Velvet Pumpkins - Almost as good as pumpkin pie!

I saw these pretty little things and thought...hmmmm, I might have found something as beautiful as pumpkin pie tastes. These are definitely on my project list for this fall and I can just see these on my table as part of my centerpiece (insert the sound of a brain thinking here).

At first, I was a bit disappointed because I thought you could only purchase them (which might be great for some of you so here's the link) but, I really wanted to make them so I was happy to find a link to a tutorial.

You can view the tutorial here.



    

Monthly Meal Plan Links (as promised)

Okay, here are the links to the recipes I used in this month's meal plan. If there is no link it was a homemade creation, meaning I just looked in the fridge and seasonings and threw something together - just use one of your "go to" recipes instead. Also, I sometimes find a recipe and then alter it to fit what I have on hand (or what I'd prefer to use it with) so I'll include the original link with notes on how I changed it.

Here are the dinner meals:
1. Ground beef with onions over seasoned rice with broccoli.
2. Filet with mashed potatoes & corn (sorry, the menu plan was wrong - who has broccoli two days in a row? Not that I wouldn't - I LOVE broccoli).
3. Lasagna & bread sticks (this was a Stouffer's Lasagna with store bought bread sticks).
4. Pork chops with garlic lemon sauce over pasta & green beans.
5. Flank steak with creamy rice & broccoli & cheese.

6. Chicken Florentine with orange-glazed carrots.
7. Tortilla & black bean pie with Southwestern Polenta with corn & green chiles.
8. Brown sugar & balsamic glazed pork tenderloin with fried rice & green beans.
9. Hot Dogs with sauerkraut, french fries &/or sweet potato fries.
10. Baked chicken with mashed cauliflower & corn.
11. Pizza bites (side note: these are fantastic) & wings.
12. Pulled pork sandwiches with mac-n-cheese.
13. Roasted chicken with crash hot potatoes & green beans.
14. Lasagna soup & Olive Garden breadsticks.
15. Stuffed pork chops w/corn-on-the-cob & cheesy cauliflower bake.
16. Filet with mashed potatoes and corn (my husbands favorite meal and his night to cook).
17. Tuscan chicken with cheddar & herb biscuits.
18. Burrito Bar. (I am making these flour tortillas with all the fixins).
19. Garlic shrimp over Orzo with broccoli & cheese.
20. Filipino pork abodo with fried rice & corn.
21. Chicken in creamy butter sauce with mashed cauliflower & rice.
22. Flank Steak with spicy lemon sauce, mashed potatoes & asparagus.
23. Hamburgers & fries.
24 & 25. Thanksgiving Dinner & leftovers

26. Filet with red wine butter, hasselback potatoes & cheesy cauliflower bake.
27. Meatballs with mashed potatoes & cauliflower.
28. Cocoa Rubbed Pork Chops with Polenta with corn & green chilies.
29. Tortellini w/ ground beef & bacon & bread sticks.
30. Pizza & Wings

Meal Planning

I saw this wonderful post on meal planning and decided to take a stab at it. As the cost of living keeps increasing, our family has been trying to find ways to save money. Meal planning helps you save money by keeping you from buying things YOU DON'T NEED throughout the month. When you plan your meals ahead of time you are less likely to make an extra trip to the grocery store and pick up those three of four "extra" items. This month, I've prepared the following menu and we spent $550.00 for this month's groceries (we might spend a little more - another $20 or so for Thanksgiving). Now, I do need to let you know (if you just had a heart attack) that we buy in bulk so we tend to spend more in one month but we've calculated that we are only shopping every 6 weeks so it's averaging out to be around $370/month for a family of three. Now, I will admit that there's not a wide variety of side dishes in this particular plan (my husband barely eats veggies so I have to push the ones he will eat). For your plan, just add your favorite sides and make necessary adjustments to meet your budget.



Here's the meal plan for this month and, on a side note, I print two of these - one that is kept in my binder with all the recipes for the month in sequence and one to post on the fridge. You'll notice that I have a "Defrost" memo on each day to let me know what to pull out for the next night (some things, like roasts & whole chickens need more time to defrost so you'll see they are pulled out days ahead of time).

Monthly Calendar

I use the "Weekly Meal Plan" to have a handy overview of the upcoming week. I keep it in my binder behind the monthly calendar. I just rotate the weeks out as they come up so I have easy access to notes about how I want to prepare some of the recipes.



Weekly Menu Planner

Oh, and here's the cover for my binder - if you want one with your name on it and/or in a specific color - just leave me a comment with your last name, email address and color choice and I'll send you one - ready to print.


Menu Planner Cover

Best Bagels EVER! Really!

Okay, I have always been a little skeptical when it comes to baking your own food - I always thought it wasn't really worth it but man o' man is it ever! I made these homemade bagels and they are so fantastic. The taste alone was worth it. I'm going to be scouring to see if I can find some recipes for "flavored" bagels like blueberry, onion, and the famous "everything" bagel. I will post them as I try them. FYI - my next attempt will most likely be blueberry since I have some blueberries left from this summer. Here's how these turned out:

 Here's a close-up, beautiful right?

Here's the recipe, I hope you enjoy!

Angels, Demons and Cinnamon Rolls

Yesterday included a long day of baking for me. I started with a "Big Batch" of cinnamon rolls, made homemade pita pockets and finished up with some homemade granola bars. So, this morning, I enjoyed one (okay - two) of the cinnamon rolls while listening to my favorite pastor, Greg Laurie, via podcast. Anyway, I wanted to show you what I was up to yesterday and provide you the fantastic links to the recipes I used. First, I made the "Big Batch Cinnamon Rolls." I have to say this is a great recipe for making cinnamon rolls and I was so happy to have found it! It's easy and makes a TON of cinnamon rolls (perfect for sharing with a friend or for taking to work one morning to surprise your co-workers). I made them to keep a batch for us and to share the other with my sister who just had a brain tumor removed.

Don't they look fantastic! You can make them yourself - Here's the recipe.





I haven't tasted (or photographed) the pita pockets so I'm not sure how good they are but they sure look good. If you are interested in that recipe you can find it here. I will make one note - when she calls for you to lightly flour them so they don't stick - be generous with the flour otherwise they do stick. And, to conclude my day of baking I made some homemade granola bars. I'm addicted to granola bars because they are so easy to make and you can customize them to your preference. I changed this recipe to include Craisens and coconut. I also do dark chocolate and coconut. Here's what they look like: 

Sorry, I forgot to give you the link to the recipe - you can find it here. Enjoy!

A Most Beautiful Poem

I love this poem so I did a little "design" and made it available for printing for FREE of course. I hope you also enjoy the poem.

The phrase "I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)" reminds me that our calling as husbands and wives is to become ONE...one heart...and to love each other as ONE. As I struggle sometimes to make sense of the frustrations of marriage I try to remind myself that the promise I made to my husband is far greater than any petty disagreements or hurt feelings. I remember that I promised to become ONE with him and to love him no matter what - as Christ loves us.

I hope you enjoy. I did these in a lot of different colors so you could pick the one that best suits you but, if you want a specific color just shoot me an email with the CMYK values and I'll send it to you.

Many blessings to you and yours!


I Carry Your Heart Tan I Carry Your Heart Purple I Carry Your Heart Pink I Carry Your Heart Navy I Carry Your Heart -Grey I Carry Your Heart Brown I Carry Your Heart Blue and White I Carry Your Heart Blackngrey I Carry Your Heart Black I Carry Your Heart Teal

More Journal Pages

 Here's a set of journal pages for the girls. Hope you like them. If you want a different color just let me know.









Journal Pages - Large

Journal Pages - Small

Prayer Journal Printables

Seems that I've been doing a lot of praying lately - for my sister who is having surgery to remove a tumor in her brain on November 2nd, for my daughter who misses her friends because she is working hard and going to college, and for my husband who is struggling with his job. So, I thought I would make some prayer journal pages (or just journal page). These are a little more masculine because I was thinking of my husband when I made them. I'll post pretty girly ones tomorrow. Until then, print some of these out for your husband, son, brother, grandpa, pastor, deacon, or whoever...maybe someone at work that you know would really benefit from a little prayer. Heck, you could even fill one out with a prayer and Bible verse to leave in your husband's/son's lunch just to let them know you were praying for them.

Hope you enjoy!


Prayer Journal Pages - Small Prayer Journal Pages - Large

Restoring what the locusts have eaten...

This verse was first shared with me by my best friend (thank the Lord for best friends) and has such a significant meaning for me.

I have not met a soul on this earth that hasn't gone through something that left them feeling a bit like an army of locusts swarmed in and destroyed everything. I too have had my own run-ins with the locusts...starting before I was even born.

And, up until my best friend shared this verse with me, I looked back at those times in my life with such sadness over all that was lost. I thought all those things that were taken, eaten away, destroyed by the locusts were gone forever...all that time in darkness was forever lost to me. This verse reminded me that God, in His infinite mercy, already has plans to restore those years to me again someday.

I feel a tremendous amount of peace knowing that now and, in a way, it has given me courage to move beyond some of the anger and hurt I have carried for such a long time. I hope that, by sharing this verse with you, you will also find comfort knowing that the years the locusts have eaten will be restored.

May your life be filled with hope, joy and blessings!

Blueberries are coming in

We are blessed to have 6 healthy and mature blueberry bushes. So, this time of year is all about the blueberries and filled with excitement as we look for new ways to enjoy them. I happened upon Poor Girl Eats Well for Blueberry-Lemon Clafoutis and I am so happy I did.

I made this recipe for dessert for some friends. I'm happy to say it did not last long enough for me to photograph. I will definitely be making this again. The combination of blueberries and lemon is so refreshing - it tastes like spring!

Here's the link to her recipe (trust me, you will enjoy it): Blueberry-Lemon Clafoutis

Really Awesome Grocery List

Free printables are awesome and a grocery list printable is really awesome. I was surfing my favorite site the other day and came across a post for a Free Printable Grocery List. Hope you enjoy it! Oh, a side note, make sure you read the grocery list at the bottom. We are supposed to leave them behind and then the next person to find them is supposed to mail them to the creator...wonder what her plans are for them?

Big Fluffy Blanket...YES PLEASE!

I've been seeing theses blankets and CRAVING a tutorial on how to make them and WHERE TO GET THE THREAD...right. So, I finally found them and I am bringing it to ya!

Here's the Tutorial  - (YouTube rocks!)

Here's where to get the thread

And, if you don't know how to knit already...here's a link to a great knitting tutorial (and their website which has even more tutorials).

I just want to thank those folks out there that take the time to make these videos and tutorials.

About the Blog

I hope to share some crafts, recipes, ideas, and more. I'm an average gal who loves to create and share. I love to experience the things around me and try to find ways to easy, and inexpensively, bring those things into my home.

Enjoy!