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Friday, December 27, 2013

Remembering Those Who Have Inspired Us


I’ve been thinking a lot lately about hospitality. When we were in Oregon, preparing for our move to Arkansas, friends would mention that “Southern Hospitality.” I’d think, yeah, maybe in grandma’s time. Nowadays I’m sure they’re just as hospitable (or not) as the rest of us.

Boy, was I wrong!

Today, I'm at Raising Homemakers talking about one of my New Year resolutions and the act of Remembering Those Who Have Inspired Us. Please join us there today and let me know your thoughts!

Linking with:
Inspiration Friday @ Dear Creatives
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Family Fun Friday @ Happy and Blessed Home
Fit & Frugal Family Friday
Faithful Fridays
Motivate Me Monday 
Modest Monday @ The Modest Mom 
Living Proverbs 31
Marriage Monday
Making Your Home Sing Monday

Thursday, December 26, 2013

The Homemaking Party


Welcome to the Homemaking Party!

Hope your Christmas celebration was wonderful and full of many great memory-makers! Today has been a day of kids munching on candy canes and playing with all their new things. What a peaceful, happy life. I'm so blessed!

Miss Brenna turned ONE last Saturday! We had a happy PINK birthday for her.

I'm excited to see what everyone else has been up to. Please link up your posts and visit some others to say hello!

Linking with:
Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove
Inspiration Friday @ Dear Creatives
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm 
Beverly's Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound
Family Fun Friday @ Happy and Blessed Home
Fit & Frugal Family Friday
Faithful Fridays

Monday, December 23, 2013

Holiday Entertaining with Bigelow Tea #AmericasTea #shop #cbias

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and its client. All opinions are honest and are my own.

In September, I took the trip of a lifetime to England. I toured Bath, Winchester, and London, and saw so many amazing things! One of the best parts of the trip was tea at the Jane Austen House in Bath where I was introduced to a delicious tea blend flavored with citrus and cinnamon. I've since looked for it online and have found that it's only available in England. However, a couple of days ago, I found an excellent equivalent from Bigelow.


Walmart carries Bigelow's"Constant Comment", a wonderful blend of orange and spice flavors. I'm hooked!

Besides being the perfect flavor I was looking for, this Bigelow blend is decaffeinated. I'm thrilled because I also want to use it for iced tea. My current iced tea blend is not decaffeinated, but I'm really trying to cut caffeine out of my diet so this will be perfect! I love to serve guests iced tea and it's so easy to make up a gallon in just a couple hours. I fill a gallon jug with hot water and add 5-6 tea bags. As the water is cooling in the fridge, the tea steeps. In a couple hours, I've got refreshing drinks for everyone!

Hot tea is such a comforting and welcoming drink to serve my family and guests. It helps to have the right accompaniments to set the cozy atmosphere. My mom bought me a gorgeous red tea kettle for my birthday in October. Looks pretty great with my bright red tea box, doesn't it?

This morning, I brewed a cup to have with my cinnamon swirl toast. It was lovely. There are very few teas that I enjoy without sugar---this is definitely one of them. It had just enough sweetness, and the spice and citrus notes were subtle. I prefer a lightly flavored tea and this definitely met my expectations in flavor.

How do you take your tea? Have you tried Bigelow? I'd love to hear about your experience and how you paired it with your favorite meal or treat. 

Make sure to visit our Pinterest board for more great ideas from Bigelow!



Inspiration Friday @ Dear Creatives
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm 
Family Fun Friday @ Happy and Blessed Home
Fit & Frugal Family Friday
Faithful Fridays

Friday, December 20, 2013

Old Fashioned Divinity

When I was a kid, my mom made divinity for every Christmas---and other times during the year too. In fact, I can remember her sometimes making up a batch on an evening for no reason other than just to bless us!


Avalon helped me make a batch today and then helped me photograph it outside. 


When we were in Oregon, our tradition was that I wouldn't make divinity until the night before the kids' Christmas piano recital. I'd make a batch of pink and a batch of green and we'd take it to share with our friends at the reception afterward.

Now that we're in Arkansas, there's no piano recital to go to and I'm a little late getting it made this year. I decided to go with blue---in honor of last week's ice storm. Ha! The earliest reference to this recipe is from 1915 and it used to be known as "Southern Candy." Fitting, yes?



Old Fashioned Divinity

2 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. water
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla

Cook sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water in a saucepan. Stir just until sugar is dissolved. Boil until temp. reaches 260º. Meanwhile, beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks. When syrup is ready, slowly pour it into the whites while the mixer is running. Add vanilla and food coloring, if desired. Beat until the candy holds it's shape, then drop onto wax paper to cool.

Linking with:
Blue Monday@Smiling Sally
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Craft-o-Maniac Monday  
Motivate Me Monday 
Modest Monday @ The Modest Mom 
Living Proverbs 31
Make the Scene Monday @ Alderberry Hill 
Inspire Me Monday @ Create With Joy 
Masterpiece Monday @ BoogieBoard Cottage 
A Round Tuit @ Creating My Way to Success 
Monday Funday @ C.R.A.F.T. 
Marriage Monday
Making Your Home Sing Monday

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Pink Christmas for the Homemaking Party

Welcome to the Homemaking Party! This weekend we're celebrating miss Brenna Evangeline who will be 1 on Saturday! Can you believe it's been a year already?


Wow! I can't believe how fast this month has gone. Here we are a week before Christmas and I've still got quite a bit to do! Trying hard to remember the true meaning of the season: Jesus! God in the flesh, come to live among us!

I snapped a few pictures of our favorite decorations and thought I'd share them with you all for this week's party. One thing I'm excited about is my first little PINK putz house (see above)! I ordered it from Etsy last week. Isn't it cute? I've got a little obsession with them. Remember my banner from last year?


The same Etsy seller had another putz house up---a burlap one. Very awesome. In all my thrifting, I've never found a vintage putz house anywhere. That's my goal for this year---to come across one by serendipity alone!


 This little elf became part of my collection last year. He reminds me of my grandma Betty as she had these hanging on her flower pots and gave me one before she passed away. I'll have to dig it out and add it to my collection!


 Every year, my husband buys me a poinsettia. Every year, I kill it by Valentine's Day. Still, he's very thoughtful to remember this sweet tradition!


 We had mistletoe our first year married and I reused it several times before it finally started falling apart. I saved it in one of the Christmas boxes for a keepsake, but hadn't been able to find any to replace it. Now, 15 years later, I've found some! Yay!


The kids are very excited to have a fireplace this year to hang the stockings over! I've made each of these stockings as we've had a new baby. I didn't get to make one this year, though. Maybe next year! Lynzie's nutcracker collection is displayed above them. She gets a new one every year. I'm going to have to start collecting my own---when she grows up and takes them all to her new home, my mantel will be bare!

Cainan (9) dressed up his bear, Carmel, in a festive outfit and did a photo shoot with him around the house. He wanted to contribute a picture to the Homemaking Party too! Here Carmel is sitting in front of the Christmas lapbook that Cainan is working on. He's holding a present Cainan made for baby Brenna.

I'm excited to see what you've got to share! Have a wonderful Christmas week!


Linking with:
Beverly's Pink Saturday

#ad Farmer Smurf's Battered Chicken Roll #TastyTenders #cbias

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and its client. All opinions are honest and are my own.

If there's one thing we eat a lot of around our house, it's chicken. We love it in all forms and my kids, especially, love battered chicken tenders, nuggets, and strips. Tyson always has lots of options to help me make an easy dinner for kids that my husband and I enjoy too!

Last week, I found these battered tenders at Walmart in two varieties: Honey and Original. Our Walmart always puts the Tyson bagged chicken in the deep freezers between the meat wall and the aisles. It's fun to stop and see what new things they've got to offer---it seems like there's always something creative to try out.

While I was at Walmart, I noticed the new Smurfs2 movie on DVD. It's a real treat when my kids get to watch a movie while they're eating dinner---an event that is usually reserved for when I'm gone doing errands and Daddy's handling the evening routine. Now and then, though, I like to make them a themed meal or snack and let them veg out with a movie. 

When I fix them these chicken tenders, I'm going to serve them in a sandwich stuffed with fresh veggies and pesto and call them, Farmer Smurf's Battered Chicken Rolls. Farmer Smurf knows kids love bright and healthy snacks when they're presented in a fun way! 

I bought the original tenders and, I'll admit, I've already gotten into them without the kids. Twice. Yesterday I cooked up some to see how they were with some dipping sauce I had left over from my favorite restaurant. Absolutely wonderful! I love that they're made with white meat and no weird fillers. That really made for an authentic taste that didn't have that fast-food, mushy meat texture. 

I also liked that there wasn't a bunch of overdone seasonings and that the batter was light and crispy. There was definitely more chicken than batter. In my opinion, this is just how battered chicken should taste. Delish!

Today I put together a yummy sandwich roll for my lunch. I combined some of my favorite, flavorful ingredients to make this Batter Dipped Chicken Roll. I love pesto on just about anything and, combined with fresh veggies and some provolone cheese, it was the perfect compliment to my warmed chicken tenders.

It took just 12 minutes to cook the tenders in the oven. While they cooled a bit, I prepared the other ingredients: pesto, tomatoes, spinach, provolone cheese, bakery roll. I decided to slice the tenders in half so they'd lay nicely on the sandwich. It all went together in seconds and, paired with a handful of kettle chips, it was a satisfying and very tasty lunch!

Even though I thought I was being sneaky about digging into this bag of chicken before sharing it with my kids, my oldest son had his eye on me. As I was putting it back in the freezer, he asked me about it and said they looked awesome! Ok, fine, I'll share.

Make sure to check out the Smurfs2 at Walmart. It's just been released on DVD and Blu Ray and would make a great gift for Christmas or your family's next birthday.

Follow Tyson on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with all their latest updates.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Chocolate Cornflake No Bake Cookies: Make Bake Create #38


Welcome to the Make Bake Create Party! 5 Blogs-1 party-lots of fun and creative ideas for you!

Please follow your hosts:


*****There will be no MBC party on Christmas or New Year's. See you next year!*****


I've been sharing some favorite cookie recipes the last couple weeks. Here's another one that all our family loves!

Chocolate Cornflake No Bakes

1 c. sugar
1 c. corn syrup
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. peanut butter
5 c. cornflakes

Bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil and boil for one minute. Add chocolate chips and peanut butter and stir until smooth. Mix in cornflakes and drop onto wax paper to cool.


Follow the MBC Pinboard!



Here are some of my favorites from last week!

Stacy Makes Cents shared this super easy and delicious recipe for Crockpot Pepperjack Chicken. This is one of those recipes that you know you want to make before you even check the ingredient list---her photo says it all!


When I saw this Little House on the Prairie-inspired Button String Christmas Tree. I couldn't keep from getting a little choked up! Becky at Read My Chicken Scratch found a great way to capture a special moment in one of my favorite classic stories!


I also loved the way Shopgirl decorated this gingerbread house. I love the piled snow on the windows. Very cute!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Christmas Goodies for The Homemaking Party

Welcome to the Homemaking Party! I've been busy making lots of goodies this week! Check out my Christmas Nut Cookies. Yum!

Last night I made these Peanut Butter Brownies with Chocolate Ganache---and fed them to the kids for breakfast! Ha! Well...it's the holidays... 


Chicken Ranch Casserole served as yesterday's lunch and it was wonderful.

Hope you're having a happy and blessed week!

Linking with:
Beverly's Pink Saturday

Christmas Recipes for the Gift of a Meal #KraftEssentials #shop #cbias

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and its client. All opinions are honest and are my own.


Lately I've been thinking about ways I can help the people of our new community and get to know them better. One way is by taking meals to those who are housebound. This is especially important at the holidays when many are feeling lonely or can't get around because of bad roads. I like to have several easy Christmas recipes and easy dessert recipes to choose from. Earlier this week, I went to Walmart for a few ingredients to put together a casserole and dessert---something perfect to bring to someone who is shut in. You can see photos and read about my shop in my Google+ album.


I wanted to come up with things that are easy to make with items I usually already have on hand and things that could be made using our holiday leftovers. My Chicken Ranch Casserole would be just as good with leftover turkey and stuffing from a holiday dinner. Kraft makes it easy with their high quality products. I know I can whip up something delicious, and trust that it will taste good, when I use ingredients like Stove Top Stuffing, Kraft Ranch Dressing, and Kraft Shredded Cheese.



Chicken Ranch Casserole
5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tb. oil
1 c. ranch dressing
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 box stuffing mix
ingredients to prepare stuffing according to package directions

Dice chicken into bite-sized pieces and cook in oil until done. Place chicken in a bowl and stir in ranch dressing until coated, pour into a 13x9 pan. Cook stuffing according to package directions. Sprinkle cheese over chicken and evenly top with stuffing. Bake at 350º for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.


When I'm taking someone a meal, I always like to include a dessert and beverage. Our family really enjoys having sparkling cider or juice with our holiday desserts and Welch's Holiday Sparkling beverages are perfect to pair with a Christmas recipe. They come in several flavors---we like Red Grape the best. We always serve the kids their "fancy" drinks in these little vintage ice cream dishes that I picked up at a thrift store a few years ago. My husband and I drink ours from our wedding goblets. It's the only time we use them!


When I was picking out the ingredients for my Peanut Butter Brownies with Chocolate Ganache, I knew Kraft would have the great-tasting items I'd need to make them delicious! I like to use Cool Whip and Baker's Baking Chocolate for a super easy ganache and I prefer Cool Whip over store brands, as I feel like it retains its thick, whipped texture longer than other brands. As for the peanut butter, Planters has been a favorite family brand for years. I chose creamy, since it's my favorite---even though my kids prefer crunchy. Hey, I'm the one making these, right?!



Peanut Butter Brownies with Chocolate Ganache

1 1/2 c. peanut butter, divided
1/2 c. water
1 egg
1 boxed yellow or white cake mix
4 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate
1 c. whipped topping
2 Tb. peanut butter, optional

Heat oven to 350º and grease a 13x9 pan. Mix 1 c. peanut butter, water, and egg in a bowl until smooth. Add in cake mix and mix well. Spread into pan. Bake 20 minutes or until light golden brown and puffed up a bit. Cool completely. When brownies are cool, melt chocolate and whipped topping, stirring until smooth. Cook one minute; then, if desired, add 2 Tb. peanut butter. Either way, cook one additional minute and then pour onto brownies. Let cool completely. Ganache will thicken as it cools.

I'm glad I took the time to make these two easy recipes as I know they're ones that will really bless someone who is needing a meal. I love getting on the list for meal gifting whenever someone has a new baby or has just come home from the hospital. With my large family, it can be hard sometimes to find ways to bless people outside my home, without taking too much time away from my responsibilities here. Making a meal for a shut in can be a blessing for both the homemaker and the one receiving it!

How do you like to bless others from your kitchen? Here are some more ideas from Kraft. Let me know if you try any of them out!




 Linking with:
Sunday Showcase Party@Under the Table and Dreaming 
Craft Schooling Sunday @ Creative Jewish Mom 
Sundae Scoop @ I heart nap time
The Creative Homemaker Hop 
Seasonal Sundays @ The Tablescaper
One More Time
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Craft-o-Maniac Monday  
Motivate Me Monday 
Modest Monday @ The Modest Mom 
Living Proverbs 31
Make the Scene Monday @ Alderberry Hill 
Inspire Me Monday @ Create With Joy 
Masterpiece Monday @ BoogieBoard Cottage 
A Round Tuit @ Creating My Way to Success 
Monday Funday @ C.R.A.F.T. 
Marriage Monday
Making Your Home Sing Monday
A Return to Loveliness @ A Delightsome Life
Teach Me Tuesday @ Growing Home
Tutorial Tuesdays with Hope Studios
Women Helping Women @ Teaching What Is Good 
(Titus 2)s Days @ Time Warp Wife
The Scoop @Stone Gable
Make Bake Create @ Hope In Every Season
Tasty Treats @Simply Helping Him
Winsome Wednesday @ My Daily Walk in His Grace
Whole-Hearted Home Wednesdays 
Encourage One Another @ Deep Roots at Home
A Wise Woman Builds Her Home
Homemaking Link Up @ Raising Homemakers
Home @ Rose Chintz Cottage  
Inspire Me Wednesday @ MamaBuzz
What's It Wednesday @ Ivy and Elephants 
Wednesday Link up at Adorned from Above
Home Link Up at Raising Arrows

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Christmas Nut Cookies: Make Bake Create #37


Welcome to the Make Bake Create Party! 5 Blogs-1 party-lots of fun and creative ideas for you!

Please follow your hosts:


We're just finishing up day 6 of being snowed in here in the Arkansas Ozarks! No mail, no garbage pick up---but thank Jesus we've got all our utilities on and groceries in the fridge!

I've been making Christmas goodies almost as fast as the kids can devour them! Here's one of our family favorites from my great-grandma, Annabelle.

Christmas Nut Cookies

1 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. chopped nuts
powdered sugar

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Add flour and salt and blend well. Mix in nuts. Shape into balls and bake 20 minutes at 325º. When cookies are cool, roll in powdered sugar.

Follow the MBC Pinboard!



I loved seeing the awesome things you all linked up last week! Here are a couple of my favorites.  If you're featured, make sure to grab a "featured button" for your blog!


Photobucket



I absolutely love this Wooden Spool Wreath from The D.I.Y. Dreamer! I've been collecting these adorable vintage spools for spoolies and other crafts and will definitely be doing something wreath-like with them soon as well!


JES shared these excellent Ideas for Using Orange Peel on her blog, Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth. I'm inspired!



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