The 12-Week Holiday Planner for the Christian Family is here!

www.12weekholidayplanner.com

Thank you for being so patient with us as we completed this update of the Holiday Planner.  Here are some of the changes to this edition:

• more forms have been added
• some pretty graphics are sprinkled throughout the planner
• we have expanded the craft section to provide many more ideas to get you started
• holiday coloring pages have been added
• two bonus weeks (Weeks 13 & 14) have been added with some neat after-Christmas family tradition ideas
• Ann Voskamp’s Jesse Tree devotionals have not been included in this edition.  Ann has not finished re-writing them yet (she is actually in Guatemala right now with Compassion).  Her devotionals will hopefully be available as a separate ebook/book later this fall.

We have created a neat website for not only the Holiday Planner, but we offer a great holiday resources page that you will LOVE!

We are also offering a wonderful Holiday Combo Set that includes the Holiday Planner plus 4 other holiday ebooks!

Head on over to our brand new website and check it all out:  www.12weekholidayplanner.com

We pray that The Holiday Planner will be a blessing to you and your family as you head into the holiday season.

Congratulations to the following two ladies who won a copy of The 12-Week Holiday Planner for the Christian Family:

Kim – berlywright@ya…..
Hannah – lrxtyler@sb….

I am still putting finishing touches on The Holiday Planner and will email these ladies their ebook as soon as it is done!

I know the rest of you are anxiously awaiting The Holiday Planner.  I am trying hard to finish it up!  Watch my blog for the website link (hopefully today sometime!) for The Holiday Planner!

Have a GREAT day!

My friend, Ann Voskamp, leaves this morning to go with three other Compassion bloggers to Guatemala.  A Compassion trip to change lives…to give hope…to share Jesus.  Ann will get to meet her 9-year-old daughter who lives in Guatemala…one of the 4 children they sponsor through Compassion.  Read about Ann’s trip here and here, then follow along on twitter or on the Compassion Trip Blog.  Pray for Guatemala, as they are experiencing heavy rains and mudslides.  Pray for safety as the Compassion team heads into these very areas that have been affected by the heavy rains.

I know our lives have been changed through the ministry of Compassion.  We are learning it truly is more blessed to give than to receive.  The two children we are sponsoring from Bolivia have become our own.  We pray for them, write letters to them, send them gifts of money, coloring pages, art pages, pictures, and more.  Our kids consider them their brother and sister in Bolivia.  When the poverty in this world seems so overwhelming it becomes too easy to do nothing.  But we can make a difference…one life changed…one life saved…one child at a time.

I urge you to follow Ann and the rest of the Compassion bloggers on their trip to Guatemala.  Maybe the Lord will move you to sponsor a child…or one more child…through the ministry of Compassion.  You can make a difference…and your lives will be changed in the process.

Sponsor a Child

The recipes are kid-friendly (and adult-friendly!), easy, and delicious. The chapters include:

• Morning Muffin Mania
• Sensational Smoothies
• Easy Freezin’ Waffles, Pancakes, and French Toast
• More Smart Starts
• Dips, Fillings, and Spreads
• Soups and Stews
• Salad-Style
• More Lunchbox Love
• Sweet Snackin’
• Craving Cookies
• Essential Extras

CLICK HERE or on the graphic above to go to their website to download it today!

This month I am going to be giving away two (2) copies of The 12-Week Holiday Planner (2nd Edition)!  I am still putting the finishing touches on this updated edition and hope to have it available for sale early next week.  But in the meantime, why not enter the giveaway to win a copy!  See the details below for instructions on entering.

How YOU can enter to win an ebook:

Simply leave a comment on this post, stating that you would like to be entered in the ebook giveaway.

All entries must be made by Monday night, September 6th. I will use Random.org to draw the winners on Tuesday morning.

I will post the winners here on my site, and will email the winners their ebooks.

******************
I do so enjoy doing these monthly ebook giveaways! I plan to continue having a giveaway each month! If you know of anyone who would be interested in joining us…please send them on over to this site! My desire it to bless and encourage women to be all God wants them to be. Have a GREAT day!

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar (organic if possible)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup garbanzo bean flour (or more brown rice flour)
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup tapioca flour
3/4 tsp. xanthan gum
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar.  Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and bananas.

Add in the dry ingredients (except nuts) and mix well.

Stir in nuts.

Pour batter into a greased 5×9-inch loaf pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

As most of you know, The 12-Week Holiday Planner for the Christian Family is currently under revision.  I have been working hard to finalize this new edition and have it ready for sale very soon.  You will LOVE this new edition, which will include even more forms, pretty graphics, two bonus weeks with family tradition ideas to carry you into the New Year, an expanded craft section, and more!

The new edition of the Holiday Planner will even have its own website!  Pray for us as we work to bring you a Holiday Planner that will bless you and your family as you head into the holiday season.

Watch for all the details coming soon!

For the month of September, you can buy Wisdom Words from Proverbs for only $2.95!

Click here to go to our Book Shop for more details on this wonderful Bible study tool!

I bought some dried garbanzo beans at Walmart and ran them through my grain mill to make garbanzo bean flour.  I also grind brown rice in my grain mill to make the brown rice flour.  Grinding my own flours like this saves me some money.  Buying the flours is more expensive.  I had to buy the tapioca flour at the health food store because I couldn’t find any tapioca to grind .  Xanthan Gum you may have to buy at a health food store as well, but the rest of the ingredients can be found at your local grocery store.  This bread turned out wonderful.  It rose so nicely and made such soft bread.  You are going to LOVE it!  My next experiment is to use this recipe to make pizza crust.  I’ll let you know how that goes!  For now, enjoy this bread!

3/4 cup Chickpea flour (also called Garbanzo bean flour)
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup + 1 Tablespoon tapioca flour
3 Tablespoons ground flaxseed
3 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum
1 ½ teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/8 cup warm water

1. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl or your mixer bowl. Mix thoroughly on medium or low setting.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, warm water, apple cider vinegar, and olive oil until all the ingredients are mixed.

3. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with your mixer on medium speed (Use paddle or dough hook).

4. When sticky ball forms scrape sides to get all of the flours and ingredients mixed together and continue to mix for about 1 minute more. (You may need to add a bit more brown rice flour if the dough looks too wet.  It will not look like gluten bread, though.  It will be sticky, but should be a paste-like consistency, not runny.)

5. Scrape into a 9 x 5-inch lightly greased loaf pan and spread dough out with spatula. Cover with plastic wrap let rise in a warm place until at least double in size (approximately 45 to 60 minutes).  I like to warm my oven, then turn it off and put the bread in the oven to raise.

6. Once bread has risen, remove the pan from the oven if you put it there to rise, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

7. When oven is preheated, remove plastic wrap and place pan in preheated oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped with a spoon.  Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.  Allow it to cool completely before slicing.

8. If you do not plan on eating the bread within 24 hours, slice it up and put it in freezer containers in the freezer.  Then simply take out the slices you want to use and thaw them out to eat.

I wanted to send a quick note to let you know that Cindy Rushton and Felice Gerwitz are teaming together to present a wonderful Back to School Blast.  A mini-site is being set up (which you can have access to today…although the speakers will begin recording today and those audios will be added to the site later..but you can listen in live if you want today!).

They are running a special price on this expo….only $1.99!

Click here for all the details!

Well, I made up another batch of these yummy cookies so I could actually write down what I put in them !  I have been trying to expand my gluten-free recipes and am so happy to have a good oatmeal cookie recipe now!  I hope you enjoy them.  They are SO good!

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
2 cups rolled oats processed in food processor until finely ground and floury
(OR use about 1 ¾ cups oat flour instead)
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup chocolate chips (or raisins or both!)

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until soft and smooth.

Add brown sugar and mix well.

Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.

Add in dry ingredients (except chocolate chips/raisins), and mix well.

Stir in chocolate chips or raisins by hand.

Let cookie dough sit in bowl for a while as you preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  (I found that the cookies do better if the dough sits for a bit to allow the moisture to absorb into the oats.  The cookies won’t flatten out as much when you bake them that way!)

Drop dough onto greased cookie sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-13 minutes or until lightly browned.

Yield:  Makes about 5 dozen cookies

I was recently sent a wonderful package of books from The Reading Lesson to review.  This package included:

The Reading Lesson Book with Interactive CD:  The Reading Lesson Book is 444 pages and is divided up into 20 step-by-step lessons that are very easy to use.  Each lesson takes only 15-20 minutes a day to work through.  The Reading Lesson CD (you can purchase this along with The Reading Lesson Book or separately) offers an interactive and fun approach to teaching the sounds.  The CD closely follows the lessons in the book, but provides a fun and entertaining way to learn.  (You can purchase The Reading Lesson book as a physical book or an ebook.  With the ebook, you would be able to print out pages to use for multiple children.  With the physical book, you would need to photocopy the workpages if you did not want your child to work directly in the book.)

The Storybook CD: This CD contains 40 short stories that your child can learn to read.  The stories start simple and progressively get harder.  You can read the stories on the computer, or you have the option to print them out and make little books.  (It looks like you can purchase this as a physical CD or as a download.)

Verbal Math Lessons – Level 1: This book is for ages 4-7 (Grades K-1).
Verbal Math Lessons – Level 2: This book is for ages 7-8 (Grades 1-2).
This is a fun way to learn math…with no writing!  There are no dreary worksheets, but your children will learn math as a game.  You simply read the problem to your child and let him solve it in his head.  I can definitely see the benefit of these books for the early grades when children may be frustrated with too much writing.  Not only will they get a good grounding in math concepts, but they will learn how to do a lot of mental math!  Both of these books can be purchased in either hard copy or ebook format.

CLICK HERE to go their bookstore where you can purchase these wonderful materials!  I know I plan on using some of these materials with my kids!  They are going to LOVE it!

I love to use Allspice when I make apple pie, pumpkin bars, muffins, etc.  Well, I recently ran out and being the creative person I am asked myself, “I wonder if there is a substitute for Allspice that I can make?”  So…to Google I went and found one!  I thought I’d share it here.  It is so simple and uses spices that you probably already have on hand!  Enjoy!

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Mix up the above ingredients to make 1 tsp. of Allspice.

To make larger batches, simply use 2 parts cinnamon, 1 part ginger, and 1 part cloves.

Notes:  I used an old spice bottle and filled it with Allspice that I made.  Now I am ready to do more baking!  I just LOVE the smell of Allspice….reminds me of fall…the cooler weather…baked apples…yum!

4 eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup honey
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin (or 15-oz. can of pumpkin)
3 cups brown rice flour (I buy brown rice and grind it in my grain mill!)
1 cup potato starch
2 t. xanthan gum
2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. Allspice
1 t. sea salt
1-2 cups extras (chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, etc.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Beat eggs, honey, oil, applesauce, and pumpkin well.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Stir in “extras”.  Fill paper-lined or greased muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until done.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen muffins.

Yesterday I was looking for a gluten-free cookie recipe that I could make to take to our Bible study group last night.  I ended up making two kinds..these Peanut Butter Cookies and some Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.  They both turned out really good!  I had to mess around with the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookie recipe, so I need to make them again to get some exact measurements .  But these Peanut Butter Cookies turned out great.  They are gluten-free and only take 5 ingredients to make!  Give them a try!

1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup chocolate chips (this is a lot of chocolate chips, so you can use less or none at all if you want)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Blend peanut butter and brown sugar with mixer until well blended.

Add egg and baking soda and blend again until mixed well.

Add in chocolate chips and stir by hand.

Roll cookie dough in about 1-inch balls or drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet.

Flatten with the palm of your hand, or criss-cross with a fork (like the traditional peanut butter cookies).

Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until edges of cookie are lightly browned.  Don’t cook too long!  They should be soft to the touch.

Allow to cool for a bit on the pan before removing to a cooling rack.

Store in an air-tight container…if you have any left!

Yield:  Makes 2 dozen cookies

I wanted to share a really neat website that contains some Bible curriculum that you can download.  If you look under the Bible Curriculum Series section, you will see a link to Elementary Bible Class Curriculum.  The elementary class curriculum is to be used over 4 years and covers both Old and New Testaments.  There are also guides for adults as well.  Click here to take a look!

• 2 ½ cups Rice Krispies
• 2 cups quick cooking oats
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup light corn syrup (or honey for a healthier version)
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ cup chocolate chips (optional)

Combine cereal, oats, and raisins in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the corn syrup (or honey) and brown sugar to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla extract and blend until smooth. Pour this over the cereal mixture and mix well. Add chocolate chips (optional) and mix thoroughly. Press into an ungreased 9×13-inch baking dish. Cool. Cut into bars.

Note: Any type of unsweetened cereal may be used in place of rice cereal. You may also reduce the amount of Rice Krispies used and increase the amount of quick cooking oats. Just make sure to use a total of 4 ½ cups of oats/cereal.

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon minced onion (dried)
• 1 clove garlic, minced (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder)
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (or use 2 bouillon cubes or 2 teaspoons bouillon granules & 1 1/2 cups water)
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
• 2 cups leftover vegetables (canned or frozen, slightly thawed)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 prepared pie crusts (see note below)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the onion and garlic and stir. Once butter is melted, stir in the flour until smooth and bubbly.

Slowly add the chicken broth and milk. Cook and stir until the mixture boils. Boil for 1 minute.

Stir in the chicken, vegetables, salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes to heat everything through and to blend flavors.

Line a large pie plate with one crust. I use a very large glass pie plate. I think it is a 10-inch one. Pour the chicken and vegetable mixture into the crust. Arrange the top crust over the pan and crimp the edges to seal.

Cut a few slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until the top is brown.

Note: If you use the pie crust recipe on my website that makes 20 crusts for the freezer, then I use 3 crusts for this recipe. I divide the 3rd crust in half and add to the other two crusts to make 2 larger crusts. I found that using 2 crusts was not quite enough to cover my huge pie plate. Besides, I LIKE the crust and wanted to make sure I had them thick enough!

Serve with a large lettuce salad for a yummy meal! This is one of my family’s favorites!

As I shared before, I have been enjoying my Bosch mixer and the ability it has given me to make large quantities of things to put in the freezer. So..I thought I would share another one of my favorites! I’m sure that this recipe is not the healthiest…but it has to be better for you than store-bought…and MUCH cheaper!

Ok…here is a recipe to make 20 pie crusts that you can put in the freezer! These are SO EASY and so nice to have ahead of time to make fruit pies, pot pies, or whatever! Enjoy the recipe!

3 lb. can Crisco vegetable shortening (Butter-Flavored Crisco works great!)