Try a New Recipe Tuesday- August 7

It's that time again!  I look forward to seeing/trying all of your delicious recipes!

I'm sharing another breadmaker recipe today.  On a daily basis, I make my regular Italian bread which I posted here a couple of months back.  But, for a nice change, there is the Garlic Herb Cheese bread, which is quite good.  :-)

1 1/2 cups water
2 tbs. margarine or butter
3 cloves garlic crushed
4 3/4 cups bread flour
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbs. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp each of dried rosemary, thyme and basil
2 tsp yeast

Set to rapid cycle, large loaf
Enjoy!

Sorry I don't have any photos of the bread.  We have been busy around here getting ready for our homeschool year to start back up as well as starting to pack for our family vacation.  Hope you have a wonderful week!  God bless!  :-)

Linking up with: Kids in the Kitchen, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Mighty Arrows, Addicted to Recipes, Homemaking Wednesdays, Living Well Wednesday, NOBH, Judy H-J's Thoughts, Wisdom Wednesday , Favorite Things and Modest Mom

Make Life Meaningful Monday- August 6

This weekend started as we celebrated our 16th anniversary with a nice dinner together and a movie.  Before we went out, we were treated to a chorus of "Happy Anniversary" with a 16 on the pie and a "1" for good luck, lol.  :-)  The kiddos got to have an evening of ice cream and the Olympics with their grandparents.

On Saturday, Kiddo #1 went away for an overnight with his Civil Air Patrol group.  They made and launched model rockets and kiddo brought and flew two of his model airplanes, as well.

We went to church in the evening on Sunday after Kiddo came home, as we always like to go together as a family.  I had never been to this church before and found it to be a sweet, little church with an enthusiastic congregration and a wonderful sermon to boot.  It really struck me when he gave a story about a man, who had made some pretty poor choices in his life, now faced with his son possibly doing the same thing, realized that he needed to turn to God for the answers and advice. He needed God in his life. That when we turn to the world, the media and our peers instead, we will not get the correct answers and advice and will not be lead on the right path.  These are the wrong influences and can jeopardize our souls.  When young people have a better relationship with the world and their peers than their own parents and the Lord, the child will be lost.  The Lord patiently waits for us to turn to Him.  He will welcome us home with open arms and with unlimited forgiveness.  We just need to ask.   He is always there to give us answers, advice, love and forgiveness.  What an amazing, incredible and awesome thought to begin the new week, don't you think?  :-)

Linking up with Modest Monday, On, in and around Mondays and Inspire Me Monday in addition to Wisdom Wednesday and Living Well Wednesday

Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly Wrap-up August 3

It's August!  And, today, August 3rd is our 16th wedding anniversary. Wow.  And, with 4 kids in 5 1/2 years, a deployment to Iraq and lots else in between, it has certainly been eventful, but I wouldn't trade these years for anything in the world.  :-)

It was a quiet and relatively uneventful week for a change!  And what a nice change it was!  On Sunday, Kiddo #1 flew with his RC club.

I posted more photos of him flying here.

The kids enjoyed swimming

and we picked cucumbers every day from our garden and were even able to get some peas.

I hosted my weekly recipe linkup and shared my grandmother's homemade gravy (sauce) recipe.  You can find it, and all of the other recipes here.

We supported Chick-Fil-A (I posted about it here), and while we were at the mall, Kiddos 3 and 4 enjoyed a merry-go-round ride.

We are also enjoying the Olympics everyday and are learning about Great Britian, the many different nations that are represented, what their flags look like (boy, there are so many more than when we were kids, lol!) and keeping a medal count.  We are so proud of our Olympians!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  :-)

Linking up with Create with Joy, Homeschool Mother's Journal and Weekly Wrap-Up

Thankful Thursday- August 2

Yesterday (Wednesday), being a part of something so amazing as supporting Chick-Fil-A, has made me very thankful.  Thankful that the people of this nation have come together to support our religious freedom and freedom of speech and in such record numbers.  It has given me hope and encouragement for the future.

The first few photos are those from around the nation and the bottom one is of my family enjoying their Chick-Fil-A lunch at our mall food court.  God bless America!

Linking up with: Red Oak Lane, Raising Mighty Arrows, NOBH and A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings

Wordless Wednesday- August 1

Below are some photos of the kids swimming (yay!  I found modest suits at Lands' End that they all really like) and of Kiddo #1 flying some of his aircraft with his RC club (he is really good!)  :-) (I also included a great cloud and moon shot I got while kiddo was flying)

Linking up with: Judy H-J's Thoughts, Mama to 4 Blessings, Create with Joy ,  Living Well Wednesdays, NOBH and Favorite Things

Try a New Recipe Tuesday- July 31

Time for another week of sharing recipes!  :-)  I always look forward to seeing (and trying!) them. 

This week, I am sharing my mom's (it was my grandmother's before her) recipe for homemade gravy (aka tomato sauce).  We jar the tomatoes every year (it is almost that time, as you can see by the empty jars).

You could easily cut this recipe in half, as this yields enough to eat it twice in a week.

2 quart jars of tomatoes
2 cans of tomato paste
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 tbls. minced onion
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 tbls. olive oil
handful of grated pecorini romano cheese

Empty jars and about 1/2-3/4 jar of water each into a large pot.  Add cans of tomato paste, filling each with water and adding into the pot.  Add all other ingredients except cheese.  Stir.  Turn on burner to medium high, stirring often.  Once it reaches a rolling boil, lower the burner, cover and stir every 10-15 minutes.  The longer you do this, the thicker your gravy/sauce will be.  We do it for at least an hour.  If you have frozen (but cooked) meatballs (which we also make from scratch and I shared last month), add them in at this point and they will not only defrost, but they will add the meat flavor, as well.  Add the cheese the last time you stir, so it will have time to melt in.

Enjoy!  There is nothing like it, truly!  :-)

Now it's your turn!




Linking up with: Kids in the Kitchen, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Mighty Arrows, Addicted to Recipes, Homemaking Wednesdays, Living Well Wednesday, NOBH, Judy H-J's Thoughts, Wisdom Wednesday , Favorite Things and Modest Mom

Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly Wrap-up July 27

Wow, the last week of July is gone! 

On Monday, Kiddo 1, 2, hubby and I went to a Phillies game.  It was a comedy of errors to get there (late trains, having to get off of a subway train that broke down), but we finally did.  It was a great come from behind win for our team and we had a really good time.

I also took some beautiful pictures of the sunset that I posted in my Wordless Wednesday post.  Here is one of my favorites.

On Monday, I also posted about our little garden.  We are starting to have vegetables now, and it is very exciting for us, as we started all of the plants from seeds. 

Tuesday, after our very late baseball night, was a lazy-hazy kind of summer day with swimming for the kiddos, and trying to conquer Mt. Washmore for me.  :-)  Don't know if I'll ever reach the peak, lol.
While I was making that trek, I had a little help from Mittens who wanted to steal a sock.

I also posted my "Try a New Recipe Tuesday" linkup.  I shared my Nutella Muffins recipe.  There were lots of great recipes shared this week.

Thursday was haircuts for the boys and sewing class for Kiddo #4.  She is making her own doll!  It amazes me how much she has learned and how beautiful her projects are becoming.  When we were in Williamsburg last year, we bought her a book that had patterns for old-fashioned dolls and clothing.  She finished the doll last week and made her blouse this week.  Next week comes the skirt.  I can't wait to see it.  :-)

Thursday was also my parents' kittens' first birthday.  We bought them a toy that they just loved.

I shared more pictures of them here, for my Thankful Thursday post.

Looking forward to this weekend.  Kiddo #1 will be flying RC aircraft in his club's exhibition on Sunday.  I will be sure to take lots of pics.  :-)  Hope everyone has a great weekend, as well! 


What I'm reading: "I Surrender: Thoughts on making Christ the center of your daily life," and lots of canning recipes. :-)

What I'm praying for: our country, members of our armed forces, for our religious and conscience freedoms, those who are sick or suffering.....

A quote or photo to share:  "I realize that I am unable, unworthy and incapable of anything, but if you (Lord) wish it, you can make me do marvelous things... I no longer have anything of my own, I am entirely yours, and yours in the way that you love best..."--St. Bartholomea Capitanio

Do your children like Perler Beads?  Kiddo #4 has literally made dozens of them.  This is one that she made for one of her brothers of a football and goalpost.  Thought it was really cute and clever.  :-)

Linking up with Create with Joy, Homeschool Mother's Journal and Weekly Wrap-Up.