Apple Butter Bread Mix in a Jar

**Mix for Jar**
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts — chopped

To Prepare Bread, Add:
1 1/2 cups apple butter — divided
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup butter or margarine — melted
1 egg — beaten

Layering dry mix: Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Using a funnel put mixture into a wide-mouth quart jar. Use a tamper or the bulb end of a baster to firmly pack flour mixture in jar. Layer brown sugar into jar and firmly pack. Layer raisins into jar. Layer walnuts into jar. Makes mix for one quart jar.

To prepare: Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour bottom and sides of a 9x5x2 3/4 inch loaf pan. Combine 3/4 cup of apple butter, apple juice, melted butter and beaten egg in a large bowl. Add one quart jar of apple butter bread mix. Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread remaining 3/4 cup apple butter over batter. Gently pour remaining batter over apple butter. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched in center. Cool pan for 15 minutes on wire rack. Remove bread from pan and continue cooling on wire rack. Wrap tightly. Store in refrigerator. Yield: one loaf.

Be sure to attach recipe card to jar complete with “To Prepare” ingredients and baking instructions. Decorate your gift-in-a-jar with fabric rounds, raffia or ribbon and a gift tag. Or, simply include your jar in a basket of goodies.

Stuffed Cornbread

(This makes 2 bread pans full and can be easily halved)

2 lb. ground beef or turkey
2 pkg. taco seasoning (about 4 tbsp.)
1 can green chilies (next time, I’m using rotel tomatoes)
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1 onion, chopped
4 pkgs. corn bread mix (can make from scratch and do Nurishing Traditions style, I plan on trying that soon myself)
Eggs, water/milk for the corn bread mix
1 pkg. grated cheese

Brown the meat in a skillet along with the garlic and onion. Add the taco seasoning and chilies (or rotel). Heat through. Meanwhile mix up the corn bread mix. Spray 2 bread pans with non-stick spray. Pour 1/4 of corn bread mixture into the bottom of each pan. Pour in 1/2 meat mixture into each pan. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Top each pan with 1/4 (remaining) cornbread. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake at 425 for 25-3- minutes, until top is golden brown. Serve with beans (Nourishing Traditions Style) and a green salad. Yummy!!

Susan’s Cabbage, Tomatoes & Beef

1 stick butter
1/4 head cabbage shredded
2-1/2 lb. ground beef
1 can diced tomatoes
1-1/2 tbs. beef bouillon granules
Vinegar
Jalapeno salt (optional)

In a large skillet melt the butter and sauté the cabbage until it’s soft. Add the ground beef and brown. Drain off grease. Open the can of diced tomatoes and drain off liquid, reserving liquid. Pour tomatoes into skillet and mix with the meat. Lower heat to simmer. Meanwhile, to the reserved tomato liquid, add 1-1/2 tbsp. beef bouillon granules and enough vinegar to taste. Add jalapeno salt if you wish. For me this equaled about 1/3 of a cup. Mix or shake well (I mixed all ingredients into an old, saved peanut butter jar and shook it). Pour over the mixture in the skillet. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over rice or noodles or eat as is.

Adventures With Flat Makenzie

A friend of mine daughter is participating in a “Flat Stanley” project and we volunteered to join in the fun. Late last month, Flat Makenzie arrived in the mail and we were finally able to go and take Flat Makenzie around to scenic sites in our area. We plan on doing some more this weekend before we return Flat Makenzie home early next week, along with a bunch of fun stuff! I thought I’d post about our adventures with Flat Makenzie here on the blog, as the boys really enjoyed the day off of school today.

Our first stop was at the Lake Aquilla Dam. We drove down there to see if we could find some bluebonnets to take pictures of.

Country Boy & Half Pint below the Lake Aquilla Dam.

Bluebonnets, the state flower of Texas

Half-Pint and Flat Makenzie sitting in the bluebonnets

After finding the bluebonnets and getting some pictures, we were off to our next destination….Lake Whitney State Park.

Half-Pint, Country Boy and Flat Makenzie just outside Lake Whitney State Park.

Half-Pink and Flat Makenzie with Lake Whitney in the background.

Our next destination was the Lake Whitney Dam and the Brazos River.

Half-Pint and Flat Makenzie with the Lake Whitney Dam in the background.

Half-Pint and Flat Makenzie on the Brazos river below Lake Whitney Dam.

After touring Lake Aquilla and Lake Whitney, we drove over to Hillsboro to catch the sights there.

On the way there, we drove over Lake Aquilla.

Flat Makenzie posing next to some Indian Paintbrushes.

Plunkett’s Dominos where Willy Nelson occasionally goes to play Dominos. He’s originally from Abbott, Texas which is not too far away.

Hill County Courthouse, located in Hillsboro Texas.

A historic train station located in Hillsboro Texas. It’s now the Chamber of Commerce.

Half-Pint and Flat Makenzie outside the historic train station.

Half-Pint and Flat Makenzie posing next to an antique wagon.

The Medal of Honor Memorial to Native Born Texans, located outside the Texas Heritage Museum in Hillsboro Texas on the Hill College Campus.

Close up of the center panel of the memorial. Pictured are Audie Murphy and Samuel Dealey.

Flat Makenzie posing next to the historical marker located outside the Texas Heritage Museum in Hillsboro Texas on the Hill College Campus.

Half-Pint and Flat Makenzie posing next to the Texas Heritage Museum sign. We weren’t allowed to take any photos inside though.

The Most WONDERFUL Time of The Year

Garage Sale Season!!!! Boy, we did really good at garage sales today! Well, that and a bunch of hand-me-downs from my nephew (Thanks Kathy!!). You know me, I’ve got to share and took lots of pictures of our haul. Before I go out garage sale-ing, I always say a little prayer asking God to provide us the things that we need at a price we can afford. Lately, that prayer has been asking for clothing for my oldest son. He’s at a REALLY hard age to find clothes for. He wears a men’s size small/medium shirt and about a 28/29×32 pant/jeans. Usually all I find are large and x-large shirts and pants with waists of 34 or greater. So I was very thankful to have found quite a bit of shirts in his size. The Lord sure does provide! They were even the type of shirts I prefer for my boys to wear, polo style ones (plus one t-shirt). It always makes such a difference when I pray before we go out garage sale-ing! Anyway, here are the pictures of the hand-me-downs and garage sale finds. The only thing I don’t have a picture of is a Window unit A/C for the boy’s room we got for $25.

First are the hand-me-downs. These are all for my youngest. Total cost – FREE (Thanks again Sis!!)

Short/shirt set. Riley is going through a pirate stage, so as soon as he saw this, he HAD to put it on. Add Camo to the mix and this is his PERFECT outfit…lol!

4 long-sleeved dress shirts.

3 pair jeans

2 pair khaki shorts

2 short-sleeved cotton shirts
1 long sleeved dress shirt
1 long sleeved Star Wars T-shirt

1 pair track pants

1 short-sleeved polo style shirt

Now, here are our garage sale finds!

For my oldest:
5 polo style shirts (prices from $2-$3)
1 t-shirt (Price $0.75)

1 pair denim shorts ($3.00)

2 books that have Tom Sawyer and Five Little Peppers on one side…

Then you flip them over and there’s Huckleberry Fin and Alice In Wonderland on the other side ($0.25 each)

Wild America VHS tape. Marty loved the Wild America show they had on TV when we were kids, he’s got lots of fond memories about them, so we had to grab this one up. ($0.50)

Rocks & Minerals Book ($0.25)
Louis Lamour Hopalong Cassidy Book ($0.50)
Mustard Seed Magic (old public school reader) ($0.25)
Pinocchio ($0.25)
Little Men (($0.25)

Viking Adventures ($0.25)
Switchfood – Learning to Breathe Christian Music CD (for my oldest) ($0.50)

2 Janette Oke Books ($0.25 each)

Little George Foreman grill with bun warmer for Marty to take to work ($3.00)

Larger George Foreman grill for the house ($5.00)

The Story of America, an old elementary textbook from 1970 ($0.25)
Magic Meals ($0.25)

Wooden Mancala game ($1.00)
Phase 10 Card game ($1.00)
both were brand new.

The Hobbit ($0.10)

The Book of Classic Board Games ($1.00)

Small Anvil ($5.00)

Really neat Ice Chest that opens up into a small table with chairs! ($7.50)

Side folds up to store chair and table leg

ice chest with 1 leaf of the table open.

The other side folds up too and stores a 2nd chair and the 2nd table leg.

Here it is all set up.

The center portion of the “table” lifts off and is the lid to a small ice chest. Marty thought this would be a perfect size to take along when he and the boys go fishing.

Susan’s Smoked Sausage Rice Bake

Hot Cooked brown rice (I guess I fixed about 1-1/2 cup raw rice, I didn’t measure)
1 onion, chopped
1/2 stick butter
1 pkg smoked sausage (2 links), cut into slices and then cut slices into 1/4th’s
1-1/2 tbsp. taco seasoning (about 1 pkg.)
1 can diced tomatoes, mostly drained

I melted the butter and sauted the onions in the butter. I then added the cut up smoked sausage. I let them simmer until the onions were clear. Then I added the tomatoes and taco seasoning. I let that simmer about 10 minutes until it thickened up a bit. I served sausage mixture over the rice. It turned out really good!

My Household Servants

I believe that the majority of U.S. household employ at least one servant, most have several servants. I feel really blessed to be able to employ eight that I use on a regular basis. I thought I should take a moment and introduce you to them.

I would first like to introduce Miss Roper (#1) and her sister Miss Roper (#2). They are fraternal twins who take care of our clothing. Let me tell you, Miss Roper #1 is a wiz at washing our clothes. Our clothes come back from her clean and sweet smelling. She scrubs our clothing extremely well and she really seems to enjoy her vocation. Now her sister Miss Roper #2, is a little firecracker! She has a hot temper like you’ve never seen, but boy, she sure can dry our clothes fast. We don’t employ her for everyday use, but only when the weather is not suitable for line drying.

Our next servant is Mrs. Kenmore. She does a fantastic job defrosting our food quickly and efficiently. She’s an expert at cooking those quick and simple meals that we so enjoy.

We also employ Mrs. Kenmore’s husband, Mr. Kenmore. Mr. Kenmore has a chilly disposition and is rather cold, but he’s great at preserving our food for the future. Because of him, we’re able to store our food for long periods. He’s also wonderful at making ice and let me tell you, his ice cream it to die for! We also employ his brother, Mr. Kenmore #2. They are very similar in nature and they work together as a pair.

Next are our servants Mr. and Mrs. Whirlpool. Mr. Whirlpool’s sole purpose is to provide hot water to our home on an as needed basis. At times, the poor thing is constantly running, especially in the evening when everyone is trying to get a bath. He’s such a hard working fellow, but he’s rather shy. He often hides in the closet! Mrs. Whirlpool on the other hand, she’s a pistol. She’s our other hot head. But let me tell you, she bakes bread like no other! There’s very little that she won’t bake or attempt to cook. She does the majority of the cooking in our household.

Finally, there’s Mrs. Black-Decker. She’s a wonder when it comes to cleaning our floors! She picks up the finest of crumbs and keeps our floor neat and tidy. She’s a bit loud, but I wouldn’t trade her for anything!

I’m so glad that I got the opportunity to introduce you to our servants. I feel so blessed to have them working for me and we treat them as part of the family. Could I keep my home without them? You betcha! But God has blessed me with these servant and so I’m going to use them to their full ability!

Mex Mac

1 big box (14 oz.)Macaroni & Cheese
1 pkg. mexican seasoning
1 can tomato sauce

Make the mac & cheese according to package directions. Mix in the cheese sauce, milk & butter as package directs. Add the Mexican seasoning and the tomato sauce and mix together. This was a little salty for me, so I’d use less Mexican seasoning next time. The kids loved this simple and inexpensive lunch! Not the most healthy, so here are some changes I’d make to make it healthier.

Instead of the Macaroni & cheese, I’d cook 1 lb. of whole wheat elbow macaroni. Then add 1 package of grated cheddar and mix together to melt the cheese. This will make it a little healthier, but it will make it more expensive. The original recipe cost just a little more than $1.50. To make it with the whole wheat elbow macaroni and cheddar cheese would bump the price up to nearly $5.40. Still, that’s not too bad of a price for 3 people, plus leftovers.

Make Your Own Spray On Leave In Conditioner

My hair has gotten so long and it tangles really easily, so I had started using a spray on leave in conditioner. These can be pretty expensive, so I decided to try making my own. This is what I did and it seems to be working for me.

Fill a spray bottle about 1/4 the way full with the hair conditioner of your choice. Then fill the remaining space with water. Shake well and use as a leave on spray. I shake well before using each time. If this mixture is too thick and clogs up the sprayer, just use less conditioner next time.

This mixture saves me money and it’s so easy to make!

Susan’s Beans, Rice and Chicken Crock-Pot Dinner

2 cups dried beans (I use a combo of small red beans and pinto beans)
1 cup Uncooked brown rice
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 can stewed tomatoes
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (usually left overs from a baked whole chicken)
2 tbsp. taco seasoning (I use homemade)

In a crock pot, place the beans, rice, onion and garlic. Cover with water. Turn crock-pot on high and let cook. About 1 hour before dinner time, add the stewed tomatoes, shredded chicken and taco seasoning. We usually eat this with cornbread.