Yearly Archives: 2011

Menu Plan Monday & Black-Eyed Pea Recipe

Posted on by
Reply

Counting down: 20 days until Christmas! If you’re needing some special recipes, check out my Recipe Index at the top of my home page.
.

My mother nearly always made black-eyed peas with snaps, so that’s one reason I like snaps so much.  Also, they just taste good!  So here’s and easy, healthy recipe for Black-Eyed Peas with Snaps & Ham:
INGREDIENTS:

  • Pictsweet Field Peas with Snaps
  • 1/3 package Hormel Natural Choice “Smoked Deli Ham” (No preservatives, 100% Natural)
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil (the fat in this recipe is healthier than fat from ham)
  • Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Cook peas & ham according to directions on the package of peas.  I use about 1/3 package of ham.  Let everyone add olive oil, salt & pepper to taste.  This is so good and healthy.

Here’s our menu for this week:

Monday:  Hormel Natural Choice Deli Ham sauteed in olive oil (2/3 pkg), Black-Eyed Peas, baby carrot sticks

Tuesday:  Chicken Tortilla Soup (didn’t have it last week after all)

Wednesday: Leftover Chicken Tortilla Soup

Thursday:  Italian Chicken Pasta

Friday: Pizza

 

Checking My List

Posted on by
Reply

December is here, and it’s time to get in high gear getting ready for Christmas. I have plenty of wrapping paper that we got after Christmas at Target one year , so we’re doing fine in that department. Now, I just need to check and make sure we have tape, utility knives, scissors, and packing tape for any packages that need to be mailed. We have just about everything on our gifts-to-buy list. I still need to find several gifts for the people I work with and some friends, but we already have gifts for family, gifts for my students at school, for the two tutoring students, etc. I keep checking my list, though, to make sure I haven’t forgotten anybody or anything.

Friendly Friday 12/2/11

Posted on by
2

Welcome to Friendly Friday!

It begins at 8pm Central Thursday nights. Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog, too! Just get the InLinkz code and copy it directly into your post. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way to get even more traffic to your blog and make Friendly Friday more beneficial for everyone.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your family-friendly link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

.
Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers! We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select a blog at random and will feature a link and a write-up for that blog in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight one of those each week. Say hello to the lucky one for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):
.–
A married, twenty-something, full-time accountant, recent graduate, mommy of two adorable kitties and one gorgeous new baby girl, Amy of Heard It From The Hillsis one busy mom. You’ll find everything from reviews, giveaways, freebies, deals, personal updates and more that are filled with great pictures (especially of baby Riley)! If you are pregnant or have recently had a baby, you’ll love to see all of the wonderful items and posts that Amy has about baby products… and see how she chronicled her pregnancy with photos of her growing bump!

.
Now that you know about this wonderful blog, it’s time for you to join in! Add your family-friendly link below and we’ll see you back here every Friday! And don’t forget, you can get the InLinkz code to share Friendly Friday on your blog!
.
All three hostesses appreciate followers through GFC and Twitter, and we’ll follow you back – be sure to leave a comment with your URL and/or Twitter username. Hope everyone has a great weekend! Don’t forget – Friendly Friday now begins at 8pm Central on Thursday nights!



Menu Plan Monday 11/28/11

Posted on by
1

December is almost here and just 27 days until Christmas! If you’re needing some special recipes, check out my Recipe Index at the top of my home page.  For this week, here is a completely different menu which will surprise a few of you since I have three brand new recipes, thanks to Allrecipes.com.

Monday:   Turkey Waldorf Pita  (This recipe is nostalgic to me because it sounds just like what my grandmother and my mother would make after we had a turkey, only minus the pita bread.)

Tuesday:  Turkey Hash

Wednesday:  Chicken Tortilla Soup

Thursday:  Leftover Chicken Tortilla Soup

Friday:  Salmon Chowder

 

The Story Behind the Song: “Yours”

Posted on by
2

A parent’s worst nightmare, your five year old daughter is hit by a car in your own driveway!  And to make it even worse, the driver of the fatal accident is your teenage son!   People.com  and  ABC’s Good Morning America  shared this story which touched the hearts of thousands of people, people all over the world.
.
Some stories behind the song are so sad, yet they reveal such a strong, rock solid faith that no matter what storms come in life, faith remains in the One who carries us through hard times.  Although Chapman wrote and released “Yours“ a year before the tragedy, the last verse of the song relates to their experience and the video shares pictures of the Chapmans’ adopted daughter.  The Chapmans experienced a parent’s worst nightmare and lost their youngest daughter, but they kept their faith!

.

 

I’m Thankful For…

Posted on by
2

There are so many things I’m thankful for!  I was sick for several days this week, so I’m just now getting this written.  Here’s top priority on my list:.

  • God’s love, mercy & grace,  His Word (the Bible), and prayer
  • My dear husband
  • Our precious children (son-in-law included) & precious young grandchildren
  • Relatives (many of whom I rarely or never get to see, but we stay in touch through email and phone calls)
  • Technology which enables us to stay in touch with those we care about and love
  • Loyal friends
  • Our church family
  • My job (even though it gets really stressful sometime with all the other work there is to do, the actual teaching part is wonderful.  I love my students and the people I work with!)
  • Our country with the freedoms we enjoy
  • Blogging and the friends I’ve made through blogging
  • All of the material blessings such as a comfortable home that is so nice to be in when I’m sick
  • A mini-van that gets me to and from work or where I need to go, and that is great for trips with the three of us
  • My health (even with the minor ailments, it’s such a blessing to have good health and the stamina to work at a job like teaching school)

Three Sweet Potato Casserole Recipes

Posted on by
Reply

One of our favorite recipes for holiday dinners is sweet potato casserole.  I’ve listed three below.  The first one is from Michelle, a dear friend of ours.  The second one is from my mother.  She had a way of fixing canned sweet potatoes that did not taste canned, but she never wrote down her recipe.  This is the best I could remember.  The third one is a lighter recipe which sounds really good!.

 

Lighter Desserts for the Holidays

Posted on by
Reply

Need some ideas for desserts that are delicious yet lower fat, lower cholesterol, or lower calories?  Here are four desserts that might work:.

  • Frozen Pumpkin Mousse Pie  from Food Network  (might be better with graham cracker crust).    Calories 279; Total Fat 8.5 g (Sat Fat 2.7g, Mono Fat 1.7g, Poly Fat 1.7g) ; Protein 7g; Carb 44g; Fiber 1g; Cholesterol 43mg; Sodium 158mg
  • Double Chocolate Pudding Pie  from Food Network.   Just a small dollop of real whipped cream on top will still give a taste of richness.
  • Healthified Pumpkin Pie  from Eat Better America  (Cholesterol-free)
  • Creamy Vanilla-Caramel Cheesecake  from Eat Better America.    Calories 180 (Calories from Fat 70); Total Fat 7g (Saturated Fat 4 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 25mg; Sodium 190mg; Total Carbohydrate 21g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 17g); Protein 5g, Exchanges: 1 1/2 Starch; 1 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices.

 

Energy Service Companies

Posted on by
Reply

There are a lot of companies out there competing to be our electric servers. There are several in Texas, Pennsylvania has pennsylvania energy and other companies, etc.  Each state has their own list of providers. We have been with the same company for many years and believe they have the best to offer. It’s important to check out a company thoroughly, read the fine print, and look for reviews on that particular company before you sign a contract.

Menu Plan Monday & Crock Pot Turkey Breast Recipe

Posted on by
Reply

The holidays are here! Wow! I was looking through my Recipe Index at the top of my home page, and shared some holiday recipes last week. One recipe I didn’t share was this one.  If you don’t need a big turkey and/or you’re in a huge time crunch, this slow cooker recipe is great:
:

Crock Pot Turkey Breast:

  • 3-pound turkey breast roast
  • Can of chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or minced garlic)
  • 1/4 teaspoon of minced onion flakes (or onion slices)
  • Optional:  your favorite herbs can be added such as fresh rosemary in place of the garlic

.
Cooking the turkey breast in the crock pot makes it so moist and tender, and I think maybe it’s the best we’ve ever had. And the great thing is that it’s so easy.
.
Also, here’s a recipe for Thyme-Roasted Turkey Breast if you have a bone-in whole turkey breast to cook in the oven.
.
Monday:  Salmon patties, broccoli, carrot sticks

Tuesday:  Leftover salmon patties and veggies

Wednesday:  Barbeque sandwiches

Thursday:  Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the fixings

Friday: Leftovers