Bible Memory Verses 2025

We are at the end of another year and it is time for me to share the Bible verses that I memorized through my church involvement this year. Once again I developed tunes to help me memorize these verses every month. 

[Click here to hear the verses from 2024.]

My favorite tune from this year is the one for June that I made to go with Ecclesiastes 12:10-14. I like it the best because it has a place at the end where you have to change registers. It is a fun little section to sing.

My least favorite tunes are from April and October. I just couldn't come up with nice melodies. The tunes worked to get me to memorize the verses, but they were disjointed and I didn't care for them too much.

My favorite verses from this year are from August: Romans 4:1-5. Justification by faith. So sweet to my ears! "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Amen!

 Maybe my tunes can help others. Keep in mind I have never had any voice lessons. I may  slip off key, miss high notes, not use the right projection techniques, etc.... Also, I only had a cell phone to record these with in my garage. So there's that.

January/February 2025

Matthew 5:1-11

[1] And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
[2] And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
[3] Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[4] Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
[5] Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
[6] Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
[7] Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
[8] Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
[9] Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
[10] Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[11] Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

March 2025

Matthew 5:12-16

[12] Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

[13] Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

[14] Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

[15] Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

[16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

April 2025

John 6:25-29

25] And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?

[26] Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

[27] Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

[28] Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

[29] Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

May 2025

Psalm 119:19-24

[9] Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

[10] With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
[11] Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
[12] Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
[13] With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.

June 2025

Ecc. 12:10-14

[10] The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

[11] The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

[12] And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

[13] Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

[14] For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

July 2025

Titus 1:7-11

[7] For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;

[8] But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;

[9] Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

[10] For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:

[11] Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.

August 2025

Romas 4:1-5

[1] What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

[2] For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

[3] For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

[4] Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

[5] But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

September 2025

Genesis 50:17-22

[17] So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.

[18] And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

[19] And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?

[20] But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

[21] Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.

October 2025

Proverbs 11:27-31

[27] He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.

[28] He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

[29] He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

[30] The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

[31] Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

November 2025

Philippians 3:17-21

[17] Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.

[18] (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

[19] Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

[20] For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

[21] Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

December 2025

Proverbs 25:9:13

[9] Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another:

[10] Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away.

[11] A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

[12] As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.

[13] As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.

The Golly Sisters

 Beloved book from my childhood. 

Sisterhood. Humour.

Those are the words that come to mind when I think of The Golly Sisters easy reader books. There are 3 books about the Golly Sisters, as far as I know. When I was little I would check out the read aloud cassette tapes and the books from the library. I loved the Golly Sisters. I thought they were hilarious! May-May and Rose act in such a realistic sisterly fashion. They can be hopping mad at each other one minute and be friends the next minute. They know each other so well and can play to each other's strengths and also push each other's buttons, as the mood suits. 

I still love the Golly Sisters. I have one of those books now, thanks to my mom. Last time we were visiting my mom I saw this book on her shelf. I was so excited! I read it aloud to myself. I think my grandma listened to me but she may have been more interested in watching me enjoying myself than she was interested in the story. I always read aloud in a very animated way, and with this book I mimick the style of the lady who read the books on cassette tape so many years ago. She made the Golly Sisters' voices kind of obnoxious and not very much in a way that I'd expect to be endearing. But, the voice works, at least it works for me. 

Perhaps the tone is fitting because sisters can be annoying and pushy. 

Perhaps that is just me, I should speak for myself because I can be the annoying, pushy sister. 

Perhaps because I can be the annoying, pushy sister is why I think The Golly Sisters are funny and not revolting. 

Perhaps because I am the annoying, pushy sister is the reason why I ended up with this book. This possibility is just dawning on me.....

 I asked my mom where she found the book and let her know that I loved the book. In the back of mind I was thinking perhaps she would see my joy and give me the book. I don't think my mom knew that I was thinking this, but I bet my sister knew it. Sisters just know each other's thoughts and motives in an uncanny way. Exactly like May-May and Rose. That's what makes the Golly Sisters so great, they are so relatable. And now we have come full circle!

(Yes, my mom gave me the book, and I didn't even have to ask, but I did say thank you.)

Memory Verses Thanks To Church

I want to highlight one of the ways that being a part of a local church has blessed my life. Our church does five-a-month for Bible memory verses. During the announcement portion of every service our pastor asks if anyone has recited the verses for the month and he adds new names to the list of individuals. Names of those who have joined in memorizing the five verses for the month are printed in the bulletin every week. 

Some may make the point that memorizing Bible verses to be recognized is the wrong motivation. I can see the point. We are supposed to let our alms giving be done in secret and our heavenly Father will reward us openly.

I don't see Bible verse memorizing equal to alms giving, though, so I wouldn't apply Jesus' instructions in Matthew 6. My view on the subject is that seeing other's names on the list can be encouraging or even convicting. Like, if these people can do it than I can, too, or, I should, too. I think myself memorizing the five-a-month and publicly proclaiming the fact has encouraged my friends to join in. And I know that I have been inspired by those members of our church who memorize the verses every month.

I think this is one of the types of things that Jesus established the church to accomplish. I know that I wouldn't be memorizing these verses if I was a lone ranger Christian. If I didn't go to church, I wouldn't have the will to memorize this much Bible. The local Church is ment to equip believers and be a purifying force in their life. By having a five-a-month club and publicly displaying those names I am being provoked to work on my spiritual walk. These verses that I have memorized this year have been so good for my spiritual walk. I have understood God in ways that just reading my Bible hasn't accomplished. (I still have a long way to go!) The amount of meditation that memorizing takes produces a better effect than only Bible reading.

My church is a huge blessing in my life. Bible memory is just one of the ways that my church has formed me into a better, more Christ honoring, believer. I hope that every believer can be joined to a local body. That is the way God planned for Christianity to work.

To close this post I will add the memory verses from this year and explain my memory technique.

For long term memory storage I have always had success with using tunes. I come up with a tune for each set of verses. I use an audio recording app on my phone to help me work on each tune. I add to the tune slowly. I will chant the first part of the verse to a tune that comes to mind. Once I feel confident with that small section I record it so that I can leave off from working on it. I move to the next section and come up with a tune. I chant the second section to the tune until I feel confident with it. Then I will put the two parts together and sing them conjoined until I feel confident with them together. I make a new recording with the two sections together. Then I come up with a tune for the next section. And so forth and so on..... I just keep adding to my song little by little with the words of the Bible verses. 

Sometimes I draw pictographs and little symbols to help me memorize the words. If I have to work without the audio recording app I write out the verses and draw little lines and dashes to indicate whether the notes in my tune go up or down, long or short. That is the only way I used to work before I had an app.

Are songs the best way to memorize Bible verses? That depends on your goals. Songs are the best way for me and my aims. I am not memorizing these verses to quote to other people in conversation. I am memorizing these verses for my own connection with God and for long term storage. I want these verses to be in my mind for the rest of my life. Music is special in that way. I have read about Alzheimer patients that can sing their part in a singing group even after they have lost the ability to recognize close family members. I also think of being in a place where owning a Bible becomes a crime or being in a place where I won't have access to a Bible. In scenarios like that I will want my memory verses to be solid and long lasting as only I have found them to be in song.

Here are my Bible verse songs from this year. Maybe they can be helpful for someone else. Forgive me if I slip off key in these recordings, or don't keep steady tempo, or miss my high notes...... I am just putting these out there in case they may be a help to anyone.

January 

1 Corinthians 12:14-18 For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

February 

Nehemiah 8:8-12 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.

March

Ephesians 5:17-21 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

April 

Matthew 28:5-9 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

May

Romans 8:22-26 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

June

John 7:5-9 For neither did his brethren believe in him. Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready. The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast: for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee.

July

Mark 11:22-26 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

August

1 Corinthians 15:54-58 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

September 

2 Timothy 4:1-5 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

October 

Acts 13:1-5 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.

November 

Revelation 22:17-21 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

December (Our pastor only picked out 2 verses to memorize in December.)

Isaiah 9:6+7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Corn Dog Recipe!

This recipe is from some friends of mine who I came to know as a teenager. My family threw an annual county fair themed party when I was young. My family and many of our friends were heavily involved in the local 4-H county fair. After the fair had concluded my parents held a party for our friends that we called The Survival Of The Fair Party. The food that we made for the party was all the fair foods that we were too cheap to buy during the actual fair. I don't blame my parents for not buying us children fair food. There were 8 of us at the time and it would have cost them an arm and a leg to feed us all at fair prices. I can only remember eating an elephant ear from the fair one time and we had to split it up between us all.

That doesn't mean we were deprived, though. Mom could make us dozens of elephant ears at home for the price of one fair-priced-elephant-ear, and she did!

During the Survival Of The Fair Party we feasted on corn dogs, pork tenderloin sandwiches, Philly steak and sausage sandwiches, perogies, lemon shake ups, funnel cakes, and elephant ears! Everything was delicious! 

This is the corn dog recipe that we used.

One of our friends gave us this recipe to use for the Survival Of The Fair Party so this recipe bears their name. 

Whitesell's Corn Dog Recipe 

1 egg

1/2 c. milk

1 c. Bisquick (or into a 1 c. measurer add 2 t. baking powder, 2 t. sugar, 1/2 t. salt then fill the measuring cup the rest of the way with flour.)

2 TBS. cornmeal

1/2 t. dry mustard

1/4 t. paprika

1/8 t. pepper

3 TBS. sugar

1 lb. hot dogs

Mix the batter ingredients together.

Pat the hot dogs dry with a towel or paper towel.

Pour the batter into a tall glass or drinking cup. Using wooden skewers dip the hot dogs into the batter.

Deep fry at 375° F. until golden brown.

For mini corn dog bites:

Cut the dried off hot dogs into 1/4ers.

Using a fork dip each hotdog piece into the batter and then slide it off of the fork into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towel before serving.

Yarn Dolls

My children and I had fun with this craft recently.

I got the idea from a website called The Craft Train: LINK

We made a whole bunch of yarn dolls. 

We made girl dolls and boy dolls. 

We made mama dolls and papa dolls. 

We made tiny baby dolls. 

We made tall dolls and short dolls and skinny dolls and thick dolls. 

We made whole families! 

This activity kept us busy for hours! Then we had fun staging photos with our yarn dolls.

Here's how you can make your own yarn dolls:

Wrap yarn around a book or stiff piece of cardboard. The taller the board the taller your doll will be. Wrap yarn until you have the desired thickness. 

You will have created a loop of yarn.

Cut the loop at one end. Now you will have a bundle of yarn string all the same length.

Twist the bundle at the center and bend it in half at the twist. This is called a bite. Use another piece of yarn to tie the bite in place, forming the dolls head.

Separate the tassel into three portions; two for the arms and 1 for the body.

Braid the arms, tie the ends with extra yarn, and trim them to the right length. The tighter the braid the more it will hold it's shape when maneuvered.

Use extra strands of yarn to tie around the body, making a waist and hips.

Trim the ends to even up the skirt and give it a finished look.

If you are making a boy doll divide the skirt into two legs, and braid the legs, tying off with extra lengths of yarn.

I hope you have as much fun with this project as we did!

Sewing Projects In June

12 years ago I made dresses for myself and 4 of my sister's. You can see the colors below. The materials that I used all had the matching shades of purple.

I made two dresses with the floral print, two with the plaid, and my dress was made with the reddish/purple.

Some of the dresses have been given back to me. Mostly because they needed repairs, but also, because the girls out grew them. 

I pulled one of them out of the storage box this month and fixed it up for my daughter to wear. 

It brought back sweet memories of being a big sister. Now my own daughter can wear the dress that I made for her aunt.

We went to my brother's wedding at the beginning of the month and my daughter got to wear the red dress that I had finished in time. She was not a flower girl, but I wanted her to feel special. I know how much little girls like weddings, especially my daughter. She is such a girly girl!

My handy work project this month has been sewing on these baby whales. These have been in a tub of unfinished projects for going on 2 years. I did a lot of work on these whales when I was pregnant with my last baby. I have 18 of them waiting to be finished.

This month I have been going to the playground with the children a lot. These baby whales make a nice hand sewing project to bring along. 

You can see by the stains on my fingers that we found a mulberry tree on the way to the playground. :-)

That is the update for June. I'll see you again at the end of July with another progress report. I hope all of your projects are going well!

Fun Pretzels!

 I made pretzels with my children yesterday.

When I was a little girl my mother let us make pretzels one time. And she let us use food coloring to color the pretzels!

I wanted to give my children the same experience.

I told my children, "Now you have to say that I am a fun Mom."  Haha! 

I sprinkled some food coloring on their individual chunks of dough. (This was natural food coloring so it took a lot, and even then it didn't make a bold color.)

They mixed in the color.

Then they had to make long snakes of dough.

Roll, roll, roll.

The shaping of the pretzels was a little tricky for the children. I did the shaping for the most part. My oldest son was able to learn the right moves to shape his own pretzels after a couple tries.

The pretzels had to be boiled in baking soda water for 20 seconds.

The pretzels were finished by baking in the oven.

Violá!

Tie Die Pretzels for lunch and fun points for Mother!

The recipe that we used is from Sally's Baking Addiction. If you are looking for something fun to do with your children, I recommend that you make pretzels! This was an easy project and the memories that we made will last a long time! :-)

Homemade Noodles! | Recipe

 

Thanksgiving is approaching! It the best holiday of the year! 

With Thanksgiving comes a lot of food preparation. So much cooking! Last week I made 5 batches of noodles. One of these years I'm going to have to invest in a pasta machine. I'm sure it would make the job go a lot faster!

Does anyone else have egg noodles as part of their traditional Thanksgiving meal? For most of my growing up years my family never had noodles for Thanksgiving. One year a guest that we were having over said that Thanksgiving dinner wouldn't be complete without egg noodles. My mother wanted to accommodate their tradition so she found a recipe for egg noodles in her Good Housekeeping cook book. 

Her Good Housekeeping cook book is like a cooking encyclopedia for the kitchen. It is a few inches thick with step by step illustrations; teaching everything from gravy making to bread baking, from how to cut a multi-layer cake to how to prepare a lobster, how to carve everything from ham to leg of lamb, humble things like biscuits and not so humble things like blinis with caviar. This is the kind of book that every new Bride needs!

It is the book that my Mother turned to when she wanted to learn how to make noodles. The recipe was good and so were the instructions. It walked a complete newbie through the process without using any special equipment. Then I tried my hand at it. My noodles were thin and ribbon-y and my mom's were thick and dumpling like. 

The consensus was that I should be the noodle maker. And I still am today! Whenever we go to my family's for Thanksgiving I bring homemade noodles.

Homemade Egg Noodles

2 1/4 - 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup water

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1 TBS. oil

1 tsp. salt

In a large bowl combine 1 cup flour and remaining ingredients. With mixer at low speed, beat for 2 minutes.

With wooden spoon, stir in enough additional flour to make a soft dough.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Cover dough and let rest 30 minutes.

Cut dough in half. On floured surface roll dough out to a 20"×14" rectangle, then fold in half crosswise, and in half again crosswise, (flouring between the layers), to form a 5"×14" rectangle. Cut into strips.

Unfold strips and lay on a cloth towel. 

Repeat rolling, folding, cutting, and unfolding with remaining dough.

Let strips dry at least 2 hrs. before cooking. Continue drying the noodles until crisp to store for later. Noodles can be stored in airtight containers or bags in the freezer at this point.

Cook 5-8 minutes in boiling broth, unless you want to drain the cooking liquid, in that case just use boiling water.

More About Enchiladas

 

I learned a new way to make Enchiladas from this video. 

In this video the chef, Ethan Chlebowski, details his experience eating Enchiladas in Mexico, which are quite different from the Enchiladas that we are accustomed to in the United States. 

According to Ethan Chlebowski, the Enchiladas in Mexico are made like tacos; as you are ready to eat them, not in a casserole dish that has been baked in the oven.

The Sauce on Mexican Enchiladas is different, too. It is a chili sauce with no tomatoes. To assemble Enchiladas you start by frying a corn tortilla in oil. Next dip your fried tortilla in sauce. Put your choice of filling into your fried and sauced tortilla. Serve with more sauce.

I tried Ethan's method with my own Tex-Mex tomato based sauce, and we really preferred Enchiladas made in this manner to the way I used to make them in a casserole.

These new Enchiladas are going to make a regular appearance on my menu! 

Did you know how authentic Mexican Enchiladas are made? If you have never had these before, I highly recommend that you give them a try!

My Original Rag Doll!

{For Rag Dolls and Sewing Patterns click HERE}

Recently, I visited my Mom. Shortly after I arrived I turned around, and what did I see? My very first rag doll that I had ever sewed sitting on a shelf looking at me! 

My Mom reads my blog and knew about my rag doll post from a few months ago. When she came across my doll while cleaning up some stuff she put it on that shelf for me to take home with me next time I came over. 

I recognize the doll right away. My memory of her was a little more, uhm,.... Rosey, shall we say. I did not remember her uneven legs, or how poorly her arms were stitched, or the stains.

She is 20 years old. She is made by a 7 year old little girl. The doll looks like an antique piece of folk art,... if I am being kind. :) It is hard to believe that she still survives! 

Do you want to see her? Here you go. Here is my very first doll:

Here she is with her modern sisters. These are the rag dolls that I make now. When I designed them I was modeling them after my idyllic memories of the doll that my Mom had helped me cut out so many years ago.

I make these new dolls for gifts and to sell on QuietStandards, my Etsy Shop. Please feel free to check out my listings, if you are interested in purchasing a rag doll of this style! :)