Monday, October 29, 2007

Singing Sunday(Monday)

**very busy weekend at my house! I didn't even make it to my computer yesterday! Here is a song that I heard on the radio the other day that I thought I would share.***

Sold Out Believer
by Mark Heimermann, Clay Crosse and Regie Hamm

You can live your life in a different world
Spend your time lookin' for a different girl
Carry on like there ain't no tomorrow
You can take your mind to a different plane
Push it to the edge and forget your name
Lose it all and you will beg, steal or borrow
But I don't want to live that way
Be another helpless stray
I'm lookin' for the truth today
And it's somethin' I've been prayin' for

Chorus:
I wanna be a sold out believer
I wanna follow my Lord completely
I don't wanna waste another day
I gotta love Him all the way
I want to be a sold out believer

You can put your faith in the moon and stars
Say there's really nothin' to the very scars
That belong to the hands of the Father
You can say the man wasn't what he seemed
Callin' Him a fool with a crazy dream
And in the end He was just another martyr
But let me tell you how I feel
I believe His love can heal
Yeah I know what He did was real
And it's somethin' I've been livin' for

Repeat chorus

I gotta give my all
Don't wanna go half way
I gotta show my love
Don't have to be afraid
Gotta lay it on the line
Workin' overtime believer
But let me tell you how I feel
I believe His love can heal
Yeah I know what He did was real
And it's somethin' I've been dyin' for

Thursday, October 25, 2007

No Bake Cheesecake


1 can sweetened condensed milk
8 oz. package cream cheese
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can of pie filling (cherry, blueberry...)
1 graham cracker crumb pie crust

Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually add sweetened condensed milk. Stir in lemon juice. Pour into pie crust. Refrigerate until firm and then add pie filling on top if desired. Can use fresh fruit(strawberries, blueberries are best) for garnish as well.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Lunch Ideas

Got in a rut of the same ol' sandwich or the same ol' dish for lunch?? Here is a list of options that might inspire you to do something different today for lunch! If I don't do leftover dinners than I serve chips or pretzels, raw veggies and fruit with each item.

Hot Dogs

Leftover Dinners

Bagel Bites/Pizza rolls

Deli Meat Sandwiches

Lunchables (homemade)

PB&J Sandwiches

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Nuggets/Tenders

Fried egg sandwiches

Mini homemade pizzas

Egg salad sandwiches

Chicken/Tuna salad sandwiches

Homemade pita bread stuffed with any number of things

Salad with grilled chicken

Chili beans, toss some cheese, salsa and tortilla chips and you got nachos

Make up a bunch of meatballs and freeze. Get some hoagie rolls and spaghetti sauce and make meatball subs.

Make up a bunch of spaghetti and let them have at it.

Egg burritos

Salad with a bit of chicken chunks and boiled eggs

Homemade tortillas throw in some chili

Leftover pasta with whatever. I've thrown leftover pasta and chicken together. Add chopped veggies or have them on the side, drizzle with a vinagriette.

French toast and fruit

Veggie Chicken noodle soup(leftover chicken and veggies with pasta and broth)

Bean and cheese burritos

Chicken quesadillas(cut up leftover chicken, add salsa or taco sauce to it, put on one side of a tortilla shell top with cheese, fold over tortilla shell, melt some butter or use olive oil in a hot skillet then put quesadilla in the skillet and lightly brown both sides)

Cheese quesadillas

Baked potatoes with leftover chili or taco meat

Monday, October 22, 2007

Pumpkin Oat Streusel Muffins

**found this recipe over on Quaker Oats website and it looked like a yummy recipe to try to use all my pumpkin up**

STREUSEL
1/4 cup Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon margarine or butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

MUFFINS
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 cup pumpkin
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten

Heat oven to 400°F. Line twelve medium muffin cups with paper baking cups or spray bottoms only with cooking spray. For streusel, combine all ingredients in small bowl; mix well. Set aside. For muffins, combine flour, oats, sugar, nuts, if desired, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl; mix well. In medium bowl, combine pumpkin, milk, oil and egg; blend well. Add to dry ingredients all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not overmix.)

Fill muffin cups almost full. Sprinkle with reserved streusel, patting gently. Bake 22 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool muffins in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Serve warm. Makes 1 dozen


NUTRITION INFORMATION: 1 muffin Calories 230, Calories From Fat 80, Total Fat 9g, Saturated Fat 1g, Cholesterol 20mg, Sodium 170mg, Total Carbohydrates 35g, Dietary Fiber 2g, Protein 4g.

Italian Sauce

6 medium carrots, shredded
3 large onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup cooking oil
6 28-oz cans tomatoes
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. dried basil, crushed
2 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 bay leaves

In a 8-10 quart Dutch oven, cook carrots, onion, and garlic in hot cooking oil til onion is tender and not brown. Add undrained tomatoes, sugar, salt, basil, oregano, pepper and bay leaves. Boil gently, uncovered for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Cool Italian Sauce. Remove bay leaves and disgard. Place about 1/4 of the mixture at a time in blender container and blend til smooth. Freezes or cans well.

My notes: I have used a combination of stewed tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, crushed tomatoes. I let this simmer all day on low in the crockpot. I use the blender due to my family not liking chunky spaghetti sauce. When I cook it all day I don't cook the carrots, onions, and garlic first! I let them get tender in the tomatoes. I add the browned ground meat after I have blended the sauce in the blender.Enjoy! This is my mom's spaghetti sauce recipe that I grew up with! It is a tried and true recipe! It is even good as pizza sauce!