I Have Been Sprouting!

I just finished sprouting my first batch of broccoli sprouts. They are delicious! They do not have an earthy, aka dirt, flavor that some sprouts have. They are not spicey either, like radish sprouts. They taste like very mild broccoli.

Broccoli sprouts are supposed to be very healthy for you. All sprouts are supposed to be healthy, but broccoli have particularly high levels of some cancer fighting substance. Here is a link to more detailed information from a qualified source.

I really liked the broccoli sprouts. I think I  will be ordering some more seeds to sprouts soon. I had fun growing something in the dead of winter. It will be a long time until I see vegetables growing in the garden. 

I have also heard that sprouts can help people that deal with seasonal depression. I am not sure of how, but someone who has the winter blues may benefit from including sprouts in their diet.

Obviously, I am not a Dr. and I encourage everyone to do their own research. :)

What do you know about sprouts? Have you ever grown any sprouts? Tell me about it in the comments! :)

Midsummer Forest Creatures

We went for a stroll through the woods yesterday. We found lots of little creatures.
I am raising BMW to be quite the naturalist. He is good at spotting little insects. He is not afraid to handle them either.

Yesterday, on our walk, we saw an Assassin Bug, Daddy Long Legs, Butterflies, a baby snake, a Cicada, a Cicada shell, a Cardinal, and a Wren. The nettles were high. I have never been bothered much by stinging nettle. BMW did get his first sting from a nettle. Thankfully there was a paved path so we could steer clear of the nettles.

Daddy Long Leg⬆

Cicada⬆

I was scared to pick up the snake, even though it was a tiny baby. I was so jumpy as I tried to grasp the little fella. He was a fast little sucker. Once I did manage to pick up the little snake I realized how cute he was. He was scared. He calmed down when I closed my hand and gave him a place to hide. He looked at us with his little round eyes and flicked his tiny tongue out, tasting the air.

Psalms 105:5 

Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

Drying Herbs, Trying A New Method

Psalms 104:14

 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;

I cut several bunches of oregano from my oregano patch Saturday and a couple bunches of mint.

It the past I have dried herbs on screens in the sun. I decided to use a different method this time because I don't have the screens readily available, as in the past.

Hanging herbs and drying them without heat is supposed to preserve more of the flavor. I am going to give this hanging method a try and see how well it works.

Let me know if you have tried drying Herbs? What methods have you tried? Do you have any recommendations? Let me know in the comments section!

Cute Baby Dress Made Out Of A Pillow Case

I found this pretty pillow case at my favorite thrift store for 50¢. I also picked out a cute newborn dress pattern for 25¢.

I put snaps on the back for the closer. They are easier to install than sewing button holes with my sewing machine. The snaps are also easy to use.

I kept the detailed boarder of the pillow case and used it at the bottom edge of the skirt.

I did make a minor mistake. I caught a small amount of the sleeve when I sewed the seam conecting the sleeve to the bodice.

The tuck would only be noticed if I pointed it out. I chose to leave it there. Who knows, if I took it out and tried to redo it I may have caused a worse problem. I have done that to myself before.

I really like the detail of this casing on the sleeves. I think it is cute!

This dress is a gift to our neighbor, who just had a baby girl. I hope she likes it!

I had fun creating something pretty for a little girl. With only boys of my own, I don't get that chance all that often. :)

Spring Beauty

On Thursday we spent a couple hours in the woods. I love being in the woods! Every time I get out in the woods I realize, again, just how much I love the forest.

The forest abounds with life! There is such a variety of plants, trees, birds, creeping, flying and leaping wild creatures.

I spy a squirrel!

The woods are quiet and still, and yet, at the same time, they are full of noises and motion. There are no cars rumbling and beeping. No electronic humming of refrigerators, dishwashers, or humidifiers. No ticking of clocks. But, there are bees buzzing, woodpeckers tapping, Cardinals singing, streams babbling, wind hissing, squirrels barking, limbs creaking, frogs chirping. The water glitters as sunlight reflects from it's surface.

When I go to the woods I feel a sense of peace and calmness. I have an enormous amount of gratitude well up within me. I thank God for the opportunity to be in such a beautiful place. I thank God for giving me senses to observe and take in the sights, sounds, and smells. I Thank God for putting variety and beauty into his creation. And, since I am in such a grateful frame of mind I think of so many, many blessings to thank God for providing. I am sure we all have special places where we feel in particularly reminded to be grateful and thank God. The woods is one of those special places for me.

As we walked through the woods we saw Spring Beauties, Violets, and Toothwort blooming.

It is early spring here, judging by the plant life. We have had a very long winter and spring is coming late. It is definitely welcomed! I only saw a few May Apples poking up through the leaves. Most years they have been up and unfurled for at least month by this time.

I didn't even see a single Trillium in bloom.

A lot Trout Lilies were up. I only saw a few that had flowered.

This little tree frog blended in well with his surroundings. I am surprised that we saw him.

My two year old was delighted! :)

I was very happy to see some Virginia Bluebells. They are lovely!

Psalms 40:5

 Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

Frugal Meal Planning: Chicken Leg Quarters 59¢ Per Pound

We bought a 10 pound bag of chicken leg quarters for $5.98. I made 9 meals (not counting leftovers) for our family out these chicken quarters. We are a small family with only 2 adults and one toddler eating.

This is how I divided up the chicken quarters.

8 chicken leg quarters:
Chicken legs = 2 meals
Chicken skin = 1 meal
Chicken thighs = 4 meals
Chicken bones = 2 meals

I cut all the drum sticks off. 8 drum sticks makes 2 meals for us. I can grill the legs or roast them. They can be marinated for extra flavor.

I took the skin off of the thighs. The skins will make one meal. I fry them like bacon, and can make breakfast for dinner. I will save all the fat that renders out of the skins as they fry (almost 1/2 cup). The fat goes in a jar in the refrigerator for cooking and baking later.

I de-boned all the thighs. I chopped the thigh meat up and put two thighs worth of meat, a piece, in freezer bags. I can use the chopped thigh meat for stir-fry, sweet and sour chicken, and refried rice.

The bones are thrown into a pot for making broth. I strain the bones out of the finished broth and pick any meat off the bones for soup. I make soup with the broth. I can make many various soups depending on the ingredients I have on hand.

What types of meals would you make with 10 pounds of chicken leg quarters?

We eat a lot of chicken leg quarters. They are super affordable and very flavorful. Sometimes when we buy chicken leg quarters I make fried drumsticks and thighs. Chicken leg quarters make really good chicken cacciatore, too. I have also cooked the legs quarters in the crock-pot all at once. I pulled the meat off of the bone and used it in several Mexican style dishes and BBQ sandwiches. I usually make our chicken salad out of dark meat, too. I probably would not serve it to company just because most people are accustomed to chicken breast in their chicken salad, but we like it made with thighs. The dark meat goes really good in chicken tetrazzini, too.

Tell me in the comments what you make with chicken quarters! I'd love to hear from you!

We Have A New Baby!

Our new bundle of joy is now 3 week old. He is growing so fast! Yes, I said, "He," we have another precious boy!

I was 13 days over due and getting really tired of waiting to have our baby. Everything went smoothly and peaceful when I finally did go into labor.

I had a uneventful planned home birth. Our new little boy was 8 lbs. 10 oz. at birth. He is growing heathily and put on 13 oz. in his first week! We are so grateful for him!

Psalms 127:3 KJV

 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

Bible Reading In A Year: Follow Up

I wrote about my efforts to read the Bible through in a year Here In This Post.

I am here to confess that I did not finish reading the Bible aloud last year. :( ........But, I did not quit. :) We were getting close, and we just kept going. Last Monday I finished reading the Bible through, out loud, for the second time to BMW! I am really glad that we got finished before the baby arrived. Now I can start over once the baby is born and read the Bible to both of our children.

Be encouraged to keep reading the Bible, even if you fall behind in a reading schedule. The preserved Holy Bible is the very words of God. Not only is it the words of God, it is every word of God. We need every word of God. Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." Luke 4:4
Please don't be tempted to skip any of it. All scripture is profitable, and every single word is there for a reason. God wants us to have all of it, learn all of it, and use all of it.

2 Timothy 3:16 KJV

 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Decongestant Tea

This tea recipe came from my sister-in-law and it really works! I have used it several times and always been impressed with how much better I feel after drinking this tea. It seems to break up congestion quite effectively.  While it is not the most pleasant tasting tea, neither is it completely terrible. I like the spice flavors of the cinnamon and cloves, along with the orange zest.

Decongestant Tea

1 quart boiling water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or 1/2 cinnamon stick broken up 
1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tea bags of green tea
1/4 teaspoon orange peel
1/8 teaspoon of Thyme (or more)
4 cloves or 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves 
1 peppermint tea bag (optional)
1 clove of garlic, crushed

Steep for 20-30 minutes. Drink with honey, sweetened to taste. 

New Baby Coming.....

A box of freshly folded diapers.

I can't wait to use these on our new baby! We recently found the boxes of baby clothes and diapers, in preparation for our coming Addition. :) We have less than two weeks until our due date!

I spent time yesterday boiling all my cloth diapers and getting them ready for Baby. I am really excited to be using them again! :)

Science Project: Finger Print Cataloging

We all have unique finger prints. This activity is an easy way examine your finger prints.

Supplies:
Graphite pencil
2 sheets of paper
Clear gift wrapping tape

Trace the outline of your hands on to one sheet of paper.

On the second sheet of paper heavily color in a small area with the pencil. Roll a finger tip into the graphite. Try to give your finger pint a good coating.

Press the finger tip onto a small piece of clear tape. The tape will lift the graphite impression of the finger print. Tape the finger print to the corresponding fingertip of the traced hand shapes.

I did this project with BMW last week. I think I was more interested in doing this activity than him, but he did seem to enjoy it. :) He is only 2 and I expected doing this project to be more fun than educational, at this point.

I think it would be fun to catalog your whole family's finger prints and then compare your similarities and differences. Which finger prints did you get from your mom and which ones came from your dad? Of course, you will have your own variations in the designs.

Origami Paper Balloon Cakes!

This is a really fun project! These would be great for a party! They are also really nice for portable, grab and go snacks. Easy to pack in lunch boxes and for road trips.

I made several origami paper balloons out of parchment paper and wax paper.*

And, I decorated the parchment paper ones with colored pencils. **

I inflated the balloons and placed them onto a baking sheet. I filled the balloons 1/2-2/3 with cake batter. ***

I baked the cakes for 25-30 minutes. Some of the cake batter had bubbled out of the tops. I was able to peel off the bubbled over cake bits and clean up the paper.

Voilà! I made individually wrapped cake squares! Like I said, this was really fun! You should give it a try!

Notes:
*I used 7.5 inches squares of parchment paper and 6 inch squares of wax paper. They both worked fine.

**The wax paper cannot be decorated. It is just too slick. I found that colored pencil and ball point ink pens were the only things that work on parchment paper. The pencil will eventually rub off after baking, but it stays on for a while. I tried markers and crayons with no success.

***I put cake batter into a plastic freezer bag that had a small hole cut in one corner. I used this to pipe cake batter in through the hole on the top of the paper balloons.

Folding Origami Paper Balloons

Origami Paper Balloon

Step 1. Crease a square piece of paper in the manner shown above with the creases going in the same directions.

Step 2. Use the creases to fold into a triangular shape.

Gather the triangle faces together, as shown.

Step 3. Lay your triangle shape flat on work surface. Lift the front, lower corner and fold it up to the top center corner.

Step 4. Repeat Step 3. With the other front, lower corner. Then turn the triangle over and fold the remaining corners up, as well.

Step 5. You should have a square standing on it's corner, so that it is kind of like a diamond. Take a front, side corner and fold the point into the center of the square.

Step 6. Repeat Step 5. On the other top, side corner. 

Step 7. Fold a front, top corner down to the center of the square as shown. 

Step 8. Stuff the section that was just folded down from the top into a pocket made in the section folded in from the side.

Stuff it in and fold it securely. Fold the other top corner down and stuff it, as well.

Step 9. Turn paper over, from front to back, and repeat Steps 5-8. Fold the side corners to the center. Fold the top corners down and stuff the into the side corners.

Step 10. Locate the small hole in one end and blow air, swiftly into the hole to inflate your balloon.

Now you have a completed paper balloon!