Making a House a Home

Happy National Pie Day!!!!!

We celebrated with a Chocolate Chess Pie. YUM!!!

What kind of pie did you and your family celebrate with?

Elizabeth LOVES Peanut Butter Granola for breakfast! And I love that I know every single ingredient that is in it.


Peanut Butter Granola
(adapted from Hillbilly Housewife)

2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats

Begin by melting the butter and peanut butter together in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the honey, vanilla and salt. Stir the mixture until it is smooth and hot throughout. It doesn’t need to boil. Add the oats. Stir until the oats are completely coated with the sticky gooey peanut butter mixture. It will be chunky. Turn the mixture into an ungreased cookie sheet, or a large 9 by 13-inch pan. Spread the granola out evenly and bake it at 375° for 10 to 15 minutes. It should be brown and crispy. Now remove it from the oven and allow it to cool right there in the pan. Break it up into pieces after it is cooled. Transfer the granola to a sealed canister to store.

I'm not sure how long this would actually last before spoiling. Elizabeth eats it too quickly!! :)

I am positive I am not the only one who fell in love with the dear townspeople of Cranford. And tonight Masterpiece Theatre is airing part one of Return to Cranford!! Be sure and check your local TV listings so you can watch it!!!

I just LOVE starting off the new year with a drawer full of fresh new dish towels!!! I buy new sets every two years and get so excited when it's time to purchase them!

We don't have a lot of storage space in our small home, so after I wash and dry the dish towels, I fold them and roll them up so that they fit neatly into a kitchen drawer.

Is there something that you do every year or every other year in your kitchen to make your house a home?

Once again, I'm going to be celebrating National Pie Day!! Anyone else wanna join in?

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010, will be the date to serve and eat some delicious pie!!!

Hmmmm... now to narrow down which pie I want to make to celebrate that day...

(Photo found here.)

Three years ago today we got to see our first glimpse of our dearest, loveliest Elizabeth when our agency emailed her photo to us. I had NO CLUE that I could ever possibly love one human being so very much!!!!

How did we ever live without her? We are SO blessed!! Thank you, Lord!!!!!

UPDATE: Okay, so we put the extra cinnamon rolls in the freezer for later. We couldn't stand knowing they were in there, so the next day we took them out of the freezer, let them stand maybe 5 minutes and then popped them into a 250 degree oven for 18 minutes (we put them in a cold oven) and they were even BETTER than they were the day I first made them!!! Seriously!!!



Yep, these are THOSE cinnamon rolls. YUM!!!

Anyone that loves to cook and is online has surely heard of the Pioneer Woman by now!! These are her famous cinnamon rolls! Oh my are these GOOD!!! I halved the recipe and they still came out PERFECTLY!! 24 yummy cinnamon rolls!! One pan we gobbled up immediately and the other is in the freezer (fully cooked and iced!!) for another not-too-distant day.

The job of keeping a home is an honorable one. There is a difference between a housekeeper and a homekeeper. A hired housekeeper will keep the home clean and do the duties as expected of her employer, but a homekeeper does the duties in her home from her heart. She does it out of love for her family. She looks upon her duties as the most important job in all the world. It takes a lot of patience, skill, commitment and love to be a keeper of your home. Be faithful; in due time, your familoy will rise up and call you blessed. I am honored to be the keeper of my home.

Mrs. Martha Greene, from Treasury of Vintage Homekeeping Skills

Congratulations to Mrs. Pear!!!! She is the winner of the book A Life That Says Welcome by Karen Ehman!!!!

Mrs. Pear, please email me as soon as possible with your mailing address so that Mrs. Ehman can send you your autographed copy of her wonderful book!!!

Congratulations!!!!!

Update: kimlessig, please email me by this Sunday, December 27th, so that I can get your mailing address. If I do not hear from you by then, I will need to draw another name.

Mmmmmmm... nothing warms me up better than a bowl full of soup, stew or chowder. Today's recipe isn't just any old regular corn chowder, however. It's from an awesome book I just finished entitled A Life That Says Welcome by Karen Ehman- a book about hospitality and welcoming others into your home and your life.

Mrs. Ehman kindly shared some of her favorite recipes in her book. Corn Chowder is just one of them and it is DELICIOUS!! All four of us LOVED it!!! Let me get to the recipe...

Corn Chowder
In a large pot combine:
4 cups chicken stock (or 4 cups water with bouillon cubes to taste)
6 cups diced, peeled Yukon Gold potatoes
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup diced celery

Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Then add:
3 T butter
1-2 cups finely chopped leftover ham
1 1/2 cups leftover corn
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

Just before serving, add:
8 ounces sour cream

Thin with a little milk, if needed. Stir well. Serves 8-10.

YUMMMMMM!!!! Warm and delicious AND my family loved it. What can get better???

Okay... so there's the recipe.... NOW for the GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For everyone that leaves a comment before SUNDAY NIGHT, DECEMBER 20th, before 8:00 pm EST, you get ONE entry.

If you blog about this on your blog, too, then you can be entered TWICE!!!!!

What is the giveaway???? Mrs. Ehman is graciously giving an AUTOGRAPHED copy of her wonderful book, A Life That Says Welcome!!!!







Y'all will be so encouraged and challenged with this book! I love it and I am sure y'all will, too!!!!

Please enter right away!! Sunday night will be here before know it!!

My real life friend, Melissa, at Desiring to be a Godly Woman, just started selling Southern Living at Home!!!

If y'all have never seen any of their products, please go visit her website. WOW!! Lovely things for your home, for sure!!!

I know I'm not the only one around the web to have discovered Pioneer Woman's cooking site called Tasty Kitchen. There are some seriously YUMMY looking recipes on there!!!

Recently I made the Perfectly Easy Dinner Rolls and they are just that- perfectly easy!! They are definitely the easiest rolls I have ever made AND they were tasty, too!!!

Here they are before rising and baking. And remember, the recipe says to roll these into smooth balls. But hey, I had a 3 1/2 year old helper and, well, this is as smooth as they get. (And I'm pretty sure they were extra tasty because Elizabeth was helping! smile!!!)



Perfectly Easy Dinner Rolls...

Prep Time 20 Minutes
Cook Time 15 Minutes
Servings 24
Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
1 cup Warm Water (105F To 115F)
2 packages Active Dry Yeast
½ cups Butter, Melted (1 Stick)
½ cups Sugar
3 whole Eggs
1 teaspoon Salt
4 cups To 4 1/2 Cups Unbleached All-purpose Flour
Additional Melted Butter (optional)

Preparation Instructions
Combine the warm water (I usually go to 115F) in a large bowl. Stir in the yeast and let stand for 5 to 8 minutes for a good proof. Stir in butter, sugar, beaten eggs and salt. Beat in 1 cup flour at a time (I use a wooden spoon) until dough is too stiff to mix (some flour may not be needed). Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 4 days in a lightly greased bowl.

Grease a 13- x 9-inch baking pan (I use butter). Turn out chilled dough onto a lightly floured board. Divide dough into 24 equal-size pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth round ball; place balls in even rows in the prepared pan. Cover and let dough balls rise in a warm location until doubled in volume, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Bake until rolls are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Brush warm rolls with melted butter, if desired. Break rolls apart to serve. You can obviously make clover leaf rolls from this recipe.

And here is the end result. Seriously yummy dinner rolls!!

To all of you that comment on my blog as "anonymous", I am so sorry, but I have had to stop allowing anonymous comments. I've gotten TONS of comments with links to businesses, places of ill repute, even just plain old weird comments. All of these I have had to go back and delete. I am simply tired of going MANY times a day and deleting the comments. Perhaps in the future I will be able to allow anonymous comments again, but for now, I will not.

I am very sorry. I do pray that all these spam comments stop posting on blogs. So sad.

His,
Mrs. U

2.) When your host or hostess picks up their fork to eat, then you may eat. Do not start before this unless the host or hostess insists that you start eating.

3.) Once used, your utensils, including the handles, should not touch the table again. Always rest forks, knives, and spoons on the side of your plate or in the bowl.

4.) Pass food from the left to the right.

5.) Always say please when asking for something. Be sure to say thank you to your server or host after they have removed any used items.

6.) Taste your food before seasoning it.

7.) Do try a little of everything on your plate.

8.) Don't blow on your food to cool it off. If it is too hot to eat, take the hint and wait.

9.) Keep elbows off the table. Keep your left hand in your lap unless you are using it.

10.) Do not talk with your mouth full. Chew with your mouth closed.

11.) Do not blow your nose at the dinner table. Excuse yourself to visit the restroom. Wash your hands before returning to the dining room. If you cough, cover your mouth with your napkin to stop the spread of germs and muffle the noise. If your cough becomes unmanageable, excuse yourself to visit the restroom. Wash your hands before returning to the dining room.

This rule is especially important as we are able to enter a bad flu season!

12.) Whenever a woman leaves the table or returns to sit, all men seated with her should stand up.

A few General Rules

1.) Arrive at least 10 minutes early unless otherwise specified. Do not arrive earlier as your host or hostess may not be ready for you yet.

2.) Turn off your cell phone or switch it to silent or vibrate mode before sitting down to eat, and leave it in your pocket or purse. It is impolite to answer a phone during dinner. If you must make or take a call, excuse yourself from the table and step outside.

Yep, that's my sweet Elizabeth carefully putting all the cleaned silverware back in its proper place. She LOVES to do this!! She is a "big girl" now with a big girl bed, wearing panties (even during nap time!!!) and getting big girl jobs to do around the house. She couldn't be happier!!!

Thanks to Heritage Schoolhouse, we had a yummy breakfast this morning of Gingerbread Scones and piping hot coffee. Mmmm! Definitely the best way to start off a day!!!


Gingerbread Scones
8 servings

2 cups flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup plus 2 T milk
1 egg, separated
sugar

Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside. Combine the molasses, milk and egg yolk until smooth; stir into the flour mixture just until moistened. Turn the dough onto a floured surface; knead gently 6-8 times. Pat into an 8 inch circle; cut into 8 wedges and place 1 inch apart on a greased baking sheet. Beat egg white until frothy; brush over scones. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to wire rack. Serve warm and enjoy!