hiswayhomemaking.com

Thank You, Lord

marcieh — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:06:34 +0000

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,

7 in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:1-7

Undeservingly,

Marcie

With Our Dancing Shoes On!

marcieh — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:22:32 +0000

Southern Heritage Ball

Katie’s Friend, Olivia, hosted her 2nd Southern Herigage Ball last weekend. I think they are called balls because everyone has a ball at them! With over 200 guests, it was so much fun to dance and to watch. The dresses are so pretty to watch swirling around the dance floor.

By the way, have you ever wondered about how hot they would be to wear? Well, they are surprisingly not that hot. (They generate their own breezes ) What is surprising is how hard it is to navigate around in them without tripping up and trying to look gracefull at the same time. This takes some doing!

Anyway, here is a video from the ball followed by a link to some more pictures and videos.

Enjoy!

http://farmkidsincrocs.blogspot.com/2009/11/two-movies-for-your-enjoyment.html

Marcie

Life in a kennel…

marcieh — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:29:19 +0000

Most of you know Katie, my daughter, raises Golden Retriever puppies. A Golden Retriever puppy is hard to beat! They bring smiles from everyone. I think they live for that.

They are great companions and so beautiful, yet we don’t necessarily want to take them on vacation.

Did I mention they are really clever?

Katie’s girl, Lady, must have been interested in a kennel wide picnic. We found all the puppies out running around while Bella, Ladie’s mom, lay regally in front of the kennel looking on.

They were having a great time, running around playing tag. Not knowing how it happened, we returned everyone to the safety of their yards and went back inside.

A little later, we CAUGHT Lady opening the gate latch on the puppy yard!

Mystery solved.

Life in a Kennel…

Blessings,

Marcie

Giveaway drawing!

marcieh — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:20:39 +0000

My friend Kelly, over at Generation Cedar, is hosting a giveaway of a couple of DVD’s by Kathy, at Teaching Good Things. Believe me, I would love to have either, but especially the cake decorating DVD.

Go on over to Generation Cedar and leave a comment. If you don’t mind, please tell them that Marcie sent you.

The article on teaching your children about having their own business worth the trip over alone.

Good Luck!

Marcie

Warm Pumpkin Soup, Broccoli Cauliflower Salad and Whole Wheat Butter Crescent Rolls

marcieh — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:47:26 +0000

Our first taste of Pumpkin Soup was at a tea room outside of Gatlinburg, TN. We left hooked on the soup and on tea rooms! We usually enjoy this soup on Friday evening and have the added bonus of leftovers for the weekend.

Hope you enjoy!

Warm Pumpkin Soup

1/4 cup butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 quart chicken broth

4 cups pumpkin (or 2 cans)

1 quart whole milk or light cream

salt

sour cream

nutmeg

In a large stock pot, melt the butter. Add onion and garlic; saute until tender. Add curry powder.

Whisk in chicken broth, pumpkin, and milk or light cream, stirring until smooth. Add salt to taste. Heat thoroughly and until soup is thickened.

To serve, pour soup into bowls. You may garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a dash of nutmeg.

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

1 head broccoli

1 head cauliflower

1/2 pound turkey bacon

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Cook and drain bacon. Crumble into small pieces and set aside.

Cut broccoli and cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. In a large salad bowl, mix broccoli, cauliflower, bacon and grated cheddar cheese.

Fold dressing into salad. Chill for 1 hour; stir well before serving.

Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise (non-hydrogenated please )

1/2 cup natural cane sugar or 1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Whisk together the ingredients until smooth and well blended.

Whole Wheat Butter Crescent Rolls

2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten

3/12 – 4 cups freshly milled whole wheat flour (we like prairie gold)

1 egg, beaten (optional)

In a small saucepan, warm milk until it bubbles. Remove from heat. Mix in butter, sugar, and salt; desolve.

In your bread mixer, combine the milk mixture and yeast. Running your mixer on low, stir in the egg.

Add in flour, 1 cup at a time until dough pulls together, about 5 minutes. Cover with tea towel and let rise until doubled.

Knead dough 1 minute. Divide in half. Turn out onto floured surface and let rest for 10 minutes.

Roll each dough half into 12″ circle. Cut each circle into 6 wedged. (A pizza cutter works well for this) Roll each wedge up beginning at the wide end rolling to the point. Place on baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Rolls may be brushed with beaten egg.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake rolls until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

These rolls are a great way to break into eating whole wheat. My niece, who would never eat anything whole wheat, loved these. Children really enjoy making them, too.

We usually have these for Thanksgiving dinner. They are great with chicken salad as well. I have also made mini versions for serving at a party.

Blessings,

Marcie

We interrupt this post to bring you a special FREE offer!

marcieh — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:36:21 +0000

Olivia Montgomery has just produced several videos on how to start home based businesses including information on marketing, web design, SEO, and how to do it all on a shoestring!

Sound good?

Well it gets better! For the next few days, she is GIVING one away!

So, go on over here:
http://oliviamontgomery.com/starting-a-free-online-business/
and check it out. Good Luck ( but maybe not too much, I’m entering too )

Blessings,

Marcie

Pumpkin Soup Recipe is coming but first…

marcieh — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:13:35 +0000

Chicken Broth!

Many good soup recipes begin with chicken broth. I have found the quality of the chicken broth makes a big difference in the taste of the soup. While there are chicken broths you can purchase, (my favorite being the Imagine brand), homemade chicken broth is easy to make and quite inexpensive. So here goes…

1 4-5 # natural or organic chicken (got to recommend the healthiest )

2 carrots, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 onion, chopped ( I usually just quarter the veggies)

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar ( this helps release the calcium from the bones)

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1/4 teaspoon basil

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon parsley

2 teaspoons sea salt

a little pepper to taste can be added while cooking, if you like

Place all of the ingredients into a large stock pot. Fill with water (about 4 quarts). Cook on high until boiling. Cover and reduce heat to maintain a medium boil. Cook for about 2-21/2 hours or until chicken is tender. My technical way to decide if it is done is to see if the legs will easily come off.

I don’t measure the water, I just add it to a certain level in my stock pot and sometimes I add water as it cooks if I think it needs it. This recipe will give you a rich, full flavored broth. Yield: about 3-4 quarts. I usually freeze my broth in 2 or 4 cup batches as most recipes call for amounts of 2 or 4 cups. I have canned it before, but my utility bill is so high, it doesn’t really save me anything to can it. I have stewed my chicken on the grill before to save on electricity. It worked great!

For the delicious cooked chicken, I remove it from the bone and freeze in 2 cup quantities. Most recipes calling for cooked chicken usually call for 2 cups.

Now you have the beginnings of several good meals, including Pumpkin Soup.

Pumpkin Soup

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

Whole Wheat Crescent Rolls

Until then…

Blessings,

Marcie

Pumpkin Crafts for Fall

marcieh — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:41:31 +0000

Pieced Pumpkin Decorator Pillow

Embroidered Tea Towel

Here is a link to instructions for these projects:

http://www.sewbeautifulmag.com/clubpage/index.html

and for help with embroidery stitches:

http://www.rocksea.org/hand-embroidery

By the way, embroidery is great for helping children with hand – eye coordination!

Blessings

Marcie

More things Pumpkin!

marcieh — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:29:37 +0000

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Delicious! Picture from Jane’s blog

My friend, Jane, posted a wonderful recipe for Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls a little while back. WE LOVE THESE! Here is a link. Jane and her sweet girls are very crafty. I think you will enjoy the visit.

http://seedstosew.blogspot.com/2009/04/if-i-had-bed-and-breakfast-id-serve.html

Pumpkin Pot Holders

Cute!!! Picture from Kathy’s Website

Another of my talented friends, Kathy, has a tutorial on a pumpkin pot holder along with several other pumpkin related crafts. Kathy’s website is devoted to helping parents to teach their young people life skills. Talking about crafty and talented, well, just visit, you’ll get the idea. Here is the link to the tutorials

http://teachinggoodthings.com/blog/pumpkin-tutorials-make-your-own-pumpkin-spice/

Blessings,

Marcie

Whole Wheat Harvest Pumpkin Loaf

marcieh — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:53:48 +0000

Have you ever contemplated the goodness and wisdom of the Lord in the foods He gives us in season? I guess these thoughts came to me when home educating my first kindergartener. (Another benefit to home educating).

In the summer, when we are outside working and loosing fluid, He gives us fruits such as watermelon that are mostly water. In the fall, when our bodies are a little more stressed due to changes in weather, He gives us colorful vegetables like those in the squash family that are full of anti-oxidents to strengthen our immune systems. His provisions for us are perfect!

This Pumpkin Loaf may not be perfect, but I hope your family enjoys it as much as ours does!

Harvest Pumpkin Loaves

1/2 cup butter (softened)

1/2 cup applesauce or 1/2 cup additional butter (softened)

2 cups natural cane sugar

4 eggs

3 3/4 – 4 cups soft wheat pastry flour (as needed)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 1/2 cups mashed pumpkin

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or carob chips (we like the vegan ones the best)

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 loaf pans.

Cream butter; gradually add sugar; mix in eggs, 1 at a time. Set aside.

Combine the next seven ingredients.

Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, alternating with pumpkin, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Stir in chocolate or carob chips and pecans. Spoon into loaf pans. Bake 55-60 minutes, until tests done. Cool. Drizzle with glaze.

Glaze:

1 cup natural powdered sugar

2 tablespoons half & half (or milk)

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Stir until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled loaves. Enjoy!

Blessings,

Marcie