Food is definitely a love language of mine – so I love to share it with others – especially my little men. I’ve felt so bad that in this busy toddler and preschooler season I’ve not cooked near as much as I normally do – and I think my men suffer for it. But, hopefully I will get these done this week:
Lemon Cake with Sugared Cranberries (Happy Jesus Day cake) = this is our first year doing this. I’d like to make a main cake each Christmas and have it be Jesus’ birthday cake. Sing happy birthday to Jesus and maybe start giving a gift to Jesus (our Lottie Moon offering, or gift to another Gospel-centered something)
Here we are the week before Christmas. Less than 7 days and I have to admit, as my kids get older, it is more fun – to think of the surprise that will fill their eyes on Christmas morning.
Here are some things that I’m liking this week – and some fun things I’m baking:
Grinch popcorn as I have some little friends over this week.
I know two littles (and their momma) who would enjoy these. If you need a hostess gift for a family with kids these would be perfect.
Who doesn’t like bread? Ok – I know some people can’t eat it for health reasons or allergies, and some people don’t eat much of it because they don’t want to gain a lot of weight – but seriously – the smell of yeast in my kitchen mixed with melted butter, or garlic, or cheese – bread is a good things.
Blogging for Books gave me the book Hot Bread Kitchen – the new cookbook that not only teaches you how to make bread in many different forms, but also trains and helps women with skills that will improve their futures.
I love the philanthropic nature of Hot Bread Kitchen and what they have set out to accomplish. And I can’t wait to try their breads. The cookbook is not only a book full of recipes and pictures, but stories of women who make them and where they come from.
So, its a little bit of history, bread, photos, bread, women, bread, stories, bread. Can’t go wrong?
If you are looking for a great new cookbook that is going to be perfect for that new cook – but one that is looking for knowledge, adventurous recipes, and helpful information, and beautiful pictures – then this cookbook is for you.
I picked this cookbook out from my choices at Blogging for Books. There are a couple of things I love about this cookbook (besides the recipes):
The pictures. I want to cut them all out and hang them in my kitchen. Better yet I want to go take pictures of farm fresh eggs and berries and everything in between.
The information. This gives you ways to make a variety of the same things (like the difference between jams and eggs) – and teaches you the things you need to know when picking out poultry, or other types of foods, etc.
I love the story-telling. That is the best part of any cookbook. I want to curl up on my couch and wrap up in a warm blanket – and sit down and read it word for word.
Yesterday I was in 70 degree weather – and this morning all I wanted to do was cuddle under the blankets and stay there all day. 30s-60s isn’t bad – but 70s was so delightful!
There is something so inviting about Florida. I grew up in the central part of the state. Familiarity, warm breezes, Carolina blue skies, hay bales, wide open horse pastures,
This soup would be good on any cold night – just combine with some naan bread or homemade loaf.
I write for Her View From Home and for December I did a very short and partial dream kitchen list. Go check it out for every cook on your list of people to get gifts for this holiday season.
Happy Thanksgiving Week. Hit me up if you are still in need of recipes and you just don’t know what to cook for Thursday’s big meal. Normal life this week and I’m thankful for that.
Chicken Ramen Salad
Thick-sliced Turkey BLT
Homemade Applesauce (so much better than store bought)
Life has been full the past few weeks and I’ve not gotten around to doing one of my favorite posts of the week – but here goes some of my fave site finds for you to look at.
I definitely want to make this before fall gives way to the winter.
Sometimes the world of the internet overwhelms me. People in my feeds argue about refugees and red cups (whether filled with coffee or beer). They complain about what they don’t like. They speak about how wonderful life is. They post everything good that they do. I give in to this so much. And more of the time – I crave for time with my true friends, sitting down with coffee, talking about how life is hard and how God is good. Or just crying because your kids are driving you crazy and money is tight. I long to have refreshment from uninterrupted time with my mister, sitting in the word for a while without having to go somewhere in a few minutes, not wondering how we are going to pay the bills next month, or just sitting there across from a friend who is struggling too – and listening to her cry, tears of concern and mystery and hurt. Life happens outside of the blog and social media world.
Ok – well, happy Sunday from my little world to you!
I like normal weeks. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love doing fun things and love out of the ordinary with people, and events, and cooking times – but I also like the ordinary weeks. This week…we have no guests, I’m cooking one meal for a family in our church, I will probably do some baking with the boys – but other than that it is pretty normal and I’m trying to use ingredients I already have in my kitchen.
Pepperoni and Cheese Crescent Rolls for a quick dinner for my men on Tuesday night while I run to Target before the ever important NCIS comes on
Broccoli Rice Chicken Cheddar One-Dish Casserole (recipe coming soon on this blog)
When moving to a new place you always want to scout out a couple of things: parks, hiking trails, great local Mexican restaurants, and definitely a favorite sushi/chinese take out place. One of my favorite things to do is to sit on the couch eating take out Chinese. We haven’t done it in a while because we’ve not found a place that’s not really expensive here in our area.
There was a great local dive in Chapel Hill called Charlie’s. It had the best corn egg drop soup and was just down the strip mall from where I worked for a while. I loved everything on their menu. Would love to grab lunch with a sweet friend there or take some home for dinner. This is especially worth it for those cold, rainy winter nights.
It might not be winter yet, but its been constantly raining and cloudy with much of the same in the coming forecast – and I’ve been wanting to try something healthy with cauliflower. Speaking of cauliflower – I hope my Mister will eat this. There are only a few things that my mister doesn’t like – and I’ve changed his mind about one of them already since we got married. So, I think the flavor of this dish will win him over to the cauliflower side!
⅓ cup sweet chili sauce (bottled) - divide into three
½ cup chopped sweet peppers (red, orange, yellow)
1 tsp chopped garlic (1-2 cloves)
¼ cup salted peanuts
2 T water
Instructions
Heat butter in a non-stick pan or wok.
Add cauliflower and season with salt and pepper.
Saute with the water for about 3-5 minutes.
Add some of the chili sauce.
Add peppers and garlic. Saute about 2-3 minutes
Add peanuts and more chili sauce. Stir until all combined
Remove from heat and stir in the remaining chili sauce.
You can add some green onions/chives or more peanuts on top for presentation.
Serve with rice for a complete meal.
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Trader Joes has a great Sweet Chili sauce that we use for some chinese chicken dishes. It was perfect in this dish as well. I also had chopped up some yellow, orange, and red peppers and had them in the freezer. This dish took all of 10 minutes. I love quick dishes – in between refilling preschooler sippy cups and singing the Dino Train song – quick is good for this busy momma!
I think its been almost 2 weeks since I blogged. We’ve had family in town and then traveled to see friends – and I have a hectic 3 and 2 year old – that says a lot right now.
But, here it is the end of the month and it is the second month in a row I’ve stayed on budget!!! I’m so excited! I’ve even come under budget this month!
Spaghetti Squash Carbonara (even though I’ve heard bacon can cause cancer)
Roasted Pork Tenderloin
Creamy mac and cheese
Greens and smoothies
Chili and Sweet potatoes
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls (easy treat for Halloween morning from Trader Joes)
I’ll be posting some of these recipes if they turn out!
christmas
