into squares. Makes great take-along snacks!

**Kids suggested coconut in them next time! Good idea!

Rejuvelac...

Rejuvelac, made from sprouted wheat, Works For Me! Soak wheat berries for 24 hours in filtered water. You can use as little as one cup of wheat (or other grain) and enough water to cover the grains plus an inch or two more. I used more wheat here so as to make Bulgar with some.

You can see I've used some old 'stockings' and a rubberband for the top. Keeps everything in and everything out! :-)

After soaking 24 hours, drain water and store at an angle in a dark cabinet. You will need to rinse grains with filtered water 3 times during the next 24 to 36 hours. (They will sprout during this time and its important to rotate them and rinse them.)

See? Sprouts!

There's lots of things that you can do with sprouts at this point.

If you have a copy of Nourishing Traditions, there's lots of things in there.

You can refrigerate, and use in salads.

There are some wet breads made from sprouted grains like this...you could even sprout multiple grains and make a Sprouted Grain Bread.

You can dry them and make Bulgar. Then you have a grain that has been pre-soaked so you can cook as cereal or grind and you have an instant grain with no need for soaking!

Ok, now on to the Rejuvelac!

Have I told you how much I love this drink?

It is sort of like a lemonade but no where near that sour.

Now that the grains are sprouted, fill the container with water. (Here I've used a gallon pickle jar. I have several of these jars and they come in very handy for soaking grains and nuts. People who drink raw milk also like to use these after thoroughly cleaning with baking soda to remove odors!)

Store filled jar in dark cabinet for 24 hours, covered with some sort of screen. It must have air.

Here's a pic of some of the sprouted wheat that I dried to make Bulgar.


After soaking sprouted grains for 24 hours, strain water and Wallah! -here's your Rejuvelac!
The grains can be used to make one more batch of Rejuvelac and then discarded for bird food.


Here's some Rejuvelac and a batch in the making!
(I don't suggest storing it in a milk jug, maybe a jug that just had water in it, but not one that's had milk. I usually store it in one of the glass pickle jars but I had all of the "working" soaking almonds and walnuts! ;-)
*******
This is one of my favorite drinks!
If you have any troubles with your digestive system, this will help you!
You can drink several glasses of this a day. One site suggests a quart a day!

About Wheat!

These are from some of my notes on wheat.

The notes have been tucked safely in one of my homemade cookbooks, for years, likely since I started grinding my own wheat some 13 years ago or so.

Thought some one may find them interesting! :-)



All of the vital nutrients are LOCKED UP in the wheat berry. As long as the protective jacket- the bran- remains unbroken, wheat can be stored for years! Wheat deteriorates rapidly once it has been milled; if we do not consume flour which has been either freshly milled or freshly milled and immediately frozen- we fail to receive the essential nutritional benefit of whole-grains.



1) The wheat germ contains most of the oil and is the first part to become rancid. Air changes the color, fragrance and flavor of the oil; freshly milled flour kept at room temperature for even a few hours changes drastically in taste.



2) Freshly milled whole grain flour kept at room temperature for twenty-four hours can become contaminated. Bacteria and mold grow rapidly in whole wheat flour, giving off a foul smell from the toxic wastes.



3)All of the vitamins found in freshly milled flour are oxidized within 72 hours. Whole wheat flour contains an entire complement of B vitamins and is rich in vitamin E. However, milling the flour (and breaking the protective layer of bran which surrounds a kernel of wheat) exposes the vitamins and minerals to oxygen. Oxygen breaks down the chemicals which make up a vitamin and converts them into useless compounds- a process which begins immediately upon milling.

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

FIVE TYPES OF WHEAT GROWN IN THE UNITED STATES:

HARD WINTER WHEAT is planted in the fall. It is usually dry-land wheat, grown without being watered, except by snow or rain. The extreme northern states are too cold for this type of wheat, but it grows well across Southern Idaho, Oklahoma and Kansas. Dry winters and springs make the protein content high, the moisture low. Hard winter wheat is a high volume producer.

HARD SPRING WHEAT is planted in the spring. Like hard winter wheat, it is not irrigated, thus yielding a high protein and low moisture content. This type of grain is quite expensive. It is usually mixed with hard winter wheat, a combination which makes an excellent loaf of bread.

SOFT SPRING WHEAT has been irrigated. It usually has a larger yield than hard wheat but is lower in protein. It is principally used for stock feed. Soft spring wheat is also used in making cakes, cookies, pastries, or other baked goods that use baking powder, baking soda, or shortening as leavening.

WHITE WHEAT is used to make crackers. It is also the best wheat to use when making rejuvelac, a fermented wheat water drink. Though other types of wheat may be used for this drink, white wheat gives it a more delicate flavor.

DURAM WHEAT is used for making all kinds of pasta. Popular demand has caused the milling industry to produce up to up to 250 different grades of wheat flour.

For more Kitchen Tips, visit Tammy's Recipes!

Another Tale from Walmart...

I have a new tale nearly every time I visit Walmart. I don't know if its me OR if perhaps Walmart is really THE TWILIGHT ZONE...dee dee dee dee dee dee dee dee

Ok, DH takes me and the 6 kiddy winkies to Wally World for a cake and to pick out a couple new articles of clothing- so sweet! ;-)

Well, we stand back in the bakery area along with about 6 other families/groups of people because DH wants them to write something special on the cake. Well, the other families split. They saw that we were ALL being ignored or perhaps invisible, and they walked away, one by one. But not DH, he walks down to the deli meats and asked for help in the bakery.
Well, enters Twilight Star Numero Uno! He tells her that he needs something written on the cake and she's making such a face that I had to walk away with the kids- (you CANNOT have 3 teens with 3 elementary aged children in a setting like that- cuz one of them is gonna say something!). Well, DH says:"Would you write Happy Mother's Day on this cake for me please?" TSNU (Twilight Star Numero Uno) says, "Is that a name?" DH replies, "Happy Mother's Day??" She's says, "Oh my!-- Oh- Oh,there she is! There she is! There's the lady that works back here." Then to TSN Dos(Twilight Star Numero Dos=2), she says, "Oh, I'm glad you are here. You got a real hard one there!" And I take about 20 more steps away because the kids are starting to make comments. :-)

Well DH says, "Can you write Happy Mother's Day on this cake?" She does, and then asked, "Anything else?" He said, "Can you write from D and six, the number 6, and K, apostrophe 's'? From D and 6 K's?" Well, this is what he got: Not bad from the Twilight Zone!
dee dee dee dee, dee dee dee dee

Silly Dilly Cukes...

Sliced cucumbers

Sour cream

Dill

Sea Salt

Pepper

Stir and serve.

Yummy and easy!

MENU PLAN MONDAY-

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day!
I had a great day!
I'm so thankful for the 6 little voices that call me Mom!

My Menu Plan for Monday:

SATURDAY:
-waffles / eggs
-Tossed Chicken-chickpea Salad, pops , leftover Rhubarb Shortcake
-Savory Beef-n-Peppers over Rice, leftover No-bake Cookies
*snacks: Blueberry Cheesecake, apples and dip

SUNDAY:
-Bulgar cereal
-Salmon Patties, mashed potatoes, sauteed yellow squash, leftover No-Bake Cookies
-Chicken Chapatis, Fried Bananas
*snacks: cheesesticks, Mother's Day Cake

MONDAY:
-soaked oatmeal, bagels w/cream cheese
-Tuna Salad on Spinach Wraps , Tomato Salad
-BBQ Chicken legs***, kale greens, mashed potatoes
*snacks: cocoa zucchini muffins , cukes and dip

TUESDAY:
-soaked millet, bagels w/cream cheese
-Salmon Loaf, beets, green beans
-Roast, potatoes, carrots, cornbread
*snacks:garbanzo dip with blue chips and carrots, blueberry-cherry slushies

WEDNESDAY:
-kids choice
-"Cooking School"-kids will pick and cook! (probably homemade pizza)
-Tarragon Turkey Loaf with Mushroom Sauce, brussel sprouts, sweet carrots
*snacks: Cooking School-kids pick and cook; probably Whole Wheat Pretzels

THURSDAY:
-eggs, bacon, bagels
-simple spaghetti
-Mexican Shredded Beef on Flatbread, corn and pepper salad
*snacks: tea and homemade tea crackers, blueberry cobbler

FRIDAY:
-Bug Oats
-chicken pie, green beans, corn
-Pizza Noddle Bake, spinach, mixed veggies
*snacks: muffins

***FRUGAL TIP: When one store in town is running a special -say on chicken legs, keep watch when you can at other stores because that same product may not sell as good there and they will end up marking them down to even lower than the sale price at the other store!

Tossed Frugal Chicken-Chickpea Salad

This is very good, very quick, and very frugal!

1 1/2 cups (leftover) shredded chicken

1 to 1 1/2 cups salsa (homemade or store-bought)-.50 to .75

1 can drained chickpeas-.70

-mix together

2 green onions chopped-.05 to .10

1/4 cup (or so) sliced black olives- .50

1 diced tomato-.40

1/3 to 1/2 bag of blue corn chips -.60 -

1 bunch shredded Romaine lettuce .69

Parmesan Cheese-.25

Ranch Dressing- .50

Layer:

blue corn chips

shredded lettuce

chicken-chickpea mix

onions, olives, tomatoes

Drizzle lightly with Ranch and sprinkle lightly with Parmesan.

*Quote from one picky kid: This is good! Did you use different tomatoes in this? They don't taste like they usually do- the tomatoes are good in this!

These are a few of my favorite things......

Apples! MMmmm! Alone- perfect! But with this dip- delicious! And a nice little 'filler' for the kiddies!
Just whip about 1 cup of plain yogurt, 1/2 t vanilla, 3/4 cup natural peanut butter, and about 1/3 cup honey (or to taste)!
Wallah! The kiddies will make it to dinner time now!
(-and if I don't stay out of it, I won't even be hungry at dinner time!;-)

INDIAN TACOS--FRY BREAD

Wanna bite?.................I have been trying to figure these out since my oldest son went to Arizona and came back talking about these.

He says these are not "exactly" like them, but they are close!

He said they put all different things in them, chicken, shredded beef, ground beef, steak, and even the beans like I did.

But- they were bigger!

Oh well...these are still VERY VERY GOOD! -He did have to admit that! ;-)

You can eat them flat, like a salad/tostada; or you can fold them like a taco.


And if you have any left, you can drizzle with honey or do what this kid did- cover it in powdered sugar!(Like funnel cake! :-)

6 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

(other flours could be used!)
2 cups milk with 2 T whey added
1 scant cup water
-allow to sit several hours or overnight covered
Mix/knead in;
3 t baking powder
1 1/2 t salt

Pat into circles. (Should make about 14.)
Make a teeny whole in the center so it doesn't turn into one big bubble when you fry it.
Heat oil to 400. You will need a couple inches- these are 'deep' fried!
(I used rendered beef fat in my little fry baby.)
Fry on each side until golden.
It will become ripply.
Drain on paper towel.
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I topped with refried beans(heated and thinned slightly with water so they would spread), shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped green onions, cheese, and salsa.
They are VERY good!
-And frugal!-

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Visit Grocery Cart Challenge to see more of the Recipe Swap!

Funny stuff at my house....

Ok, first you all know that there are half a dozen kids here, right?

K!

And you know that 5 of them are boys too? Yeah...

Well, the 12 year old was in the shower last night and he had forgotten his underwear. So you know what he did? He started sending out text messages for someone to get his underwear for him! Oh what a laugh we had over this!

Shopping notes....

Ground beef was not on a REAL sale anywhere that I could find this week.

Bummer!

Remember several weeks back, I told you about getting 30 pounds of ground beef when it was on sale at $1.29 per pound?!? Well, as you can imagine, its long gone!

Soooo....I called the butcher at the local grocery that will cut meat for free and ask him a few questions!

What was the cheapest beef on sale this week?

Could it be ground?

Cut into steaks?

What's the best deal on chicken this week?

Could I pre-order and have it ready for pick-up?

So, here's what come of it:

$40 worth of sirloin tip roast= 9 roasts!

$10 worth of ground sirloin= 5 large meatloaves

$11 worth of boneless, skinless chicken breasts- chicken for 6 soups or casseroles or wraps!

So that's like $3 per meal, which leaves room for the veggies..not bad!

-The best part was watching DH drool as I opened my big cooler bag and showed him all of my dainties!-

(Next time, I will ask for a couple of roasts to be sliced up for small steaks!)

One lonely little cookie......

....was all that was left out of a whole batch!Nothing spells fun and closeness like C.O.O.K.I.E.

When I bake a batch of cookies, the whole crew gathers in the kitchen...to eat them as fast as I can scrape them from the cookie sheet!

I love it!

I love turning around and having them all waiting there!
...ah, the smell of cookies baking does it every time!

Distractions from homework at my house...

-can I have some herb tea? peppermint?
-I forgot to brush my teeth.
-Do you remember last year when....?
-The puppy is chewing on my book.
-I need a snacky-poo.
-I'm a little bit hungry.
-Do we still get off work on our birthday?
-Do you need something out of the freezer?
-Does our government want to take our Bibles?
-Where does it talk about...in the Bible?
-Why was Rush on the news?
-Why does the puppy.....?
-How come she has to.....?
-What time did I finish my math?
-Should I get a pinch of xylitol?
-What are you fixin' for lunch?
-What's for supper tonight? I was just wonderin'.
-When is the garden going to grow?
-Well, the puppy wanted me to pick her up.
-My feet were tingling so I had to get up.
-How old are you Mom?

Peach (fruit) Cobbler-

This is great for an easy and frugal dessert!

This was made by request tonight with a supper of fried chicken legs!

(Can't hide being in the South can I? ;-)

Preheat oven to 400.

Spray or grease 9x13.

Melt 1 stick of butter and stir in;

1 1/2 cup cane sugar

1 1/2 cup plain flour

2 t baking powder

1 1/4 cup milk

Stir well and pour into pan.

Top with 2 cups sliced peaches, then lightly sprinkle with 1/4 cup cane sugar.

*(May use pie filling, canned fruits, fresh fruits etc for variety.)

Bake approx.35 minutes until top is golden and semi-set.

Easy peasy!

WFMW...Tea Steeper!

My new tea steeper for my herbs is what WORKS FOR ME WEDNESDAY!

Dh brought this in just for me the other day and I couldn't have been more delighted!

I had been using a mesh tea-ball from Walmart for my bedtime tea and well....it was rusting a little and making my tea taste yucky!

But this neat little gadget is stainless steel!

It is like a cup that fits in your cup! (put loose tea in it and place it in your cup of hot water) It has tiny holes in it but they are small so that the tea stays put while steeping. It has a neat little tab on the top for a handle and ...can you see the little plate-like thing that it is sitting in? Well, it doubles as a scoop and also a cover while you are steeping, and then, as you see here, you can sit the steeper in it when you are done so you don't have a big, drippy tea mess all over the counter!

Blueberry Cheesecake...oh my!

Crust:

-1 1/4 cup crushed graham crackers (whirl broken crackers in the blender)

-1/2 stick butter

-2 1/2 T cane sugar

Filling:

-2 8oz pkgs cream cheese

-1/2 cup sour cream

-1/2 c cane sugar

-2 eggs

- 1 T fresh lemon juice

Bake at 350 approx. 25 minutes until set well and lightly browned.

Chill.

**Blueberry Topping:

3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

-3/4 c cane sugar

-2 T coconut oil

-3T arrowroot

Cook over medium low heat until slightly thickened and blueberries have softened.

Chill and serve over sliced cheesecake.

**
Blueberry Topping would be great over homemade pancakes!

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FOR MORE IN-SEASON BLUEBERRY RECIPES, VIST TAMMY'S RECIPES!

A COUPLE MORE OF MY BLUEBERRY RECIPES:

WHOLE WHEAT BLUEBERRY CAKE (sometimes I serve this for breakfast without the frosting-my favorite cake!)

TRIPLE BERRY FRUIT CRISP (oh so good!)

DOUBLE BERRY SMOOTHIE

BLUEBERRY-DEW (smoothie)

BERRY-BANANA SMOOTHIE

You'll never guess what my kids asked for at the store....

Remember me telling you about playing a game of sorts with my kids at the grocery store from time to time? You know, we try a new or different food, or a food we haven't had in a while?

Well, as you can see, they nearly beat me at my own game this time! You see, there is one, AND ONLY ONE, veggie that I don't particularly care for -and this one's it! Asparagus! -gulp-

It seems I had one too many bites of some when I was a kid that was real close to tree bark! Who could like that texture!?

Well, since I'm always up for a good game, I had to figure out how to cook these to make the most out of it, since I HAVE TO EAT THEM TOO! ("..whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake."1 Cor 10:27b) again -gulp!-

Well, I cut about one inch off of the bottom, tied them together with dental floss, placed them in the little wire fry/steam basket, and set them in some salted steamy water until they turned that pretty green color! (I turned them several times to move them around to make sure the middle was getting plenty of steam too.- Didn't want anyone to be left out of that steam!)

I then laid them in this dish, salted and peppered, and drizzled with 1/4 cup melted butter.

And you know what? They weren't too bad!

Got a favorite way to cook these green trees? Please share! :-)

Laura's Cheese Crackers: rated-yummmmy!

These crackers were wonderful!

And they are soooo easy!

(They even got good ratings with DH! woo hoo!)

If you girls haven't tried them yet, may I encourage you to do so? You could even use other flour if you don't have wheat on hand. HERE'S the recipe!

Kitchen Tip: Prevent Boil Over Potatoes!

My family loves mashed potatoes!

If they had them everyday, I think that'd suit them just fine. Probably wouldn't here a complaint for years!

I don't have a quicker solution for peeling them- sorry!

But, I've discovered something that will prevent them from boiling over, all over the place!

Its a simple little trick:

Toss in a small pat of butter once you've put the potatoes and water in the pot and PRESTO!- no boil over! Now, it will splash, but it won't do that foaming over thing that really does a number on flat top stoves and drip pans!

Yah butter!

And- it only takes just a dab!

For more Kitchen Tip Tuesdays, visit TAMMY'S RECIPES!