Spaghetti

My mom started making this kind of spaghetti when she married my step-father.  At first, it was a shock because it wasn't loaded down with tomato paste, but it grew on us so much so that I LOVE this recipe.  I won't make spaghetti any other way.  It has its extra bonuses, too.  Vegetables get thrown in for added health...the kids will never know.  It turns out to be a filling, healthy, vegetable spaghetti.  

Serve it with the breadstick recipe I have.  Super, super delicious breadsticks are always enjoyed with this spaghetti or your favorite lasagna.

Spaghetti    

      Ingredients

•  2 lbs beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped    
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup of eggplant, finely chopped  (or a combination of mushrooms, carrots, squash-any vegetable of your choice)
• 1 (28 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, STRAINED and then processed in food processor
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 can tomato paste-Italian seasoning flavored (or you could add your own herbs)
• 1/8 cup sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Brown the meat with the onions, celery, bell pepper, and garlic.  
2. Strain the grease off if there is any.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, and bring to a boil.
4. Cover and reduce heat to low/simmer.
5. Cook on low/simmer for 3 to 4 hours.  The longer it cooks, the better.  

Powdered Milk

There are so many uses for powdered milk.  It is a definite in our household to keep it on hand. I put it in a container and keep it stored in the freezer (not sure why...just do).  Then, I scoop out as much as I need.  Here are some ideas on what to use powdered milk for:

1. Make milk.  :D  That was easy.  Use it in cereal, mashed potatoes, recipes, etc...
2. When I don't have raw milk on hand, I use powdered milk to make yogurt.
3. Make whipped topping with equal parts of powdered milk and ice water.  Beat in a little sugar and vanilla.  Put it on top of your favorite pie. 
4. Evaporated milk can be made rather than bought...especially if you forgot to buy it, it comes in handy.  1/3 cup powdered milk with 1/2 cup water.
5. Sour cream can be made with 1/3 cup powdered milk and 3/4 cup yogurt.  Add 1 tsp cornstarch to stabilize it if you plan on using it in cooking.
6. Replace a 13 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk with 1/3 cup powdered milk and 1/2 cup of water.  Microwave until hot and add 1/2 cup of sugar.  Just be sure to refrigerate for a few hours before using. 
7. Instant hot cocoa for those winter months can be made with equal parts of cocoa, powdered milk, and sugar.  Microwave a cup of water till hot and stir in.  Top with marshmallows or a dash of cinnamon to suit your tastes.
8. Make your own curds and whey like Little Miss Muffet.  Boil 1 part powdered milk and 2 parts water.  Remove from heat and pour in vinegar (1 Tbsp per 1 cup of water), stirring slightly.  Let sit and watch it separate.  You should have a clear liquid and curds.  If it is still a little milky, add a small amount of vinegar and let sit again.
9. Continue with the curds to make ricotta cheese by straining the curds through a cheese cloth.  Retain the curds and blend until smooth.
10. You can take it a step further and make cottage cheese by adding some yogurt or evaporated milk to the blended curds. 
11. Soak fish in milk before cooking to make it plump and taste fresher.
12. Make a face mask with a paste of powdered milk and water.  Spread it on your face and let it dry before cleansing it off.  Your face will feel smoother. 
13. Equal parts of powdered milk and water with a dash of salt to make a paste can take the itch out of insect bites.
14. Make some milk to ease sunburn.

Banana Bread

While I have a recipe I like specifically for banana muffins, I also have a recipe I like specifically for banana bread.  This recipe is much sweeter than the recipe for the muffins.  Of course, you could use either recipe for muffins or bread according to your preferred taste.

     Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup nuts (optional)

1. Mix oil and sugar.
2. Add eggs and mashed bananas.
3. Mix in a separate bowl the dry ingredients.
4. Add the dry ingredients, milk, and vanilla and mix well.
5. Pour into a greased and floured bread pan (only one unless you use small pans).
6. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Lonestar Angel

Eden Larson is about to receive a marriage proposal when her ex-husband, Clay interrupts.  In a flash, Eden's life is turned upside down.  Not only does she learn that she is still married to Clay because he never signed the divorce papers five years ago, but she also learns that their daughter, Brianna who was kidnapped at six weeks of age, is still alive.  


Eden had lost all hope that her daughter was alive after the ransom delivery went wrong.  The kidnapper's vehicle sunk in the river.  Eden assumed their daughter had also drowned, but the body had never been found.  


Clay had never given up hope and continued searching for his daughter to no avail.  Until he received a photo of a group of girls at a youth ranch in Bluebird, Texas.  Both Clay and Eden whisk off to Texas in search for their Brianna without knowing which one of them is her.  They sign on as counselors in order to find out more.  During their stay at Bluebird Ranch, Clay and Eden grow a bond of love for each girl and for each other.  


Love is not the only thing on Bluebird Ranch.  Someone is determined to keep them from knowing the truth.  When their lives and the lives of the girls hang in the balance, Eden turns to the only thing she knows can help her win this fight.  She turns to her faith in God to save all of them.


This was a fantastic book!  I was kept in suspense till the very end.  I love books that have it all...love, tears, laughter, and yet can still lead me to the edge of my seat wanting to know what happens next.  Colleen Coble did an amazing job with Lonestar Angel.  I believe I will need to seek out her other Lonestar Novels.  

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 

Acceptance

I'm going to get on my soapbox for just a moment.  These thoughts have been weighing heavily on me for too long.

6.	acceptance - a disposition to tolerate or accept people or situations; "all people should practice toleration and live together in peace" toleration, sufferance permissiveness, tolerance - a disposition to allow freedom of choice and behavior

-thefreedictionary.com

To accept someone wholly and completely is not always easy - life is not easy- but it is the right thing to do.  We may not always agree with their choices, but we should allow them the freedom to make decisions for themselves without our judgement.  

Everyday it is something... people fighting over religion, fighting against or for abortion, fighting for or against same-sex marriages, fighting over racial issues...the list goes on and on.  

Good Grief!  Isn't it enough?!  Why fight?  Why argue?  

People deal with good and bad coming in and out of their lives like the tides of the oceans.  People want stability.  They want to know that there is similarity, sameness.  People fear difference.  Why is this?  It is ridiculous what we do to each other and ourselves when we have discord.  We cause pain and stress.  It is bad for our health and the health of others.  Negative actions set bad examples of who we are as people to our neighbors, friends, relatives, and children.  

I hate olives on my pizza, but I know many people do like them.  Should I restrict everyone from getting olives on their pizza just because I dislike them?  NO!  That would be selfish and controlling of me.
  
Think of the olives next time someone worships a different God from yours; thinks abortion is the best choice for herself; falls in love with someone of the same sex....  What may not be right for you doesn't mean it may not be right for your neighbor.  

Love thy neighbor as thyself.

To accept someone unconditionally is to show true love.  Can we put all the judgement, selfishness, and hate aside?  Can we learn to accept each other for who we are?  Can we respect someone's decisions whether we agree or not because we love unconditionally?

         Thanks for listening,

  

Give Halloween Treat Bags

I LOVE holidays!  Of course, this means I LOVE Halloween!  As a kid, we didn't carve pumpkins, and I didn't have any neighbors close by who knocked on my door to say, "Trick-or-Treat."  In other words, after we moved from the city when I was five to the country, Halloween became very boring.


Once I got married and had children, I took the celebration of Halloween to heart.  I get giddy with excitement to carve a pumpkin.  I love watching my children get dressed up to go door to door in search of candy...there's no need to mention my raiding their candy after they go to bed...hehee.  Furthermore, I wait eagerly by the door to hear the faint knock of children dressed in costume.  I know the moment I open it, they will say, "Trick-or-Treat."  


I don't want to be like the one house I went to when I was younger.  Uhhh as interesting as it is, it was also very disappointing...I got a sugarcane.  A real sugarcane!  Imagine a kid trying to find and get to the sugar in a sugarcane.  Ha!  There were also the few occasions of getting an apple or a toothbrush--I'm assuming he was a dentist.  


Soooo, what I decided a few years ago was to become the best Trick-or-Treating house on the block!  Instead of just giving candy, I give them a complete treat bag with all sorts of goodies.

I color fun, Halloween designs on the front of orange bags.  

Then fill it with the following:

• I have all of my friends and family save the unopened toys from fast food restaurants (it is really important that they remain unopened).  
• I print out Halloween themed word searches, mazes, and connect-the-dot pages.
• I buy the Halloween colored mini play dough containers and add one to each bag.
• I add a Halloween themed pencil and bookmark--education is important.
• Then, I toss in a few pieces of chocolate and candy.

The kids LOVE getting the Halloween Treat Bags just as much as my children and I like to give them.  We always have such a good time putting them together, especially drawing the fun, spooky designs on the front.

Pumpkin Bread

Autumn isn't complete without pumpkin bread!  This recipe will quickly become your favorite...all it takes is one bite!


     Ingredients

• 2 cups pureed pumpkin
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 2 2/3 cups sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 shakes of nutmeg (otherwise it will be too strong)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Mix pumpkin, eggs, oil, and water in a large bowl.
2. Mix in the dry ingredients.
3. Stir in the vanilla.
4. Grease and flour 2 bread loaf pans.
5. Pour evenly into the bread pans.
6. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.
7. Let cool on wire racks.
8. Enjoy!

Halloween Pops

I came across Martha Stewart's idea for the white chocolate ghosts years ago, and the kids and I have made them every Halloween since.  You can take her recipe even further by substituting ingredients and making different designs for other holidays throughout the year.


     Ingredients

• 12 ounces of white chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• lollipop sticks (I ran out and used popsicle sticks instead)
• mini semisweet chocolate chips

1. Melt chocolate over simmering water, stirring occasionally.
2. Add oil and stir until fully mixed in.
3. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
4. Drop a spoonful onto the lined sheet and spread into the ghost shape.
5. Put the lollipop stick in the middle.
6. Add the mini chips for eyes and a mouth.
7. Put the sheet in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to eat.

* To make the pumpkins, I substituted peanut butter chips in the place of the white chocolate chips.  Then added red and yellow food coloring to get the orange color I wanted.

Try adding food coloring and shaping them into different holiday designs: trees, eggs, coins.  

Bucket List

"Skydiving is one more thing I can cross off my bucket list."  I said this with enthusiasm as I chatted with my father.  

"Yeah, it's weird that your bucket list has things on it that could actually be the end of your list."  He responded.

My aunt had her thoughts on it as well.  "You are too young to have a bucket list."

I don't consider myself young, but I don't consider myself old either.  I actually started my "bucket list" when I was a young child.  I remember telling my mother that I was going to go to Europe one day.  I think I was probably seven or eight at the time.  I even wrote in my diary that one day I would do this or that before I died.  My list hasn't changed very much as far as the content, but it has gotten longer.  :)   

Why do I have a bucket list?  That answer is simple.

A long life is not guaranteed.  That sounds so blunt and harsh I know, but it is the truth.  We never know when our health may fail or when our time is up.  It is completely unknown.  We can only hope with all our hearts that we will live long and happy lives surrounded by our friends and family.  Shouldn't that be enough?  Well, keep reading...

Live each day as if it is your last!  Do things you want to do NOW while you can!  

Live, Laugh, Love

I don't know how many times I have heard or seen those words and phrases.  It seems everywhere we turn, we are faced with some message telling us to live our lives, laugh till our stomach hurts, and love with all that we have.  Do we do it?  Not usually.  We don't like to put ourselves out there for fear of being hurt emotionally or physically.  But fear is what is really crippling us.  We hurt ourselves and others around us if we don't open up to all possibilities.  

For example: Holding back on love can leave you unhappy or alone and hurt your loved ones.  Put your heart on the line!  Give all of it over.  You might be surprised to watch it grow.  

Jump out of an airplane!  Feel the power of the wind!  See what the Earth looks like from above the clouds--It is amazingly beautiful--breathtaking.  Trust in the person guiding you that you will land safely and unharmed.  Trust is a big word here...we all need to learn how to use it more in our everyday lives.

I don't know if I will live to be 100 or if I will die next week.  No one knows this.  What I do know is that I want to live, laugh, and love while I still can.  And just think of the stories I will may get to share with my grandchildren.  

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all."  - Helen Keller 

“Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” – Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Address

Meaning of Sex?

I know what you are thinking.  You are thinking, What on Earth is Elizabeth thinking talking about sex on her blog?!  Well, it isn't exactly about sex.  It's more about what my daughter thought sex was.


Imagine my horror when I heard my sweet, beautiful, innocent daughter who was playing in her room, say "they are having sex."  WHAT???!!!  I jumped up and practically ran into her room to investigate.  

How could my five year old even know that word, much less what it meant?!

I didn't want to storm in with ferocity and scare her, so I took a deep breath to calm myself before taking on the challenge of the conversation I feared we might have.  I wasn't ready for "the talk" just yet with her.  In my eyes, she's still my baby.

As I entered her room, my eyes scanned over her toys.  I was looking for any sign that she may or may not know the intimacy that word carries for adults.  There she sat among her stuffed animals.  She had them lined up beside each other except for two.  Her giraffe and her brother's elephant were set in front of all the others as if putting on a play.  I watched her as she had the two hug and kiss each other.  

Then, I asked what she was doing.  She gave me the sweetest smile as she told me the tale of how giraffe and elephant, though very different from each other, had fallen in love.  They just got married in front of all their friends (hence the animals lined up facing the two).  She smiled again before saying the very words that sent me to her room in the first place, "They're having sex." She said it so matter of fact as if it were a common, everyday sort of thing.

"Caitlin," I began, "where did you hear this word."  Well, she couldn't recall where she had first heard the word, but she could answer my next question.  "Do you know what this word means?"  I asked praying she would just say "no" and that would be the end of it.  

Instead, she looked up at me with her gorgeous blue eyes, batted her lashes, and flashed me her sweetest grin ever before replying, "Of course I do.  Zach told me."  

My breath caught in my chest.  I had once told Zach, her older brother about sex (I will recount this story at a later time for you).  I thought I made it clear he wasn't to tell his sister about it.  I was still holding my breath.  "What do you think sex means?  What did Zach tell you?" I asked.  

She made her animals hug each other again as she answered, "It means they love each other."  

I resumed my breathing.  "What else does it mean?"  I pressed.  

"It means they get married and love each other.  That's what Zach said.  They hug and kiss and spend time together.  You know like you and Daddy do lots of stuff together?  Well, that's what it means."  She smiled as she recounted her vision of what she thought it meant.

I smiled down at my innocent (thank goodness) daughter as I brushed her hair from her eyes.  "That is exactly what it means...they love each other.  Do me a favor."  I asked.  "Can you use the word 'love' instead of sex for now on for me, please?"

Well, it seems even a five year old can know the meaning behind sex (or what it should mean anyway)--love--without knowing the details.

Heartwarming Chili

When the cold weather pays us a visit, I like throw on my Snuggie...umm...I mean blanket, curl on the couch, and eat something that warms me from the inside out.  Chili just so happens to be one of those warming comfort foods for the cooler months' weather.


     Ingredients

• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 pounds of beef (or venison if you prefer)
• 1 (15-ounce) can stewed tomatoes, run through a food processor to cut up the tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• 5 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• dash of pepper
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 (16-ounce) cans kidney beans, undrained

1. Brown meat with celery, onion, garlic, and green bell pepper.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 1 hour or more if desired.
3. Serve with cornbread muffins.

The Wonder of Your Love

The Wonder of Your Love will bring tears of sorrow and joy to your eyes as you follow Katie Ann Stoltzfus, a widowed Amish woman raising a child while in her forties.  She had lost her husband, Ivan, to another woman which was shameful enough but even more shameful was that the woman was an Englisch (non Amish) woman.  Then, she lost him forever when he died in a car accident.  Her son would never know his father, and all hopes Katie Ann had of getting Ivan back were shattered.


While attending a wedding, Katie Ann meets Eli Detweiler.  He had also lost a spouse.   His wife, Sarah, passed away seventeen years earlier.  It is customary for a widower to remarry after losing a wife, but Eli didn't think he would ever find one who could hold a candle to his Sarah.   So, Eli did the unthinkable (according to the Amish), he raised their six children alone.  This gave Eli an extra gentleness most Amish men do not have.  This both intrigued and scared Katie Ann.  


Time between Katie Ann and Eli allowed for friendship, but could there ever be more?  Eli was done raising children.  He was ready to travel and enjoy a slower pace of having no one to care for except himself.  While Katie Ann was in the beginning stages of raising a baby boy on her own with no man in the house to help her or set a good example for her son.  Do their own personal plans fall in line with God's plans?


Beth Wiseman has a deep affection for the Amish and it shows in her writing.  She opens a door to a secret life that has been shut for us Englischers.  We can live in their world, experience their lives of heartache, and dream their dreams of love.  


This is a great book.  I didn't want it to end.  I kept hoping for more pages to suddenly appear at the end to keep the story going.  It isn't at all what I imagined it to be.  It is SO MUCH BETTER!  

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255