How To Make Whipped Cream

Some of you will probably think this is redundant, for anyone who knows anything should know how to make whipped cream. But does everyone really know how to make whipped cream? Maybe someone eyes up the luscious topping on ice cream and puddings but is afraid (or embarrassed) to ask.

Well, if you are just starting out in your homemaking skills or if you are a veteran homemaker of many years, here is something you may never have thought of making yourself. It is fairly easy to make whipped cream too!

Homemade Whipped Cream

1 pint heavy cream (or whipping cream)
Powdered sugar

For better whipping, freeze heavy cream for no more than 20 minutes. You can freeze the mixing bowl too, if desired.

Take the whipping cream and put it in a mixing bowl. Beat it on high speed until stiff peaks form. However, be careful to not let it go too long for it could turn into butter!

Add powdered sugar to taste. You can also make your own powdered sugar by putting granulated sugar in a blender and blending it at a high speed.

I always use organic products, and it might be hard to find organic powdered sugar, although I did see it somewhere for sale. It is not necessary to use organic products to make whipped cream with though. You can just use the confectionary sugar sold in the stores, if you prefer.

I think you would probably use around 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, but again, it is what your taste buds prefer. You don't need a whole lot to sweeten the whipped cream.

Place on item you are making or put in a bowl or jar and place in the refrigerator. Use when needed. You may also want to cover the whipped cream if you are storing it in the refrigerator. If the whipped cream is not mixed well enough, it will probably turn to liquid again.

Whipped Cream adds a nice touch to desserts
and drinks

Why Your Kitchen Is Too Small

I hesitate to write this because I know it will be long. But it has been on my heart for many years, even before blogging became popular.

You see, your kitchen is small because of a philosophical reason, tied in with cultural preferences. I will attempt to explain with as few words as possible. I promise.

We were talking about things we complain about in a group last Sunday. One of the women said she complains about her kitchen being too small. I had to agree. That was my complaint as well. I'm sure it is a common complaint among women in America today.

But why are our kitchens so small? Let's go back several years, like 60+ years or more.

Back in the olden days, when people still feared the Lord and respected His word, women took on the task of being homemakers. Women had a lot of work to do and were very responsible in their careers of building their homes. They took their 'job' very seriously.

I don't intend on making a case against women working outside the home. Many women today, have to work outside the home for a number of reasons. But, a couple of generations back, it was not so. Women stayed at home with the children. They didn't just babysit their kids until the kids were grown. The moms spent a lot of time teaching their children about life. They taught them right from wrong. Children got spanked when they did wrong. Training children and serving our husbands was a lot of work. But then something happened in the mid to late 20th Century.

I don't know who to blame and the point isn't to put the blame on anyone, and there were probably a multitude of different reasons for this happening, but, women in more recent generations, grew weary of staying home with children and cleaning house. They wanted something more 'meaningful'. They wanted to bring an income in too, so they could add nice things to the home and their children would be assured of having nice clothing and lots of toys to play with.

The moms got tired of the 'housewife' stigma. Many went to college and got a degree. We were becoming a prosperous nation and people were having two or three cars now. No more need for carpooling or having to take the husband to work so she could have a car for the day. People were putting in pools. All these nice things were requiring an added income to the family. There was not so much a need for a job or career as much as there was the desire for one. Plus, some moms just could not stay inside a house. It drove them crazy!

So, we have a generation of people who wanted more, wanted prestige, and didn't want to sit at home playing games and reciting nursery rhymes to children. Instead, we would pay someone else to do the housework and babysit the children while mom goes to work. But what was the trade-off for all this?

Today, to live in a home or apartment, it requires the income of both the man and the woman. Couples aren't able to have children simply because they can't afford them. It is too expensive to live. It requires both the man and the woman to have jobs to pay for the bare necessities, many times.

What does this have to do with small kitchens though? When a house is being built, before the building process takes place, the plans have to be made. An architect has to be consulted and he or she has to come up with the design of the house. They have to keep in mind what people want and need. Now, there are homes that are custom made and that is ideal. The drawback is, someone else may not want the home you designed out of the needs of your family. So, when a house is being planned, they have to consider what people want. Do people want big kitchens? Would people even know what to do in a kitchen today, if they had one?

Because women have to have jobs and careers today that are outside of the home, it creates a difficult situation for her at home. Because society so strongly emphasizes convenience, it is easy for a woman to go to a store on the way home from work, and pick up dinner. Or, she can just get the meal out of a can or some boxes of prepared food.

I believe this is how most of America works today. Take for example, making spaghetti sauce or mashed potatoes. Did you know you could make your own spaghetti sauce? It is not necessary to buy it in a jar. Many have no idea that a person can actually make their own food instead of buying it already made and packaged. What's the trade-off?

Canned and boxed food lacks nourishment, plus it is full of additives, many of which are harmful to our bodies. We were not designed to eat packaged food. We were designed to eat fresh food from farms or even our own back yards.

A couple of generations back, people did not have supermarkets to go to. There were meat markets and vegetable stands, which is where many got their food from. It takes a lot of room to prepare all this food though. Plus it takes time. There is very little recognition of how much work goes into preparing a good, healthful meal. But if we want our family members to be healthy, we must work at preparing food that is nourishing.

This is why I believe that our kitchens are small today. We basically don't need them because there are enough fast food restaurants and even delis in the stores where we can pick up our meals today. We can just throw the cans and boxes away when we are finished, and we don't need to store extra items on our shelves because everything is already in the box, except the water or milk, if that is even needed. Cleanup is a lot easier as well.

So, with that in mind, with all the trade-offs, which do you prefer? A small kitchen that is used mainly as a place to store prepared foods that are picked up at the grocery store or fast food restaurant, or, a large kitchen with enough room to store appliances and ingredients to make healthful meals with? You be the judge.

The way houses are built today, we would not have enough
room to store all this food.

Homemade Gingerbread Cookies

Here is a recipe I originally found in a magazine many years ago. I make these cookies, mainly at Christmas time, but I also make them periodically throughout the year. Instead of using white or brown sugar in my recipes, I use coconut sugar. Feel free to use whichever one you desire.

Homemade Gingerbread Cookies

3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
3/4 cup coconut sugar*
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
Red hots**, licorice strings, currants, raisins, crushed candy canes for decoration (optional)

  Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a small bowl. Set aside.   Place sugar and softened butter in a mixing bowl and mix until creamy and smooth.*** Add molasses and egg and continue to blend until well combined.
   Remove dough from bowl and form into a flat disk. Cover with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Chill for at least 2 hours.
   Remove dough from refrigerator and preheat over to 350 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheets.****
   Roll out dough to about 1/8" thickness on a floured board or countertop. Cut out cookies according to desired shapes and decorate as desired. Place cookies on baking sheets about an inch apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool. Carefully remove from cookie sheets onto waxed paper or a plate.

Homemade Gingerbread Cookies

* Use whatever sugar you prefer or have on hand. The original recipe calls for brown sugar. If you do not have brown sugar on hand, you can make your own by adding molasses to white sugar. Add about a teaspoon or two to a cup of sugar. Add more if you want darker brown sugar.

** I get my Red Hots at Dollar Tree. I'm sure that you can find them in other places. Some brands do not have the same quality of cinnamon heat in them so try the ones you have available to you first. If you are pleased with them, just stick with that brand.

*** I used a hand mixer when I first made this recipe and just about burned the motor out. I would recommend using a stand mixer if you have one. 

**** I always keep a little crock of butter out for greasing pans and bowls with. Another good product is a shortening put out by Nutiva. I use this one a lot.

These cookies go fast. They are not hard to make and are sure to please everyone who looks at them!

This article contains affiliate links.

My New Waffle Iron - Safe And Easy To Use

I got this waffle iron a while ago, so I can't really say that it is all that new, but, it is the newest one I have, plus the best one I have ever had.

This one is easy to clean and the ceramic coating is the special feature I like about this waffle iron. No more Teflon in my food!

I got mine from amazon.com. I noticed that there are other ceramic waffle irons as well. I had been looking for something that doesn't have the non-stick coating on it. Someone suggested ceramic and I found this one. It works very well too.




This one is almost identical to the one I have. I love it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a decent and safe waffle iron. It is easy to clean.

There are many recipes for waffles on the Internet if you do a search for them. You can even find sourdough waffle recipes!

Never Put Water On A Grease Fire

House fires used to be way more common than they are today, but they still happen. Houses still burn down, even today, with all our technology that is supposed to protect our homes.

Here is a video explaining what happens when you put water on a grease fire.

Just saw this and thought it was pretty awesome. Also, it provides another good 'in the way guy' moment. If I was any good at video editing, I would totally edit him into other people's gifs.

Not all fires have the same reason for starting. We have electrical fires, grease fires, and fires due to carelessness. Occasionally, a fire can start when the lint is built up inside the lint filter.

If your oven catches on fire, shut the oven door and turn the oven off. You may be able to contain the fire inside the oven.

Make sure you take the lint off the lint filter in the dryer. I have seen 2 houses that burned down because the owners left the dryer going while they were gone.

If the fire is in the kitchen, I have heard that using flour can help put the fire out. I have also heard of using salt, but I don't know how you would do this.

Besides serious burns from a fire, the most destructive thing about a fire is the smoke. Birds are very sensitive to anything that is irritating to the lungs. They must never come in contact with smoke, but neither should we. Smoke inhalation is very damaging if not fatal, even to human beings.

If a fire is spreading quickly in your home, the best thing to do is call 911 immediately. Never leave cooking appliances on while not at home.

If you have a live Christmas tree in the house, use cool lights on it and make sure the tree is well watered.

Have a safe holiday season this year.

Tip On Protecting Glass From Breaking While Cooking

This might seem a little silly, but maybe it really isn't. I was taught from a young age, never to pour hot liquid into a cold bowl or cup, if it is made out of glass. Of course, I didn't always remember this and I have to be honest and tell you that I did break a couple of glass items simply because I forgot at the moment!

This rule obviously will also apply to the reverse; never pour cold water into a glass bowl or cup that is hot. The same thing will happen. The glass item will break.

Some of us have to learn the hard way. Not everyone was taught this. But now you have no excuse if you decide (or forget) that differing temperatures can cause glass to break! Keep this in mind next time you are tempted to pour hot or cold liquid into something made of glass.

Even a slow cooker you have to be careful with. I was doing that today, and did remember that there is a possibility that the crock could break if the cool water hits it. I poured the water on the items that were cooking so at least the water would hit the food before it gets to the crock. Everything turned out fine and the crock did not break.

Homemade T.V. Dinners

Remember the days when we had T.V. dinners? It was usually when we had babysitters or our parents were too busy to make dinner. Well now, we can have our T.V. dinners again, but with more of an accomplishment!

After dinner, I almost always have leftover vegetables, so I put them in a jar and save them in the refrigerator. I do the same with leftover meat and potatoes. Mashed potatoes make a great lunch addition.

Take small glass bowls and put the leftovers in them. When I was taking Home Ec, I was taught that the food on the plate had to be different colors and textures. This is somewhat easy to do if you have a variety of leftover food. You can use up your leftovers and at the same time provide a halfway nourishing meal!

You could even add leftover peach or cherry cobbler or apple pie to this dinner!

'The War Room' Movie And How It Applies To Us In Our Homes

If you have not seen The War Room, this movie is one you need to watch before it is no longer playing in your area.

Amazingly, the movie, in many ways, was not done by professional actors and actresses. The movie was very well done and professional. I thought the music in the background also was done very well.

The movie starts out with a family, a man, his wife, and their daughter. The man is harsh with his wife and very focused on his success as a career man. At this expense, the wife and daughter suffer. The marriage is going down the drain quickly. Each day gets harder and harder for the woman. That is, until she meets a lady named Clara, who is a prayer warrior.

Clara and the woman become friends, and basically Clara disciples her in the midst of her marriage difficulties and teaches her how to pray. The woman takes on the task of learning how to fervently pray for her husband, their daughter, and her marriage.

For a while, things continue to get worse in the marriage. But the woman continues to pray. I will not tell the rest of the story, but it is one you will not want to miss.

Here are some comments that people made who have watched the movie (Go to the link for all the comments.) I think the comments help get a picture of the main thrust of the movie, which was the importance of praying.

http://warroomthemovie.com/endorsements

This link gives some of the resources that you can have for your home:
http://warroommovieresources.com/

Here is the trailer for the movie:

Meatloaf Recipe With Ricotta Cheese

My family likes meat loaf but I never cared for it. I will make it because it is cheap, and can be nourishing, if you get the right kind of meat. It is fairly easy to make, as well.

This meatloaf has a twist to it though. Meatloaf doesn't have to be the boring blob you put on the table every week. You can embellish the meatloaf and each one can have a different personality!

Potatoes go well with Meatloaf with Ricotta

Meatloaf With Ricotta Cheese

*1 pound ground beef
*1 cup bread crumbs
*1 egg
*garlic salt, to taste
*herbs, spices, to taste (I like Bouquet Garni by Penzey's)
*1/2 cup barbecue sauce
*2 slices bacon, optional (use nitrate, nitrite free)
*1 cup ricotta cheese

1. Combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, and egg. Mix with hands until thoroughly combined.

2. Add herbs, spices, and garlic salt

3. Pat mixture into a rectangle, 8" X 6" (If your meatloaf roll is not this exact shape, it will still turn out fine!)

4. Put ricotta cheese on top of meatloaf rectangle.

5. Roll up meatloaf roll, short side up.

6. Place on greased sheet or pan (I use softened butter to grease my pans with.)

7. Cut bacon slices in half and place on top of meatloaf. Put barbecue sauce on the top and smear it down the sides.

8. Place in oven and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

Meatloaf Rectangle with Ricotta on top

Almost ready to go into the oven!

Homemade Chicken Soup or Broth With Gravy And Dumpling Recipes

I wrote this blog months ago on another blog, but have some additional ideas. When I make this chicken soup recipe, it is more than just chicken soup. I add all kinds of goodies to it while it is cooking. Some of the things I add are, lima beans (add during the start of cooking), rice, noodles (add last hour), small pasta, kale, sliced carrots, sliced mushrooms, snowpeas, and peas.

Here is an recipe for dumplings that I found originally in my old Betty Crocker cook book. I also found the recipe on the internet. I would make the dumplings during the last hour because when Betty Crocker was writing this recipe, she had never seen a slow cooker yet, and had no idea how long it might take for the dumplings to finish cooking. I would also turn the knob on high for the last hour if you are making dumplings. If you are adding brown rice, add that either in the beginning or middle of the cooking time, as brown rice takes a long time to cook.

This is the Betty
Crocker cookbook
I have. My mom
bought it for me
when I was engaged
with S & H
Greenstamps

Dumplings

1 1/2 cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour (Use any brand of flour.

 If you can find organic, that is the best kind)

1 tablespoon parsley flakes, if desired

2  teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons shortening

3/4 cup milk

Mix flour, parsley, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Cut

in shortening, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until

mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in milk. Drop dough by

spoonfuls onto hot meat or vegetables in boiling stew (do not drop 

directly into liquid). Cook uncovered 10 minutes. Cover and cook 

10 minutes longer.

Note: I do drop directly into liquid. I am not sure how you can avoid doing that!
The directions above are for stovetop dumplings, but I am sure I have made them
in the slow cooker. Just take into consideration the time factor, as the temperature
on the slow cooker is lower than a stove top.

Betty Crocker Recipe For Dumplings

Recipe for gravy

1 cup chicken broth
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 Tablespoons water
Dissolve cornstarch in water, and add to broth. Cook on medium high heat and stir 
periodically. Cook until mixture thickens and just starts to boil. 

You can take the following recipe, and just use it as soup. Make it a meal by adding some 
of the additions at the top of this page. *************************************************************************
Simple Recipe for Cooked Chicken and Chicken Broth

Cooked Chicken and Chicken Broth

1 whole chicken (it can be cut up or whole)
3-4 cups water
1 bay leaf
2-3 carrots
1/2 onion
1 celery stalk
Garlic salt
Seasonings (I use a French type of seasoning) to taste

   Grease the inside of a slow cooker with softened butter or oil. You can also use a stove top pot to cook this in, but cooking time will be shorter and you will have to tend to the pot more often. If you have the insides of the chicken, like the liver and kidneys, throw them in the pot as well. Pour water over the chicken and in a food processor chop up the carrots, celery, and onion and place those in the slow cooker or pot along with the bay leaf, salt, and seasonings, if using. Set the slow cooker on low for about 6-8 hours, or longer. If cooking on the stove, cook on simmer or low boil for a couple of hours until the meat falls off the bones.
   Take the meat off the bones, after the meat has cooled off. Eat immediately or store meat and broth.
  You could use cut up turkey parts instead of chicken. You can use the broth to make soup or gravy to use in other recipes. Store leftover broth and meat in Mason jars and freeze. Broth and meat can be frozen together, or separately. If storing separately, add some broth to the chicken so it doesn't get freezer burn.
Some suggestions for chicken and broth:
Chicken noodle soup
Chicken rice soup
Chicken soup
Chicken pot pie
Chicken and gravy
Chicken stew
Chicken and dumplings
Chicken and rice
Chicken and noodles
Chicken ala king

Easy Turkey Soup

Here is a recipe I came up with that is so versatile and full of nutrition. You can make this in a large batch and save the leftovers to make turkey pot pie or turkey and noodles. You can drain the broth and freeze it and use it for many other recipes that call for chicken broth.

Easy Turkey Soup

1 pound turkey pieces (cutlets are good)
3 quarts water
Cut up vegetables; sliced carrots, mushrooms, and celery are good
Piece of kale (optional, but good)
chopped onion
minced garlic, to taste (you can put the onion and garlic in a food processor and blend together)
1 bay leaf
Small handful of rice (brown rice is fine)
Small handful of pasta (noodles, orzo, bow ties, and macaroni are good choices)
Herbs of choice ( I use some of the French blends)
Dried Lima Beans (optional)
Salt, pepper

   This is a pretty general recipe that can be made in a slow cooker if you start it in the morning (necessary if you are using lima beans or brown rice). You can adjust the amounts of vegetables, rice, and pasta to your own preferences, but keep in mind that rice and pasta expand and will require a lot of liquid to cook in. I have even put in broccoli in this recipe. Turn the slow cooker on low and cook for at least 6-8 hours. Put all ingredients into slow cooker (except pasta, salt, and pepper) and cook all day! Or, you can make it on the stove top with a big pot or Dutch oven. I would cook it for at least an hour, maybe two. Pasta will only take a couple of minutes to cook on the stove, so put the pasta in the last 15 minutes of cooking. If using a slow cooker or crock pot, put the pasta in during the last hour. If pasta is cooked too long, it might disintegrate into the soup.
Add salt and pepper after it is finished cooking. Drain the leftover broth and use the broth in future recipes. You can freeze it in jars that are made for freezing. You can use the leftover vegetables and turkey to make a pot pie with or just thicken the broth and make noodles and turkey (with a whole bunch of vegetables!)

   You could put dumplings on the top, just for fun. This recipe is very starchy though, and you might want to consider serving a salad on the side.

Recipe For Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Cooking really can be fun, especially if you have a goal in mind. Many really do not like to cook, but when you consider how much more nourishing food is when you make it yourself, that should be enough incentive to learn how to cook, at least some things.

I found this recipe for Greek Yogurt Pancakes here: http://lecremedelacrumb.com/2014/12/greek-yogurt-pancakes.html
and you might find this a good recipe and way to incorporate healthful ingredients. I know many cannot handle wheat products so perhaps you can substitute the flour for gluten free flour.

  This recipe calls for Greek Yogurt, which I have been making for a couple of years now, but I never knew what I could do with it, except to have beef marinate in it for a couple of days to make it tender. Now, I have another use for it! (I actually do not care for yogurt mixed with fruit, and will not buy the stuff in the store because I know it has sugar in it as well as other undesirable ingredients).

  I will share this recipe from 'Creme De La Crumb'. It says that it makes 4 servings. I would use coconut sugar if you want to use sugar at all. If you insist on using regular sugar, you can always buy organic sugar.

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

• 1½ cups all purpose flour (or whole wheat flour)
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar (optional, I like the extra touch of sweetness but they're healthier if you leave it out)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (or ½ teaspoon almond extract)
• ¾ cup plain greek yogurt (or vanilla greek yogurt)
• ¾ cup milk (I used fat free half & half)
• topping suggestions: syrup, powdered sugar, honey, fruit, etc

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat a pan or griddle to 325 (medium heat). Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, mix oil, eggs, vanilla, and greek yogurt.
2. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir. Stir in milk until all ingredients are combined - don't over mix, there should still be a few lumps.
3. Grease griddle and pour ¼ - ⅓ cup batter onto the griddle. Allow to cook for about 2 minutes or until edges begin to look "dry" and bubbles form in the batter. Use a thin spatula to flip the pancake over and allow to cook for a mother minute. Transfer to a platter and continue with remaining batter.
4. Top pancakes with desired toppings such as syrup, powdered sugar, honey, and fruit.

You can also soak the wheat if you desire. I am not an expert on this, but I guess you mix it with the liquid in the recipe and leave it to sit on the counter overnight. I can't wait to try this recipe. You can also just buy the yogurt at the store, but, if you have a yogurt maker, you can make your own at home. You can get the culture for Greek Yogurt from 'Cultures For Health' (http://www.culturesforhealth.com/ ). They have a good selection of all kinds of cultures, as well as instructions on how to culture food and make cheese. If you want to be more adventurous, you could get your own yogurt machine (amazon.com has lots to pick from). I have two yogurt machines, and after contemplating what I really would want in a machine, I decided I like the machines that use glass jars in making the yogurt. Here are a couple of yogurt making machines from amazon:

I have this yogurt maker and it
must be 30 years old or so. I
still use it regularly.

I have one similar to this, and
it makes one quart instead of
individual jars. 

                          

Making Your Own Pantry Items - Making Buttermilk And Sour Cream

Did you know that there are tons of things that you can make yourself? For instance, you can make your own yogurt or buttermilk? You can make your own laundry soap or deodorant. If you are in a pinch, you can make your own cake flour or self rising flour.

  We live in a day where we think everything should be easy or convenient. Our minds do not comprehend what it means to actually do some thinking, planning, and working to produce something worthwhile. But those who went before us knew how to make life work for them, using whatever they had on hand or whatever they grew in their yard or farm.

   I will tell you simply how to make buttermilk or sour cream. Both are similar to make and both are very easy to make. For buttermilk, you take about a cup of milk, put it in a glass jar and add to it 'mesophilic' culture (you can get it from here:).

You just sprinkle a little over the top of the milk, and cover it with a towel or napkin (I would use a rubber band around it to kind of seal it around the edges so bugs don't get in).

  To make sour cream, it is basically the same, except you will use heavy cream, or whipping cream instead of milk. Take a cup of cream, or how ever much sour cream you want to make, sprinkle the mesophilic culture over it (just use about 1/8th teaspoon), and cover it. Do not stir and do not use metal utensils or bowls because the metal could kill the culture. I use plastic and glass. Leave the jar to sit overnight or for about 8-12 hours. Refrigerate when finished.

  You can use the milk or cream from the store, but it is better to use raw milk or cream if you have it available.


Here is a book that tells one how to make a lot of these items at home. If you are like me, when I get into a pinch, I run to the Internet and do a search. But this book seems to have a lot of things you can make that you would normally buy already made from the store. You might wonder why a person would make something from scratch if you can buy it from a store. One big reason is that the food items you buy from a grocery store are lacking the proper nutrients, due to processing or a short shelf life. In order for stores to have items that will be somewhat productive for the customers, the items have to have preservatives added to them to make them last a long time, should they not sell quickly enough. You can get way more nutrition from making your own stuff.




  We are called to run our households and take care of our families, and nourishing those who are in our homes is one out of many responsibilities. We need to take the welfare of our families seriously!

Two Childhood Games To Play With Your Children

My mom was great at nursery rhymes and playing games. So were many of the adults around me when I was a toddler. One little nursery rhyme/game I hated was 'This Little Piggy Went To Market". The reason I hated this one was because when it got to the pinky toe, they would pull on it and say, 'This little piggy went wee wee wee wee wee all the way home". They would pull and wiggle on my toe and it would hurt!

  Anyway, there are some fun games for us to play with our kids, even small ones. One was called, 'Huckle Buckle Beanstalk'. You take a bean bag (or any small item) and have the children or child go out of the room. You then hide the bean bag. The place where you hide it will depend upon the maturity of the children. For example, you don't want to hide the bean bag in a bin inside the closet, for a two year old. You will want it in an easier to find place for a little one, or they will get frustrated. Bring the children out and let them try to find the hidden bean bag. When a child gets close to where it is hidden, say to the child, 'you are getting warm'. If he is really close, then tell the child he is getting hot. When the child finds it, have him or her say, 'Huckle buckle beanstalk'!

   The other game is 'colors'. Pick out an object and notice its color. Then say, 'I see and color, and it is red (or whatever the color of the picked out item is)'. Have the children try to guess what the object that you looked at is. The child who wins the correct guess can have the next turn. He or she can pick an object and have the others try to guess what the object is.

Simple Hot Cocoa Recipe

Everyone needs to know how to make hot cocoa at home. It really isn't hard at all. You just have to have the ingredients on hand.

Now you don't have to resort to prepackaged packets of hot cocoa mix, which probably have little to no nourishment in them, and possibly have other additives in them so they can last on the shelves of the stores without rotting.

You can make this as simple as you like, or you can add extras to make it taste a little more special. You can also make this with raw milk (I recommend) and it will have a lot of nourishment in it. Use cow's milk, goat's milk, sheep's milk, or coconut milk. Some have used almond milk also.

Hot Cocoa on The Stove

4 cups milk
4 Tablespoons cocoa powder (you can find organic on amazon.com)
4 Tablespoons sugar (I have used coconut sugar)
Extras (optional): pinch of powdered cinnamon, nutmeg, curry powder*, pink salt*, a drop of peppermint oil**)

Heat milk to almost boiling. Stir in sugar and cocoa powder. Cocoa powder does not mix well, but will mix in with the milk when it is hot. Remove from stove and add extras, if using.

Put a marshmallow on top of each one, or, top with whipped cream if desired. Sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles for a tasty looking drink.Yum.

* I have a friend who puts curry powder and Himalayan pink salt in her hot cocoa.
** Be careful to only put a drop of peppermint oil in the hot cocoa. Peppermint oil is extremely potent and could ruin the flavor of the hot cocoa or whatever you are cooking, if too much is added.

Straws

I don't know about you, but I use a lot of straws. I keep ones that we use at restaurants and wash them up and reuse them.

I also have stainless steel straws, but they are too short and not wide enough for most of my drinks. I have also seen glass straws as well.

Some of the cute straws they have out are in different shapes, and are usually made of plastic. But the problem with the straws is that they can end up being unsanitary. Because of the way they are made, it is hard to clean them and get the food out of them properly. And, since air cannot get to them as easily as it can in an open object, it is possible for mold to grow inside. Yuk.

Straws can go in the dishwasher, but if you have a heating element, and if the straw is plastic, it could melt the straw. Stainless steel ones can go in the dishwasher, but that might not get them clean on the inside. You can take a thin object and poke it inside the straw to try to scrape any leftovers out of the straw. If you have a small, thin bottle brush, you can clean it out as well.

I was thinking about ways we can clean the straws this morning. If you want them to be a little less germy, then consider soaking the straws in vinegar water. Rinse them out afterward though, unless you like a sour drink!

Another idea is to put a drop of Four Thieves oil in the straw (I have not done this yet, but it is  a possibility since I am always wondering how to clean the straws). Leave the oil in the straws for a while, then rinse out. Yes, if you don't rinse the straws out, the next drink you make might taste kind of strange.




Happy clean drinking!