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Dangerous Wonder
Mar. 14, 2008
In the Kitchen
The other day for lunch I knew I wanted to use the leftover bacon in our fridge. BLT sandwiches always taste amazing...but our only tomatoes were baby tomatoes. So I created something that was quite delicious and almost all my kids ate it!
I first mixed up the following ingredients:
Basil, Tomato Feta Cheese
Cottage Cheese
Crumbled Bacon
Baby Tomatoes
Chopped fresh Spinach
Next I made up half a box of spiral whole wheat pasta.
When that was done, I drained it and then sprinkled some Vinegarette dressing over it to infuse extra flavor.
Finally I mixed it all together!
Now that I have made this and have tasted it...I think next time I will add more spinach...all in all it was very yummy!!! The crackers are a basil flat bread.
I love all the flavors God has provided us in this world! Yum Yum!!!
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Mar. 10, 2008
Organizing My Kitchen part 1
It has been my goal for quite some time now to get my kitchen running smoothly. I have been clipping recipes, making lists of favorite meals, trying to get a schedule for our crew together, watching mom's of large families (on t.v.) buy food for a month and reading whatever I could find on how to do it. All I have to say is that it is a lot of work and requires a lot of brain space! Some days I have more brain power than others.
One day 2 weeks ago, I decided I was just going to try buying enough food for our family of 5 for a month. With help from my kids we headed into our favorite big box wholesale club and loaded our cart with food. The next day I went to our local big box grocery store and loaded another cart full of food. With our cabinets packed, our laundry room cramped with the excess food, outside freezer and fridge full...I sat back and thought wow! It feels as though we actually have food in the house for a change! LOL! Thus begins the work of getting everything ready for a month's worth of storage.
I had never really wanted to brown large amounts of ground beef, but somewhere at sometime I had read about a woman who does this and freezes it! For a gal that had always frozen her beef, thawed and then cooked...I thought I would give it a try!
To my great joy, I can now say that I have successfully cooked 6 pounds of ground beef at one time with chopped onions and no seasoning. It is all carefully packaged in freezer bags resting in my freezer. The other 3 pounds became Swedish Meatballs right away because we hadn't done that in a long while. The meatballs smelled so good we had to eat them for supper that night. The ground beef is still safely tucked away in the freezer except for 1 bag that I used today for the world's fastest lasagna making in the west! I felt like a gun slinger for sure!
Even if I hadn't shopped for most of my groceries for the month, having a stock-pile of pre-cooked ground beef in the freezer was enough to make this mama do a victory dance because of speed and ease of the process for our latest meal! YEE-HAW can I get a HALLELUJAH!!!
Catch me next time for more on our latest victories in the kitchen!
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Aug. 31, 2007
Come Meet Amy from Great Cakes Soapworks!
Hello everyone on homeschoolblogger! Today I have the privilege to interview my friend and my third cousin Amy from Great Cakes Soapworks! We went to college together, she was in my wedding and now she is featured on my weblog! Everyone say a great big hello!
So, Amy, how are things?
Great!
I am so glad!
Ladies, Amy is a proud mother of 2 girls and a proud wife of her husband. How on earth does she have time to make soap much less sell it?! Well, today we are going to find out how she does it and uses it as a ministry tool too!
Amy, how did you get started in the soap making process?
I was looking for something I could make for Christmas presents in 2002. I found the instructions for making soap on the internet. After that first batch, it was an almost instant addiction. LOL!
What possessed you to start selling it?
Actually it possessed me! I got so excited about making soap, that I had too much. I read an article in the newspaper about our local farmer's market and decided to give it a try. In 2004, I started with five different kinds of soap set up on my neighbor's old card table. Now I have two 4-ft tables covered with soaps, lotions, lip butters and more! My website has been up & running since March 2006, and I still get excited when I see orders from people I don't know. 
How has this been a positive experience in your life and your family's life?
Soapmaking is a creative outlet for me, as well as a way to tell others about Christ. I came up with the name "Great Cakes Soapworks" for my soap company, and one morning I woke up and it was as if the Lord gave me the slogan: "A great cake of soap can cleanse your body, but only a great God can cleanse your soul." I use the slogan and reference to I John 1:9 on all my labels and signs. Customers at the farmer's market will often comment about it, and then I have the opportunity to talk about my faith. I have several customers who buy the soaps as gifts for their own witnessing tools.
My DH has been able to help out by designing displays and making my soap mold and cutter. He watches the girls on Saturday mornings while I'm at the farmer's market, and is great for bouncing off business ideas. DD6 and DD4 are starting to learn more about the soapmaking process and can be great helpers! They love using the soaps and lotions that are just for them. DD6 had a bad eczema breakout last winter that seems to have cleared up using some of Mommy's concoctions.
How many kinds of soap do you sell?
At the moment, I have 11 different soaps for sale. About half of the soaps are kept in stock all the time, including Stress Relief, Patchouli Beer Bar, and the Dead Sea Spa Bar. The other half will rotate as I find fabulous new fragrances or a new type of recipe. There are five new soaps that are curing at the moment and will be available in several more weeks, including Banana Berry, Grapefruit Jasmine, Apples & Spice, Pumpkin Pie, and a coffee soap that still needs a name!
What makes your soap better than say the stuff at a grocery store or super store?
There's no comparison! Almost all "soaps" that you find at the store are actually going to be detergents made of synthetic surfactants. My soaps are made from quality vegetable oils & butters. The end product is about 75% soap and 25% glycerin. The glycerin is what draws moisture to your skin and how your skin can feel the difference in a handmade soap. Most people say they no longer need lotions (especially in the summer) when they switch to handmade soap. Other great benefits are all the options available - with or without colors or fragrances, all the different types of fragrances, all the different types of additives like oatmeal, herbs, clays, goat's milk, etc. I also like to add my own handmade touches like stamping the soap with a butterfly or flower that has been dipped in a shimmery mica.
If I was wanting a stellar bar of soap how would I get a hold of one?
Well, you can order stellar soap and other fine skin care products from my website: www.greatcakessoapworks.com. (Actual shipping charges are automatically calculated by the shopping cart and there are no handling fees whatsoever.)
Rumor has it that you have a contest going on right now! What is it and how do we play?
Oh yes! There's an opportunity to win a FREE SOAP! All you need to do is help me name my new coffee soap. The contest starts immediately and ends at midnight on Friday, September 7th. Go to my website to get all the details, including the full scent description: www.greatcakessoapworks.com. The winner will be notified by email, and will receive one of the new coffee soaps in the mail.
Thanks so much for joining us today! It was fun hanging out! Now if you don't mind, I need to place an order for some of my favorites!
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Oct. 16, 2006
Plea for Recipes for Freezer Meals and Mixes Made Ahead!
So there was a great sale on ground beef at our local supermarket last week. The deal was too good to pass up. So I purchased the max amount of 10lbs. With all this wonderful food in tubes, I divided the first 5 lbs. into smaller increments and placed in the freezer. Then I made some meatballs, a meatloaf and browned the rest. I felt awesome for accomplishing this which Im sure most of you amazing ladies already do all the time.?!
So then I pre-made up batches of biscuit mix and cornbread mix and dawili's awesome pancake mix. I was so happy to have some quick things in my back pocket. As I was standing there glowing in my accomplishments, covered in flour and goo...I began to ponder what else I could make and have ready to go in a moments notice. So I thought...I need to put a plea out to all women and their favorite recipes for freezing and for making into mixes ahead of time!
So here is my plea...please share one or two recipes that are family favorites and are great for making ahead!
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Jul. 18, 2006
Sudoku
So,
it is official...I have entered the weird realm of Sudoku. While on
vacation, I had to pick up some milk for the kiddos at the local
saloon/store on a Saturday night in Wisconsin. I went to pay for it
with my credit card and they informed me that I had to spend $10.00 to
use that. So, seems how I never have cash on me, I grabbed the latest
copy of Easy Sudoku from the stand and the rest is history. It's funny
how something like this can look so intimidating and you are just going
crazy trying to figure out the "rythmn" to this game and all of a
sudden it all "clicks"...now I have 174 "easy" games to finish before I
dish out money for the next level. Hey...I'm cheap and I'm not going to
obsess over this silly game. So the question is...do you Sudoku?
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Jun. 5, 2006
Healthy Snackin!
Seems
like I am always on the look out for healthier choices for snacking and
for breakfast. This is something that I have been doing for a few years
and thought I would pass it along for anyone else that is looking for
healthy eating like I am!!!
Breakfast Smoothies!
*(I never measure anything...I just add what looks good!)*
Yogurt of your
choice...about a cup or so. We use Stonyfield because it has lots of
good enzymes and isn't loaded with sugar or anything bad for you.
Frozen blueberries
Frozen strawberries (can use fresh when in season!)
1 banana
Wheat germ (about 1/4 cup)...just recently started adding this.
Milk to the top of that mess (also have used orange juice along with the milk)
Blend it and pour in cups.
The kids love drinking these with straws, but the smoothie mustaches
are a silly bonus if you don't! You can use whatever fruit you love.
It's fun to experiment. The more banana you put in, the sweeter it'll
be. These also taste great with granola in a bowl. This is a great
filling breakfast!
We always have leftovers, so I put the rest in popsicle molds or small
paper cups with sticks and freeze them. Then when the kids ask for a
snack or I don't want to make breakfast, I tell them they can have a
popsicle! They think I am so cool! 
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