Whatcha Eating Wednesday?

Oops! I guess I forgot about this yesterday. I actually remembered when I laid down in bed last night, but there was no way I was getting up to blog, lol.

Today's recipe is Cinnamon-Roasted Almonds. If you have ever been to a live event before, you were sure to see those Bavarian Nut vendors that that sell those roasted candied type nuts. Well I never bought them until this past fall. I LOVED them! I figured I could make them at home, so I did some searching and found a good recipe at, again, Allrecipes.com. Here's the recipes with my changes in the parenthesis.

Cinnamon-Roasted Almonds
1 egg white
1 tsp cold water (I used 1 tsp vanilla)
4 cups whole almonds (I used one large can of whole cashews, no measuring)
1/2 cup white sugar ( I added 1/2 c brown sugar to this)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon (I used 1 full tsp cinnamon)

Preheat to 250 degrees. Grease large baking sheet.

Lightly beat egg white; add water, and beat until frothy, but not stiff. Add the nuts, and until well coated. Mix the sugar, salt, and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the nuts. Toss to coat and spread evenly on prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Cool. (After they were done, I kind of made sure they were broke apart and not stuck together)

Credit to: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cinnamon-roasted-almonds/

About halfway through

What they look like when finished (golden crust)

They make cute little gifts to give.

Whatcha Eating? Wednesday

I have decided to start posting yummy recipes every Wednesday, because I like food, cooking it, eating it, and sharing it.

Today is going to be what I made for diner last night. I am sure that just about everyone has been to Olive Garden for their soup, salad, and bread sticks. That is what I wanted for dinner...but at home. My favorite from Olive Garden is that one with sausage and potato soup. So I went to my trust source... www.allrecipes.com and found...drum roll please:

Zuppa Toscana Soup

Ingredients
1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage (can use links, just tear casings off)
1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, diced ( I used a small to medium)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth
6 potato, thinly sliced (I used one and a half jumbo baking potatoes and it was plenty)
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 bunch fresh spinach, tough stems removed (I used baby spinach)
 
Directions

•  Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

 

• Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

• Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

Credit to: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/super-delicious-zuppa-toscana/detail.aspx

The verdict: Home run! Even the kids (except Sophia, but she is strange) ate it and LOVED it. I had it for leftovers today and I assumed I couldn't get Jerry to eat soup two days in a row so he got chicken nuggets. When I sat down with the soup with him, he looked at it, then down at his chicken nuggets and said, "I liked that soup, why didn't I get any?" That is a good sign! This recipe is definitely a keeper! Just add a salad and bread sticks and you're set!

Then we had Paula Dean's Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies.

Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Note* I chilled it for about an hour and then used a melon baller to scoop them out. I skipped the rolling them in sugar and when they were done, I just dusted the tops with powder sugar. Yummy!

Credit to: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/chocolate-gooey-butter-cookies-recipe/index.html

Homemaker Part 2: What does it mean?

If you google what homemaker means in a secular dictionary you would get responses such as "a wife who manages a household while her husband earns the family income." So, is that it? Is that all we can gain from a being a homemaker? What does managing a household look like? The Bible has some very good verses to teach us what it looks like to manage a household.

It is so much easier to find peace and fulfilment in being a homemaker even when society says it is not a popular choice, when we see it as a God-given role. One we can please Him in.

First we need to be training our daughters up to be keepers of their homes. We cannot let this modern day society throw all this feminist propaganda in our children's face and tell them it is not honourable to be a homemaker or that it is outdated. God's Word is forever, unchanging, never outdated and it says to teach them how to fulfill the role that God has given them.

Titus 2:4,5 "That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

1 Timothy 5:14 "I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully."

Teach the younger generation of women that is is something to desired and joyfully do.

Being a homemaker goes so much further than cleaning a house and cooking a meal. It is taking a house and making it a home. Are you providing an environment that your husband wants to come home? Are you providing your children with the nurture (and discipline) they need to be successful members of society?

Proverbs 31: 27,28 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her."

I think the best idea we have of what a homemaker looks like is the example of the virtuous woman.

v. 11- The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. Her husband trusts her to take of their household and resources.

v. 12- She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. She is dependable. Her character is reliable.

v.13-14- She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She goes out and brings items and resources into her home (groceries, clothes, etc.).

v. 15- She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She is not slothful and plans for her days and takes care of those under her care.

v. 16- She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. She carefully makes decisions that would benefit her family and thinks of the long-term. She is not a compulsive shopper.

v. 18- She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. She works well past the kids are in bed, lol.

v. 20- She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She helps those in need.

v. 21- She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She is not worried about her kids being cold because she has planned ahead and made sure they are set.

v. 24- She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. She supplements the household's income.

v. 26- She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She chooses her words carefully and knows what she is talking about.

v. 27- She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. She takes care of her house and is not lazy or a busybody.

v. 28- Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. She is respected by her children and husband, certainly because she has earned it.

Until Part 3...

Homemaker Part 1 - The beginning

Titus 2:5 "To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

I was thinking a few days ago about my role. Not my role in this world, but my God-given role. So, with that being said I decided to blog about this role as a homemaker. This will have to be in a series for ease of read and due to so much information that is brewing in my head. I figured I would start with the beginning, how I became to be a homemaker and then I will continue on from there.

JT and I got married in 2004. We were in no way attempting to live Christian lives, let alone find God's purpose of us through the roles he has given us. However, I got pregnant after 2 months of marriage and being in the position to do so, I didn't diligently seek work. I applied at a few places, but nothing came to fruition (<---lol). Then after I had Gia, we decided with the cost of daycare we would work opposite schedules. So, we did that for the next 3-1/2 years. I still took care of my home, of course. Then as it happened, a situation occurred at work, and I decided to quit. We both were thinking about it for a while and it seems that with this situation God gave us an easy out, a way we could walk away and not look back. While I didn't like the situation that happened, I am thankful because it was exactly what needed to happen for us to walk away from that job. Thus began my full-time stay at home role. Now I did babysit to bring in extra income, but I was finally and officially a stay at home mom.

That is all I am going to share at the moment. I am going to leave you with what a homemaker is NOT.

• A homemaker is not unintelligent.
• A homemaker is not lazy.
• A homemaker is not dreamless or hopeless.
• A homemaker is not held down by man-made notions or expectations.
• A homemaker is not held back by her husband.
• A homemaker is not trying to be a sacrificial martyr.
• A homemaker is not bitter for lack of recognition, but humbled by the position.
• A homemaker is not a result a weak woman.
• A homemaker is not inferior.

See you in Homemaker Part 2.

Gia Bug

I wanted to share with the world about my unbelievably amazing oldest child...Giavanna! Sometimes it is so easy to get caught up with talking or blogging about the funny and crazy moments in life, that we forget that even when one of the kids don't do something crazy or what we deem as "story worthy," they are still living out their story. As I watch Gia's story unravel everyday, I am confronted with the realization that she has a spark for life that many kids do not. She is so incredibly smart and very inquisitive (Read "Who, What, Where, When, Why.") She is a learner and it blows my mind constantly not only that she has a strong desire to learn, but her vast ability to absorb material.

Gia's strongest area is reading. The area she needs to work on is math, although she catches on to that really quick, too. What is one thing you think about when you hear that a child is not strong in a subject? The thing I think about is they tend to stay away from that subject. NOT GIA! She begs JT to teach her math whenever he is home. She can't get enough of it. She has sat for over an hour doing math worksheets he printed off for her. Jerry is asking her to play and she just wants to sit and do math. It is beautiful to see, so we just keep on feeding it.

She is also starting to grow up into quite a little jokester. Her sense of humor is becoming much more mature. For instance, the other day she was told to get into the shower. So, she goes. Then we hear, "Mommy, mommy, hurry come quick....the toilet is flooding over, hurry...it's flooding the bathroom, MOMMY! We run in there and she goes, "Gotcha!" She does that when her JT and wrestling, too. She pretends to be hurt and cry and then when he checks on her she looks up and busts out laughing.

She is an amazing daughter and can't wait to see what the Lord does with her! Here's some pics of my sweet girl enjoying life:

Cheesin' it up as usual!

Goofy face at our first live soccer game!

Face painting- Always so girly!

Hot and wore out at the zoo-- but still smiling!

What are you running from?

As you read the title of this blog, you may be thinking that there is about to be some sort of in depth psychological, brain melting, let me look into the deepest closets of your mind to see what are you hypothetically running from in life. Well...it's not. It is actually about running, the physical and literal, one foot in front of the other running. Before I was a runner I considered it a Medieval-type torture scheme cleverly disguised as "exercise." I am writing this blog to motivate myself to keep going. I am now in week 4 of a 16-week training schedule for the Cowtown Marathon in February 2012.

So, let me back up to April 2010 when I started running. I did not follow any program or any organized fitness plan. I just walked out the door and ran a half a mile out and then back. I am not knocking those programs or the people that do them, they work if you implement them correctly. I just didn't want to do them. I said I am going to run a mile and I did. It was painful. I couldn't control my breathing, my chest was on fire, and I thought I was going to literally faint or die...and that was at almost a 13 minute mile. So, guess what? I did it again, but each time I ran to that half mile marker I went a little further and then turned around, and so on.

Then in February of 2011, I ran my first marathon (26.2 miles). Wow! Is all I can say, but this blog is not about that. This blog is about why I love running. I use to HATE running and never could understand why anyone would willingly run without being chased...but then I ran.

I have not found a way to explain it, but I found something on another blog that I wanted to share. I haven't figured out how to link yet, but the blog is Oh She Glows. http://ohsheglows.com/2010/08/20/why-i-love-running/ Her readers have asked her how they can learn to enjoy running and she wrote this:

Have you cried on a run yet?”

“What? No!”

“Then keep running.”

“Have you gotten a shiver through your entire body on a run yet?”

“From the cold, you mean?”

“Keep running.”


After reading that I got chills, because nothing has ever compared to the feeling that running gives you, and I have jumped out of an airplane. So, I am going to attempt to list the reasons why I run...

1. Physical and mental health.
2. The time alone with God and His creation (especially at sunset).
3. The moments when you are doing distance running and when you stop, your legs give a little wobble and you can't help but smile.
4. The freedom you feel (especially knowing you could run to another town if you had to, lol).
5. The moments when you're running with the wind and it gives a little pick me up and you feel as if you actually flew a short distance.
6. For each milestone you reach in pushing your body that much further.
7. The mental strength you feel when your body is telling you stop, but you don't.
8. The times you overcome the tears at mile 20, then 22, then 24, lol.
9. The only time in life when a pebble is your enemy, but every other runner is your friend.
10. The camaraderie of runners and bystanders cheering you on.
11. The chills and goosebumps you get towards the end of a log run even though you're dripping sweat.
12. Because for that moment nothing else matters.
13. Because halfway into a run you would gladly welcome being rained on.

I actually have something I want to share on here related to running, but it will have to wait until after the 13th...Until then, just keep moving!

JT and I after Cowtown 2011