Baking For the Freezer

 Saturday I spent the day bulk cooking with a friend. We made crock-pot freezer meals, which I have planned to use mostly for noon meals. That way I can just dump the bag into the crock-pot early in the morning, and we have a nice hot meal ready in the middle of the day...no matter how busy it's been!

This fantastic idea made me realize that it would be easy to solve the other problem spot in our day- breakfast. So, I decided to bake up a storm and fill my freezer! We also made a couple of non-breakfast items that will help out with menu planning.

Here's what we made:

Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins

Dinner Rolls

French Breakfast Puffs

Whole Wheat Breakfast Bars

Apple Breakfast Bars

Granola

Pizza Dough

I've already gotten a lot of requests for recipes from posting about this on Facebook- I'll try to get the other recipes up very soon!

It was a great feeling to get so much accomplished. I'm also truly thankful for the world's greatest sous chef!

To store my baked goods, I wrapped them in a double layer of plastic wrap, and then a tight layer of aluminum foil. I also labeled them with the contents and date. 

There's really two ways I defrost them. If I'm not in a hurry, I'll pull out what I need the day before and just let it thaw out overnight. Then I can just reheat. But, if I need something right away, I do use the microwave. Surprisingly it tastes just as fresh as it did when first baked! 

                   

I'm sure I'll be doing much more of this in the future. I'm so thankful for these little tools to keep my home running smoothly!

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Crock-pot Freezer Cooking with a Friend

 My friend Christephi and I got together this Saturday to put together crock-pot freezer meals for our families. I hadn't heard of this concept until recently, and I was quite eager to give it a try! I've found myself getting busier and busier as the children are getting older, and as schooling takes up more and more of my time. I knew that the crock-pot was about to become my new best friend- but this idea makes it even more efficient!

The idea is rather simple. You assemble all of the ingredients for the recipe into a freezer bag. That's it. For the recipes Christephi had chosen there was no precooking involved. We simply chopped and diced all of the vegetables, and then placed all of the ingredients into a labeled freezer bag.

Here's what we made:

Healthy BBQ Chicken
Goulash
Chicken Curry
Teriyaki Chicken
Savory Chicken
Busy Day Stew
Sweet & Tangy Meatballs
Savory Vegetable Beef Soup
Cilantro Lime Chicken with black beans and corn

Shopping by the ingredient list for the recipes, the total cost was right at $200, or about $10 a meal. This is more than I'd typical spend for something like this, but now that I've seen how the recipes go together, I think I could do it again for much less.

Now that I've learned all about this idea, I'm excited to see what else I can do with it. This is something I'll definitely be doing more of in the future! 

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Bulk cooking is definitely more fun with a friend! It was such a blessing to be able to put away so many meals for our families. Be sure to check out my friend's blog where she will be sharing links to the recipes that we used!

Pax Christi,

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"White Sunday" Cake

 Pentecost, also known as Whitsunday, celebrates the birthday of the Christian Church, when the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles. In honor of this special day, we made a "White Sunday" cake.

We used white frosting in honor of it being "White Sunday". The large candle in the center is to symbolize Christ, Who had promised to send the Holy Spirit.

"But the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14:26

The 12 smaller candles surrounding the center candle represent the Twelve Apostles and the tongues of fire.

"And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them." Acts 2:3

The seven hearts represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

"And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:" Isaiah 11:2-3


And the twelve strawberries surrounding the cake represent the Fruits of the Spirit.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another." Galatians 5:22-26

We sang Happy Birthday to the Church before blowing out the candles with a "mighty wind".


Blessings Abound,

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Celebrating Pentecost

 Fifty days after Easter, we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. Ten days after our Lord Jesus had ascended into Heaven, the Twelve Apostles, His Mother Mary, and others had gathered to pray. Like a mighty wind, the Holy Spirit descended upon them. The apostles began to preach to the Jews that had gathered and each heard in their own native tongue. It's said that around 3,000 people were converted and baptized that day!

The boys made wind twirlers as we learned about the "mighty wind". They boys thought these were great fun!

We also made stick puppets of the Twelve Apostles.

We made a special Pentecost Feast! We used recipes that would be symbolic of the amazing things that happened that day.

 Daddy made "Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit Bean Dip". You can use any basic seven layer bean dip recipe for this.

The seven gifts are: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.

We also made a "Twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit Fruit Salad". You could use any twelve fruits, but we chose pineapple, banana, watermelon, peaches, kiwi, green grapes, red grapes, cantaloupe, strawberries, raspberries, black berries, and apples. The Twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit are: Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Benignity, Long Suffering, Mildness, Faith, Modesty, Continence, and Chastity.

We also made Tongues of Fire Cookies. "And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them." Acts 2:3

The Catholic feast of Pentecost has also been known as Whitsunday, from “White Sunday,” in reference to the white garments worn by those being baptized on the feast day. We decided to set our supper table with white linens, and use our white china, white candles, and white floral arrangement in honor of this tradition.

Our "Twelve Apostles" even joined us for supper!

We thank God for the beautiful celebration, and for each of the gifts that He has so graciously given to us!

Pax Christi,

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Ascension Thursday

Happy Ascension Thursday!  Today, we celebrate the bodily ascension to Heaven of our Lord Jesus. Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of Our Father.

We celebrated this joyous remembrance with a picnic lunch on our front lawn. We made a "feast" of pepperoni pizza, sliced apples with peanut butter dip, and chocolate chip cookies. It was the perfect day for a picnic!

                                                                    

 Mama read the story of the Ascension from the Bible.

"And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen." Luke 24:50-53

 

We played fun games to help remind us of why we were celebrating! Can you keep the balloon up in the air by hitting it forty times?

We also made a fun craft. But, the boys were most excited about getting to go to church that evening! Feast days are so grand!

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Transparent Motherhood

 

I'm a stay at home mom. I'm also a mom who homeschools. That means, yep, you guessed it, I'm pretty much always home with my children. Yes, I'm around my children all day, every single day.


This is an awesome thing. I get to see first hand all of the "firsts", all of the joys of learning something new, all of the sweet moments and triumphs. We spend so much time together that we can know what each other is thinking, and feeling, without saying a word, It's a wonderful closeness. I wouldn't trade it for anything...

With this closeness comes another side though. Because we spend every.waking.moment together, we also get to see every failure, every shortcoming, and every mistake. There's a transparency that I don't think could really compare to anything else.

My children see nearly everything I do. Good, bad, or ugly, they are usually right by my side. When the two year old writes all over my favorite planner, they see how I react. When I stub my toe, they're watching. I'm a real person, with real emotions, and my actions and reactions aren't always perfect. I fail, every day, and my children are right there to see it.

My children also like to talk. A lot. I'm a rather quiet person, so this can be a test for my patience. And, I don't always pass the test.

It's not easy, always having that responsibility. But, something amazing has also come out of that. You see, I realized that even though they see that I'm not the sweetest person before my morning coffee, and that I tend to skip breakfast, and that I really really don't like being poked in the face, they love me. They really love me. They want to be around me. They don't want to not be together all the time. It's amazing. They know my every shortcoming and they still love me. It's nothing short of amazing. It reminds me of another Someone who loves me. Another Someone whose love for me is unconditional.

Having that transparency keeps me accountable. Do they see me pray? Do they see me read my Bible? Are my actions honoring to God? Am I kind? Do I have a bad attitude? Do I do my best in my work around the house? How do I react when no one else is looking?

It also reminds me that it's ok to not be perfect. I'm still lovable, even as a flawed human being. I can be loved and love others, without having to be perfect.

I'm thankful for the transparent relationship I have with the boys. I pray that our closeness will remain as they grow older. I am thankful that they know how much I love them. I'm thankful that I know how much they love me.

Pax Christi,

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A Little Family Update

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 Well, I hadn't intended to go so long without writing, but it's been a busy time of moving and settling in to our new home. We've been here about a month now, and there's still some small things left to do...but we are mostly finished unpacking. It's been a huge change from our old farmhouse in the country, but we just love it here. It's amazing to see how God works. Sometimes we can see where He's taking us, and still be shocked at the path He chooses to take us there! 

The boys are loving their new home as well. I'm amazed at how much they each seem to be growing right before my eyes! 

Jacob has started second grade. He was just so excited to begin a new adventure! He's also been really working hard as my kitchen helper. He has such a desire to learn to bake and cook. I enjoy having working with him. His favorite task is making bread. Jacob has been learning how to read a recipe, and follow the instructions on his own. It's just amazing to me to see him doing such things! 

Joshua is a first grader now! He'd been full of eager anticipation to begin. It's so neat to see his little mind soaking up information. He's hit the phase of asking a million (it might not actually be a million, but it sure seems that way some days!) questions, and wanting to understand every thing. Just the other morning he asked Daddy, "Would it take all day to brush a shark's teeth?" He wasn't asking in a silly way, but rather had just been pondering. I think his mind is just always going. 

Little Joseph is becoming not-so-little anymore. His face is beginning to lose the preschooler chubbiness, and he's sprouting up like a weed! He's excited to begin violin lessons with his brothers. Joseph is quite proud of his newly perfected bed making skills. I love the way his face lights up when he feels good about a job well done!

James has been such a mama's boy lately. Well, I suppose he's always been a mama's boy, but lately he wants to cuddle, hug, and climb into my lap at every opportunity. He is always right by my side, like a chubby adorable shadow. It's just precious when he looks at me and says, "Kiss me, Mommy!" Or, when we sit down to eat he says, "We bless the Lord now!" He's also found the joy of singing. His favorite song is Jesus Loves Me. It's just precious how he always wants to add "Amen" to the end of the songs! 

 

Baby John David also seems to be in a hurry to get big! He's such an active little one, always rolling around and playing rambunctiously with toys. I put him in the walker yesterday and he immediately began scooting all around the school room. He just wants to do and see and be right in the middle of everything! I have never seen a baby who smiles so much, or so easily. 

This month we attended our first homeschool conference.  I was amazed to see so many homeschooling families all in one place! The curriculum fair was awesome. We were able to purchase first and second grade books and character training materials and leave feeling inspired!

Well, I'm sure there's so much more to update, and I'll be adding pictures and such as time allows. Now that we have regular internet again, I look forward to being able to blog more frequently. :)

Love and Blessings,

 

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