• World's Best Hot Chocolate Recipe
    Recipes

    Homemade Hot Chocolate

    What’s the weather like in your neck of the woods these days? We have been iced and snowed in for nearly a week here are our house. This kind of weather is very unusual around here, so we’ve enjoyed the chance to slow down a little. The kids have spent so much time out sledding and playing that they are falling into bed at night and sleeping in late in the mornings. As homeschoolers, we could press on with a normal school schedule if we chose, but all of the children that live near us have schedules dictated by one school system or another and they’ve all been off and itching…

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  • Menu Plan
    Menu Plan

    Menu Plan Monday 1/13/2014

    It’s January. Where did December go? It just seemed to disappear in a whirling, twirling craze of wrapping paper, lights, Christmas preparations and celebrations, late nights, little sleep, LOTS of eating out, and then . . . finally . . . we all got sick. That began on Christmas day when my little guy woke up at about 3 in the morning (around 45 minutes after my husband and I had finally collapsed into bed) with croup and a scary round of stridor. For about an hour we thought an ambulance wasn’t necessary but an emergency room visit might be inevitable. Finally, the steamy bathroom alternating with the COLD outside…

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  • Menu Plan
    Menu Plan

    Menu Plan Monday 12/09/2013

    I’ve done a TERRIBLE job of menu planning the past couple of weeks and as a result we’ve eaten out too much and just eaten REALLY, REALLY badly. Time to get back on track! So, here’s the menu plan for feeding people this week: Monday Cold Cereal Apple, PB, Granola Sandwiches (or Banana PB Dogs) Classical Conversations Tutor Party, so Daddy’s handling dinner for the kiddos Tuesday Oatmeal Hummus, Chips, Apples Out Wednesday Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins Roasted Chicken with Roasted Butternut Squash and Green Beans Community Dinner at Church Thursdsay Leftover Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins Crockpot Beans and GF Cornbread Shrimp and Alfredo Pasta Friday Gluten Free Pancakes BBQ Chicken…

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  • Applesauce Bread Gluten Free Quick Bread
    Breakfast,  Recipes

    Gluten Free Applesauce Bread

    There’s just something about applesauce bread. It’s warm and comforting. It smells FANTASTIC while it’s baking. It’s wonderful plain, it’s delectable with butter, and I love it with peanut butter! It even makes a great sandwich for lunch with peanut butter and possibly a little bit of honey. Yum! Now that I’ve typed all this, I need to go and make some more.  NOW. Gluten Free Applesauce Bread Ingredients 1 1/2 cups Gluten Free All Purpose Flour* 3/4 cup Rapadura or Sucanat (or 1/2 cup honey**) 1/2 teaspoon xantham gum 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 3/4 cup applesauce…

  • Menu Plan
    Menu Plan

    Menu Plan Monday 11/18/2013

    I had a WONDERFUL time at the Ladies’ Retreat with our church this weekend! And, now that I’ve done two days worth of dishes, surveyed the house, declared it a disaster zone, and called off our regularly scheduled plans tomorrow to deal with it, it’s time to get this week on track with a Menu Plan! You’ll see that tomorrow’s breakfast plan is what I like to refer to as the “out of a box” variety. We don’t actually do cereal all that often. Sometimes, though, it’s just the fastest way to get people fed. A few months ago, I was trying to figure out a way to add flavor…

  • Gluten Free Biscuit Recipe
    Breakfast,  Recipes

    Gluten Free Biscuits Recipe

    This is our family’s FAVORITE recipe for Gluten Free Biscuits! It goes together quickly and easily and the recipe can be adapted to use more than one starch or flour, so you can tailor it to what you have on hand. So, with no further adieu, I offer you (drum roll, please!) . . . Gluten Free Biscuits Ingredients 1/2 Cup Starch (Potato, Tapioca, or Cornstarch . . . I typically use a combination of Potato and Tapioca) 3/4 Cup Flour (Brown Rice or Sorguhm) 1 3/4 teaspoons xanthan gum 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon sugar 1/3 cup cold butter, cut into chunks 3/4 cup buttermilk, whey from making yogurt, or milk Directions Preheat the oven to 375°F…

  • Great Grocery Deals
    Groceries

    Great Grocery Deals! 11/10/13

    Saturday evening I was working on my monthly order with Azure Standard. If you have a route in your area, and you like to purchase “whole food” or “real food” type items, you really should check them out. I think you have to create an account in order to see their prices, but they really do have great grocery deals. They brought a route to my area of the country early last year, and I’ve been so glad that they did! They’re opening up more routes all the time, so if there isn’t one near you, contact the company and tell them you’re interested. Maybe they’ll bring one your direction…

  • Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins
    Breakfast,  Recipes

    Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins

    Mmmmm . . . Fall and pumpkin . . . they just go hand in hand. Truthfully, I like pumpkin just about anytime, which is why I keep a lot in my freezer year-round. I like to decorate with pumpkins that roast well and look good – Fairy Tale and Cinderella Pumpkins have been my favorites over the years. Using my decor for food later makes me feel SO much better about spending money in the fall on some pumpkins to sit around the house. And, as long as you don’t make them into Jack-o-lanterns, they usually last the full season and leave you plenty of time to roast them…

  • Gluten Free Pancakes
    Recipes

    YUMMY and Simple Gluten Free Pancakes!

    We eat pancakes pretty often.  Consequently, after my husband was diagnosed with Celiac earlier this year, we spent several months on the hunt for a good gluten free pancake recipe. We ate through many a dud before finding this recipe and making some minor changes to make it really work for us.  This recipe has a good “mouth feel” and isn’t too dry.  The flavor is really nice. This is a gluten free pancake tht I will happily serve to guests who aren’t accustomed to eating gluten free because it really doesn’t taste all that different from the pancakes we used to eat. Ingredients Dry Ingredients: 1 cup brown rice…

  • Gluten Free Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Muffins
    Menu Plan

    Menu Plan 10/14/2013

    Muffins, muffins everywhere! Obviously, we enjoy a good muffin around here. Pictured above are the Gluten Free Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Muffins. I’ll share the recipe soon.  It’s just not QUITE perfected. It’s got an endorsement from 50% of the family, but 2 of us are holding out for a little more of a “Wow!” factor.  Hopefully, we’ll get there this week.  We’re also in the mood for the fall flavors of pumpkin, apples, sweet potatoes, and soup around here, but because it’s actually still pretty warm, we’re just not ready to give up the watermelon that’s still showing up at the Farmer’s Market! Plus, when you’ve got a kiddo that…