Frugal Friday!

It's Frugal Friday hosted by Mrs. Crystal at Biblical Womanhood

My Frugal Friday tip is Easy Peanut Butter cookies with only 4 ingredients.

1 cup of peanut butter
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350^.Blend all ingredients, mix well until thoroughly mixed. Drop by rounded tablespoon on to a greased cookie sheet. Make fork marks on top by crossing the marks. Cook until spread out and not shiny. These will come out of the oven slightly gooey. When they cool, they are cookie consistency. Yummy! Enjoy!

For more great Frugal Friday tips, visit Mrs. Crystal at Biblical Womanhood

--Courtney

WFMW!

It is WFMW hosted by Mrs. Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.My WFMW tip is chocolate milkshakes without ice cream! My Mom found this recipe at Hillbilly Housewife. The recipe is:

Magic Milkshakes

1-1/2 to 2 cups ice water

1-1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 to 1-1/2 trays of ice cubes, as much as you can spare

2 tablespoons corn oil plus a 5-second squirt of non-stick spray for emulsification purposes


Place all of the ingredients into the blender, including the oil and the non-stick spray. Use less water for thicker milk shakes and more water for shakes that are easy on your blender motor. The blender should be about 3/4's full. Place the lid on. Process for a full 2 minutes. Pour into cups and serve. Makes 4 - 12oz servings. For preparation tips please see below.

I love this recipe because it makes very rich milk shakes without any ice cream. I don't always have ice cream in the house because the kids eat it so fast. With this recipe we can have delicious frosty milk shakes for a fraction of the cost of those using ice cream. And all the ingredients are on the pantry shelf!

For more WFMW tips, visit Mrs. Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer.

--Courtney

TTTT!!!!!!!!!!

Today is the very first "Totally Terrific Teaching Tuesday!"
Basically, you post teaching tips for homeschooling! Please link yourself with the autolinky and leave a comment to let me know you dropped by!

Have fun!



Courtney

A Tribute To My Dad....

*Edited at bottom*

Today is my dear Dad's birthday. I wanted to post a special letter to him.

Dear Dad,
Thank-you so very much for being there for us all these years. I personally have really appreciated it.

You are so very special to all of us. I enjoy the fact that you take the time to talk, teach and discipline us so that we will be better people. You impact all who are around you. You are a shining beacon of light for the gospel. You have been through so many things, yet you never complain. I love the fact that I was lucky enough to have you for a Dad.

I love you very much. Happy Birthday!
Your Daughter,
Courtney

*Edited to say: My Dad's birthday was on the 9th. I am very sorry I am just now posting this!

Courtney

New Day.

I just love having a new day to start fresh from! All the old is wiped away and there is a whole new day waiting for life! Awesome!

Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

His creation is wonderful! I don't know how anyone could doubt that there is a God....I will say it again: God's creation is wonderful!

1 Timothy 4:4 "For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,"

Good Quote...

"Brothers and sisters are each other’s natural keepers. If they fulfilled their duties in this regard, the one to the other, life would show fewer wrecks. They should shield each other. They should be an inspiration to each other in the direction of all noble thought and better life. They should be each other’s guardian angels in this world of danger and of false and fatal paths."
J.R. Miller

--Courtney

WFMW-Kitchen Edition

It is WFMW hosted by Mrs. Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer

My WFMW tip is using cafeteria trays in your kitchen.
One way we use ours is in our refrigerator. We put the contents of the fridge on the trays, so when it is cleaning time, you just pull them out and wipe them off. Very easy!

Another way we use them is bread making/kneading trays. Simply place a wet rag under the tray so it doesn't slide and presto! A cheap rolling surface that can be ran through the dishwasher. They can be used as craft trays, puzzle making surfaces, breakfast in bed trays, etc. Have fun! We found ours on ebay!

It Works For Me! For more great WFMW tips, visit Mrs. Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer

--Courtney

Roll Recipe!!

We experimented with a new dinner roll recipe last night. These rolls are not only gorgeous, but they are super easy to make!
Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 package active dry yeast (or 1 Tablespoon)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

About 3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Cornmeal (used to keep the dough from sticking to pan)

1 egg and a splash of milk (or water can be used)

Sprinkle fine sea salt

Proof the yeast using the first 3 ingredients.






Mix for about 2 minutes and then remove from bowl and knead for about 5 minutes by hand.






Transfer dough to bowl, cover with tea towel and let rise for about 40 minutes - the dough should rise slightly.






(The dough has risen)






Remove dough from bowl and cut the dough into four equal pieces.


Roll each piece into a small sausage-shaped roll (about 8 inches long). Cut each roll into four equal pieces.







Form each piece into a ball by rolling it between the work surface and the palm of your hand, slightly cupped, bringing the seamed edges under or on the bottom. Place balls on a baking sheet lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Be sure to space your rolls about 2 inches apart.






You can also form the balls into knots by rolling them out into sausage links and then make a half knot and place on the baking sheet.







Cover with damp cloth and let rise again for about 40 minutes.







Preheat the oven to 475°F.



Mix 1 egg and splash of milk (or water) and lightly brush each roll with the egg wash.


Place baking sheet in the oven and bake rolls until golden brown - about 12 to 15 minutes.



Transfer the rolls to a rack to cool - this will allow the air to circulate under and around the bread to ensure a nice crust.







Quick Tip:



Keep an eye on your rolls towards the end of cooking time. You may need to turn your pan around to provide even cooking or browning.



Enjoy!


Courtney

Adventures in Bread Baking...

Tonight we decided to try a new roll recipe.

Here is the recipe link:
Mrs. Catherine's Blog

Here is my finished product:



All in all a successful recipe!

We have been quite busy today. Along with the normal things, we hung 5 loads of laundry outside! Yippee!!! I love the smell of the clothes when they come in!
Joshua (You can read his blog here )also helped Mom with webwork for her About.com site.

I must run!

Have a good evening!
Courtney

Frugal Friday!!!

My Frugal Friday tip is Ribbon Bookmarks. You can make these for under 25 cents!

First, you cut a length of ribbon about 10-20 inches long. Coat each end of the ribbon with clear nail polish or Aileen's Craft Glue. Slide a bead onto the ribbon, then fold in half. Tie a knot under where your bead is.

Here is a picture to demonstrate:



Now, tie knots about an inch from the bottom of each loose end.



You are finished!
Here is what they look like finished:


You can put beads on the bottoms if you would like, but that is optional.

For more great Frugal Friday tips, you can visit Mrs. Crystal at Biblical Womanhood.

Prayer Requests:
Please pray for our family. We are having some issues right now and can really use some prayer.

Today I Am Thankful For:

Today I am thankful for the beautiful day we have outside and for our safety during the catastrophic storms that came through yesterday.

Scripture Meditation:
1 Kings 4:29
"Solomon's Wisdom
29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore."
Have a great day!
Courtney