Linda @ Linda’s Lunacy

Everyday Homemaking- Everyday Cooking Review

September 5, 2012 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

As part of The Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received Everyday Homemaking’s Everyday Cooking ebook. This review is part of The Molly Crew. The Molly Crew provides product reviews for your home and family.

Everyday Cooking is a collection of tried-and-true recipes for simple, everyday cooking with an emphasis on whole foods. Vickie Bentley is a busy homeschooling mother of eight. She knows what it’s like trying to take care of a family and put tasty, nutritious food on the table every day. Everyday Cooking also has plenty of hints and tips to help you.

I didn’t print out the ebook, I used it straight from my computer. Check out my tip for cooking with the computer. Everyday Cooking will make a nice cookbook when printed out. I very well may do so in the future, especially as my daughters start making more and more recipes from it.

Chapters included in the cookbook are:

Timesaving Tips
Breakfast Ideas
Appetizers and Dressings
Breads and Grains
Main Dishes & Soups & Sides
Deserts & Snacks
Basic Measurements and Helps
Meal Planning and Shopping Hints
Basic Cooking Skills Checklist
Sample Menus and Menu Planning Masters
Basic Kitchen Accessories
Kitchen Equipment
and more…

The only thing I didn’t like was quite a few recipes called for instant rice. I never use instant rice. I try to use brown rice most of the time, but my husband prefers white rice. So I make that about half the time for him. Other than that, I didn’t have any problems with any of the recipes. There are a lot of recipes that I want to try. I also found quite a few recipes that I’ve seen before online. It does make it handy, though, to have them all included in this cookbook.

Here are a few of the recipes I tried:

Italian Chicken and Rice This recipe was one that called for instant rice. With a simple adjustment, I served it with brown rice and green beans from our garden.

Hamburger Gravy – served over our homemade biscuits, it was a lunch that the kids loved. My mother used to make something similar when I was growing up, only the gravy was milk based. It’s nice to have a non dairy version.

Chicken Taco Rice Ok, that’s not chicken, it’s hamburger. That would be user error. I guess I was thinking “tacos” when I pulled the hamburger out of the freezer. It was already defrosted when I realized my error, so I just went with it. This picture was taken before the cheese was added on the top. Chicken or beef, this is a recipe that my family loved. Next time, I will use chicken and try serving it on a bed of lettuce with diced onion and sour cream on top. yum!

Italian Chicken and Pasta was another winner for my family. I served it with zucchini from our garden and it was delish. This will definitely be a regular on our menu.

I haven’t tried any of the desert or bread recipes yet. I went straight for the main courses. Those are the recipes that make the biggest difference in cooking for my family. I know my daughters will love to try all the desert recipes.

You can view sample pages , 12 in all, including the table of contents. Under the picture of the book, click “Preview” . Everyday Homemaking is a great cookbook and kitchen help for young and old alike. With all the extra helps included, it would also make a great addition to a home ec course.

Everyday Homemaking is a 100 page coil bound print book selling for $17.99, $14.99 in eBook form.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this ebook in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. My opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Conquer Your Fears and “Live to Give” Webcast

September 5, 2012 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Thomas Nelson Author and Hoops of Hope founder, Austin Gutwein, to host September 6 online event to focusing on themes his latest release, Live to Give.

On September 6 at 8 PM EDT, Austin Gutwein will be hosting a live Facebook web event to encourage participants to conquer their fears and use their talents to help others. The webcast will center on the themes Gutwein writes about in his latest release “Live to Give: Letting God Turn Your Talents into Miracles” (Thomas Nelson/August, 2012). At the conclusion of the webcast, the winners of a month-long social media fueled “Get and Give” contest will be announced, including the winner of a Kindle Fire and $250 donated to the winner’s charity of choice.

Join Austin on the evening of Thursday, September 6th as he shares about his own experiences and encourages others to conquers their fears and “live to give”. Austin will also be taking audience questions and interacting with participants. PLUS – there will be several “Live to Give” giveaways – books, gift certificates and much more! RSVP today and tell your friends.

Based on the John 6 story of Jesus feeding the 5000, in “Live to Give” Gutwein challenges his readers that regardless of age and talent, God can use them to make a difference. Even though God could take care of everything Himself and doesn’t really need our help, He desperately WANTS us to help Him care for others. Gutwein walks young people through discovering and embracing their unique God-given strengths and abilities, then figuring out how to use those talents to help others. Sometimes doing that takes a leap of faith on our part, and often becoming fearless in the process.

More about Austin: At eighteen years old, Gutwein speaks with wisdom and has the experience to reinforce his message. When Austin was just nine years old, he watched a video that showed children in Africa who had lost their parents to AIDS. Gutwein realized these kids weren’t any different from him—except they were suffering. Feeling called to help, he took his love of basketball and decided to shoot free throws to raise money for orphans in Zambia. On World AIDS Day in 2004, he shot 2,057 free throws to represent the 2,057 kids who would be orphaned during his day at school. Through sponsorship from parents and friends, Gutwein raised over $3,000 that day to give hope to eight orphans in Zambia.

Over the past eight years, Gutwein’s efforts have created Hoops of Hope, the largest free throw marathon in the world. With an estimated 40,000 people in more than 25 countries participating, Hoops of Hope has raised more than $2.5 million to build schools, medical clinics, dormitories for orphanages, and the only computer lab in Zambia.

Enter to win a Kindle Fire and have $250 donated to your favorite charity. Click for the banner for details and entry or visit http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/13528976/livetogive.

Learn more about Austin and Hoops of Hope at www.AustinGutwein.com and www.HoopsOfHope.org.

Notable Novelists – Card Game Review

September 4, 2012 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

As part of The Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received a deck of Notable Novelists cards to review.

Notable Novelists is a card game for book lovers, ages 12 and up. The cards feature 18 novelists of the 20th century.

James Baldwin
Flannery O’Connor
James Joyce
Virginia Woolf
Ernest Hemingway
Vladimir Nabokov
Zora Neale Hurston
Kurt Vonnegut
Willa Cather
Edith Wharton
D.H. Lawrence
Richard Wright
Roberto Bolaño
John Cheever
Saul Bellow
William Faulkner
E.M. Forster
F. Scott Fitzgerald

As you can see by the picture below, each author has three cards:

The Author Card includes the author’s name, portrait and birth/death date.
The Library Card includes 3 important books by the author.
The Bio Card includes a piece of biographical information about the author.

-The rules to play Notable Novelists are very similar to go fish, I think. After dealing four cards to each player, 2 or more players, the remaining cards are placed in a pile face down. The youngest player goes first by asking any player for one of the three cards for a specific author For example, the would ask for “James Baldwin author card”. If the player being asked has the card, they have to give it to the person asking. If the card completes a set of three, the player lays them on the table, and asks another player for another card.

-If the player asked doesn’t have the requested card, you pick the top card from the pile. If the card is the one requested, you show the group and place your Literary Set on the table.

-If the card picked doesn’t complete a set, but is the card you requested, you show the other players, place the card in your hand, and request another card from any player. If you do not pick the card you requested, place the card in your hand, and your turn is over.

-Play moves to the right, and the game ends when all the Literary Sets have been made. The player with the most sets wins.

The instructions include an alternate way to play, also. One player lays out three Author Cards face up for all the players to see. They then read aloud information from the Bio Card or the Library Card. The first player to identify which author the information is about gets to keep the Author Card. Another Author Card is then placed face up on the table with the remaining cards, and play continues until all the Author Cards have been won. We haven’t played this way yet. As we learn more about the authors while playing the first set of directions, we will move on the playing this alternate way.

We really liked playing Notable Novelists. Because I’m a book lover, I played along with my kids. It’s an easy, fun game for the whole family. It’s a fun game, and at the same time, an educational game. This card game is a great way to introduce these authors and their works to kids. The instructions say for ages 12 and up. I think ,however, if you have a book lover who is 10 or 11 they would love and benefit from playing this game.

Notable Novelists is a great game for book lovers, game lovers, parents, and educators. It would also make a great gift.

The Notable Novelists card game sells for $10.95 on The Notable Novelists website.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this deck of cards in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. My opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

What’s For Dinner?

September 3, 2012 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I’m officially doing away with left over night. I have come to the conclusion that it takes more effort to warm up all the leftovers, and wash all the pans then it does to just cook a simple meal. We don’t have a microwave, so all leftovers are warmed up on the stove top, oven, or toaster oven. Since left over night usually involves leftovers from a couple of different dinners, it takes a lot of pans. Can I just say I’m tired of washing dishes? lol No dishwasher here, either. Well, except for me! lol

The Menu:

Saturday – Sabbath- Make ahead meals- Italian Chicken with Pasta, zucchini

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Homemade Bean Soup, Chicken sandwiches, homemade pickles, carrot sticks

Monday – chicken – Cookout- Hamburgers with fixings, homemade potato salad, homemade baked beans, stuffed eggs, carrot sticks, desert?

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – BBQ Chicken pizza using our homemade pizza crust, carrot sticks

Wednesday – super simple – Frittata, green beans from the garden

Thursday – beef – Tacos with all the fixings, including homemade sour cream and homemade taco sauce

Friday – Sabbath Dinner – Oven Fried Chicken, Oven Roasted Zucchini and Onions, quinoa

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

Honey Peanut Butter Cereal Bars

September 3, 2012 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I saw a recipe for cereal bars on Facebook last week. They used a different cereal than I did, they used Cherrios. I decided to use brown rice crispy cereal.

These are so good! I’m going to make these when we want rice crispy treats, instead of using marshmallows. These are better for you, and taste better. Use a natural sugar instead of white sugar, and this aren’t too bad in the nutrition department. My whole family loved them!

Honey Peanut Butter Cereal Bars

Recipe Type: dessert

A very good alternative to marshmallow treats

Ingredients

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
3 cups brown rice crispy cereal

Instructions

Combine honey and sugar and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves.
Remove from heat.
Add peanut butter, stir well.
Fold in cereal.
Pour into a greased pan, pressing down firmly.
Chill for 1 hour.

Notes

If using a different cereal, start with 2 cups, then add more if needed.

Or if your like me, put in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill quickly. lol

I don’t know the original source for this recipe, if I find out, I’ll give credit.

For more recipes, visit:

[Read more…]

The Bible in 90 Days

September 2, 2012 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

It’s time for our Week Three Check-in!

How’s everyone doing?

I’m about 3 days reading away from being caught up! By next week, I WILL be caught up! Anybody else behind but determined to finish on schedule? There are 2 grace days built into the reading plan. I like to save the days for later on.

How’s everyone doing?

Don’t forget the Bible in 90 Days Twitter Party! To make keeping up with the party easier, they’ve started a TweetGrid for the parties. Here’s the link:

http://tweetgrid.com/grid?l=2&q1=%23B90days&q2=From%3AMomsToolBox+OR+From%3AJulieDutch&q3=TO%3A_YourUserName&htag=B90Days

You can follow all the posts with the #B90Days tag.

Here are a few links:

Links for all the bookmarks for the chronological plan:

You Are Here in the Bible (Ted Cooper of the Bible in 90 Days Ministry created You are Here in the Bible to help Bible in 90 Days readers get a snapshot of most of the books of the Bible as they were reading. His aim was to keep readers reading and not researching, therefore preserving more time for reading the entire Bible. This link takes you to page of links to each of his entries.) These You Are Here in the Bible pages are great for yourself, or to do together as a family.

Ok, it’s time to leave a comment below with your progress.

God bless you in your journey to read The Bible in 90 Days!

Saturday on the Farm

September 1, 2012 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I have a lot of pictures to share this week. I’ll start with what we harvested this week. I’m sure we harvested more yellow squash, as we’ve been eating it, and I put a couple of bags in the freezer this week. I guess I missed taking pictures of those.

More zucchini, and a few little raspberries. The ones that made it into the house lol

A yellow squash and green beans.

More green beans! The family prepped all the beans in both pictures tonight, so I’ll be canning them tomorrow.

I never tire of watching the butterflies on the butterfly bush.

I also never tire of taking pictures of butterflies on the butterfly bush. 🙂

Ok, now for the gardens. This is one end of our main vegetable garden. Two rows of green beans on the right. To the left of those, are the yellow squash plants in the front and the zucchini plants in the back. Where the cardboard is pulled back and you see soil is where we planted carrots and beets earlier this week. One row of each. Nothing was up today when I took this picture. In the very back left, you can see the cucumbers growing on the fence, and on the ground.

Those are Armenian Cucumbers. This the first year I’ve grown them. They came highly recommended. I found two large ones today.

And several small ones. Now I have to look up when they are ready to pick. I can’t wait to try them! I’ll also be using them to can relish and pickles.

We haven’t had any peppers so far this year. Now that the extreme heat we had this summer is over, the garden is really growing Here are a few green bell peppers. Maybe we’ll get to eat some later this week!

This is a Roma Tomato plant. Or maybe two. I’m not sure. Look at all the flowers! There are also several tomatoes growing on it, too. We also have slicer tomatoes growing and should have some ready later this week.

We also planted radish this week. Here are a few. Cute little things. 🙂 We also planted lettuce and spinach in the raised bed behind the house. There are a lot up, and I’ll share a pic of them next week.