A Proverbs 31 Kind of Day

It's Summer! And we are devouring pumpkin muffins like the weather is cool and crisp outside! My boy cherub adores pumpkin! It's kind of weird, but he has always been that way! Anything homemade and pumpkin, he will eat! Funny story... When he was in kindergarten, his Sunday school class was celebrating with a Thanksgiving feast. Every kid was to bring a portion of the meal. We were signed up for green beans. We did our duty and sent our food. After church, we were talking about the feast and asking our cherub questions. He told us there was pumpkin pie and he didn't like it. We were surprised! He said, "Mom, It was store bought!" These muffins are not store bought AND they are delicious! Jumbo Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour mix* 3/4 tsp xanthum gum* 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp ground cloves 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 cup sugar 1 regular can, 15 oz.,  ...

I seriously love croutons. Homemade croutons. Oh, there are some pre-packaged croutons that I like . . . but give me homemade croutons and I'm happy. Truthfully, I was sad when my cherubs decided that they didn't like croutons and ranch dip for a snack anymore! That's when they were very little preschool cherubs! This weekend, I made more cinnamon grilled chicken. I knew the cherubs could take chicken sandwiches in their lunch and we could have the chicken on salad for dinner. That's when I decided we needed croutons too! Last week, I made bread and I took some of that and transformed it into croutons! I wouldn't suggest using regular sandwich white bread, but you can definitely use any "sturdy" bread and make your own salad croutons . . . or snacking croutons! Easy Croutons Leftover bread, cubed (you'll want a firm dense bread such as French bread or homemade bread) olive oil seasonings -- salt and pepper is a grea...

That's a mouth full . . . literally! You'll want a mouthful of this delicious and easy breakfast bread! It's so easy! By this time in the school year, I'm so tired of fixing the same old things for breakfast for my cherubs;  I'm looking for something new to feed them. Confession:  those two lines above--they're a lie. I don't usually fix breakfast for the cherubs during the week. The Mr. does. But I usually have all the things for him to fix breakfast and I try to have some easy "go to" things for some of the "busy" mornings, just to make it easier on him. That's just the kind of wife I am! This is definitely an easy go-to-breakfast treat  . . . not only for breakfast, but when you want a snack, or a dessert. It's delicious for most anytime of the day. I'd like to tell you that it freezes well, but I have no idea! It doesn't last long enough at our house! My boy cherub can polish it ...

Remember the blueberry bread I made? Our friend was over and he kept talking about how good it smelled and kept asking if I was baking it for him? The answer to that was, "NO!" But then I started to feel sorry for him. So I baked him a loaf of breakfast bread. But I didn't have anymore fruit to do the blueberry bread . . .  . . .and I wasn't going to the store just for some blueberries. So I made this instead. It was equally as easy. It smelled just as good baking! I think this is a keeper too! Buttermilk Poppy Seed Bread   2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1 cup buttermilk ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1 teaspoon extract (butter, almond, lemon, vanilla . . . your choice) 2 tablespoons poppy seed Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare one loaf pan; lightly grease the pan with shorten...

Image from the Internet This is a recipe from pinterest. It's also labeled as "Starbucks copy kat recipe."  I'm not sure about that claim. But I know it's good because my friend makes it. Matter of fact, I like it when my friend makes it and shares with me! It's just perfect! The sharing, that is! I'm making this cake and going to freeze it for an easy "vacation" breakfast. It will be devoured, no doubt! That's why I want you to be able to make it too! And maybe you'll decide to share some with a friend! Blueberry Breakfast Cake ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature 2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar 1 egg, room temperature 1 tsp. vanilla 2 cups flour (set aside 1/4 cup of this to toss with the blueberries) 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. kosher salt 2 cups fresh blueberries (I used frozen) ½ cup buttermilk  Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with l...

It's another night at the ball field. Thank goodness I only have one boy cherub to lug around! I'm not sure that I could do this if I had 2 or 8 more boys! At least I have a balance of ballet and baseball! Because on game nights, it can be a little hectic, and because it would be so much easier to grab dinner and run to the field, I really try to make quick, easy, and tasty food! I call it "homemade fast food!" Isn't that ultra-creative? Truly, what you spend at the fast food stop, you can have dinner that is so much tastier, more healthy, and usually have left overs for lunch the next day. I called this "pizza roll ups," because that what it is and I'm not really creative when I name food! Homemade Pizza Rolls 1 Rhodes bread loaf, thawed Deli sliced pepperoni or Canadian Bacon, chopped Chopped onion, optional Parmesan cheese, grated Black Olives, optional Pizza sauce Thaw the frozen bread loaf.  This comes in ...

Image from the Internet We've been making Resurrection Rolls for years now.  When my cherubs were itty-bitty, we began making these. This has been around for many years; I didn't create it -- I simply duplicated it! It's one of the ways we celebrate the Easter season and my cherubs still ask when we're going to make the Resurrection Rolls! We read the Resurrection Story found in Scripture and then we make these treats. This is usually an activity for us to do on Saturday before Easter, but any time you can carve out this week would be a fun experience for your family. Prior to making the treats, read John 19 while the oven is pre-heating according to the package directions.  If you have time, or if your cherubs are older, you can actually read John 12-19, which will give you the entire story. Resurrection Rolls 1 can of Crescent Rolls 1/3-1/2 cup melted butter Bowl of Cinnamon/Sugar Mixture 8 Large Marshm...

Peanut Butter muffin filled with Nutella! This was time change weekend. By the time we left for church on Sunday morning, I had: tried a new coffee done three loads of laundry dealt with e-mail found a new muffin recipe and made it before the cherubs woke up put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher before we left Do you know what the Mr. said when I told him all I had done? "We need time change every weekend!" That's not funny. Because my cherubs love peanut butter, I decided to make peanut butter muffins. My idea was to make peanut butter and jelly muffins. I thought that sound fun. So I baked some with jelly in the center and some were just plain. But on my way to church I thought "filled muffins would be good." So after lunch today, I hollowed out the center of the plain and filled some with strawberry jelly and some with nutella spread. Actually, I thought that I would mix the peanut butter and jelly together and fill the...

As soon as the weather changes, I start getting inspired to try new things. This week, on the menu, are Indian Tacos. I'm not sure that I've ever made these for the Mr. and the cherubs. But as a kid, I remember going to the Oklahoma State Fair and getting an Indian Taco. We could only buy our tacos from one certain Indian Taco stand. Oh, there were others at the fair. But they were impostures, I tell you! But I am not at the fair this week, so I had to make my own. There are several recipes on-line, so I just picked one.  I'm listing it here. After we make it, if we aren't particularly fond of it, I'll try another recipe; but until then, here's what we've got! We topped the fry bread with taco meat, cumin-seasoned pinto beans, shredded lettuce, chopped onions, diced tomatoes, grated cheese, and some salsa.  It was good! Indian Fry Bread (slightly adapted from the original recipe) 1 cup flour 1/4 tsp. ...

The other day, I was showing a friend of ours Pinterest. While on there, I was looking at my boards. Not " my boards ," because I'm not on Pinterest. My mom is on Pinterest. I ghost pin for her. That way, she looks cool and has followers. I started doing that for her when she showed me Pinterest and I noticed she had followers who were following nothing because she didn't have any boards. How boring is that. So I'm helping her. I'm a good daughter that way! On her/my board of Breakfast or Breads or something like that is this idea. So I looked it over and made some modifications. Here's the finished product. See  if you like it! *I've since made and tried these muffins.  I think they're a bit dry, not overly sweet, and needs a little bit more flavor.  You'll find my suggestions at the bottom of this post.  One of my friends who tried the muffin said she "really liked it."  Apple Harvest Muffins 2...

This isn't my photo; it's from the internet. But it does look like my cornbread! My oldest cherub's birthday was last week. At our house, when it's your birthday, you get to have your favorite meal. Whatever you want is what momma fixes. Usually. Unless it's really, really weird! This year, my cherub wanted Cornbread and Chicken. Why? Because of Alan Jackson's song, "Where I Come From." Do you know it? Here's a link to listen:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMfI0qd3fyA Along with the cornbread and chicken, he wanted creamed corn, sweet potato casserole, rolls (which, by the way, I did NOT allow!), and cinnamon rolls for dessert. So, as a good momma . . . I gave that boy what he wanted! Here's one of the recipes from that meal. Cornbread 1/2 cup cornmeal 1 1/2 cups flour 2/3 cups sugar 1 TBSP baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/3 cup oil 3 TBSP butter, melted 2 eggs, beaten 1 1/4 cups milk In a large bowl ...

Seriously, is there anything better? I really don't think there is. When it gets down to the basics of life . . . bread is it! Even Jesus refers to bread in teaching spiritual lessons! "I'm listening!" My cherubs love bread. My cherubs love homemade bread. But let's get realistic. Who really has time for that? Oh, there are some "easy" recipes. It's true. And I use them. Occasionally. But my go-to homemade bread and rolls: Rhodes! It's right there in the freezer section. Usually on the bottom shelf. I honestly don't understand that -- but whatever! I grab a package or two to have on hand for when I'm needing that "fresh baked bread" without all of the effort! Fresh Bread Rhodes bread loaves Pam Butter Take out the number of frozen loaves that you wish to bake. Spray a bread loaf pan with pam. Place one frozen bread loaf...

Say that 3 times fast! Meaty morning muffins. Meaty morning muffins. Meaty morning muffins! Finding something different for breakfast is always my quest. I don't like sending the cherubs off to school without a descent breakfast. It must be how I was raised. Umm . . .I don't remember that! Which is my point!  I don't remember what my mom fed me for breakfast when I was in school .  . . and my cherubs won't remember either. So why do I worry about it? I have NO IDEA ! But I do! So!  Because I do -- you get to have a new recipe to try! That was good for something! Morning Muffins 4 slices bacon 2 cups flour 1 T. baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 2 TBSP sugar 1 TBSP wheat germ 1/2 tsp. salt 2 eggs 1/3 cup milk 1 cup creamed corn 1/4 cup melted butter 1/4 cup oil. Preheat oven to 375.  Prepare a 12 cup muffin pan. Mix dry ingredients together.  In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients.  Make a well i...

Cherries are a great fruit. The Mr. loves cherries; especially the expensive cherries. That would be the Rainier cherries. But he doesn't always get those during cherry season! But he always gets several pounds of Bing cherries when they're in season. The other day, the Mr. went to the grocery store while I was away. Cherries were nearly $3.00 a pound  . . . OR!  He could purchase a flat of cherries for $10.00. He went with the flat. It made better financial sense. Ummm . . . .that'd be 11 pounds of cherries he sat on the counter! Yes. 11. You know how fast cherries can go bad. So he says to me. Me! "What can we do with these?" Funny! You bought them! Now you want we/me to do something with them? Those rhyming words get him mixed up all the time! "I'll pit them if you do something with them."  the Mr. kindly said! So with that information, I set out to "do something" with 11 pounds of cherri...

I remember when the cherubs were little cherubs. They loved to dip croutons in ranch dressing. I loved for them to dip croutons in ranch dressing. That meant I got to eat some croutons. I love croutons! Who ever came up with serving dried out flavored bread on salads? I don't know, but I think I love them! What I don't like about croutons are the cheap, tiny croutons. Can't stand those! What I also don't like is the cost of croutons! The ones I like aren't all that expensive . . .  . . .until you look at the amount that comes in the bag! Remember the Caesar salad I made to take to dinner at a friend's house? I also made homemade croutons! That's one of those crazy things you do when your air conditioner is out! Heat the oven to 250 degree for 2 hours or until all the bread is dried out. Made perfect sense! Make yourself some croutons and impress your friends! This recipe may drive you crazy -- I have no amounts!  It'...

Image from the internet.  It was hard for me to roll, cook, AND take a picture! I think I've already confessed that I love tortillas. Flour tortillas. Warm, flour tortillas. There isn't much that's better than butter on a tortilla, rolled up, and eaten as a snack I'm not sure how, when, or why tortillas were invented. All I can say is, "thank you!" Many years ago, when my boy cherub was just a little cherub,  he and I went to a cooking class while on vacation in Santa Fe one Summer. We had a great time. One of the things we learned to make were tortillas. Now that I'm helping some little girls learn to cook, I thought it would be fun to teach them how to make the tortillas. This is such an easy thing to make and you'll be ultra surprised about how much better they taste than the pre-packaged ones. What I love about making tortillas is you can control how thick you want them.  I generally roll our to...

 My oldest cherub took the pictures for the post. He took 21 pictures . . . and this was the best one ! We work with what we've got! We celebrated Father's day yesterday. The Cherubs wanted to make a pasta dinner because that's what the Mr. likes. But one cherub wanted Caesar salad to go with it. The Mr. doesn't like Caesar salad. The other cherub wanted garlic bread. The Mr. does like garlic bread. But I thought it was so funny that the cherubs were having me cook things for the Mr. that they wanted! I guess they kind of have a right to do that; after all, he wouldn't be celebrating Father's Day if it weren't for them! So we had pasta, and meatballs, and a salad, but not a Caesar salad, and garlic bread, and pecan cobbler. When it comes to garlic bread, I'm always looking for a way to improve it. I've had some really good garlic bread. And I've had some really bad garlic bread. I want to make really good gre...

As you think about having company this weekend and you look over favorite recipes and plan your menu, you may want to add this recipe to your list of "must haves!" Homemade bread! You can't go wrong! Making bread can be so . . . . intimidating! Sometimes it can be finicky . . . Sometimes it can be down-right frustrating! This recipe, though, is neither! I found this recipe on "Tasty Kitchen" and I've made it 3 or 4 times now and I've had the same success each time! Sometimes I make loaves and sometimes I make Parker House rolls.  Once, I even made cinnamon rolls!  Matter of fact, since I've started making this, I've not bought bread at the store.  I make 2 loaves a week, place in the freezer and remove them when we're in need to bread.  While this is a "no knead" bread, it is not a quick bread!  You can make the dough, which goes very fast, but depending on the warmth of your kitchen, it will take several h...

The baked goods at Starbucks are really delicious. But honestly, they're over-priced. For what you pay for one muffin or loaf slice, you can just about make enough to feed your family for a week. Ok, maybe not that much, but close! The Mr. loves the pumpkin muffins from there; and since he bought me 40 cans of pumpkin on sale the other day, I'm trying out all kinds of recipes! I've never had a Starbucks pumpkin muffin (Gasp!), but the Mr. surely has and he says these are just as delicious! And so does my friend, Julie. I took her one for breakfast . . .at Starbucks!  We meet there every Wednesday morning before Bible study. It's a religious experience. I can't remember which website I found this recipe at, but I made some minor changes.  Here's my recipe, which is really their recipe, only tweaked. How do you credit that?  I'm not sure . . . I'll ponder that! Pumpkin Muffins 3 cups  flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon ...

You're going to be amazed with these little gems! Serve them to your friends and they're going to be amazed by your culinary talent. I'm guessing you could go into your kitchen and whip these little treats up in a matter of minutes because these are "normal" ingredients. Don't you love "normal?"  Me too! These sweet bites are great beside a salad or served at a luncheon or shower. Orange-Glazed Tea Rolls 1- 8oz package refrigerated crescent rolls 1 TBSP butter, melted 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon Orange Glaze (recipe below) Preheat oven to 375. Unroll crescent roll dough onto lightly floured board.  Press perforations to seal.  Brush dough with the melted butter.  Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the dough. Roll up, jellyroll fashion, starting at the long side.  Cut into 1 inch thick slices. Place slices, cut side up, in a lightly greased mini muffin pan.  1 slice per mini cup. Bake at 375 for 1...