Quinoa Recipe and a Craft Idea...

Hello my dears....
 Hasn't this week flown?  

Terry has been working away over in Prince Edward Island and so it is a good time to get extra chores finished while he is away.... 

I wanted to show you this little craft that I have in a spare room here.. It is very simple to do..

 If you happen to have a wee bird's nest on hand (or buy one at the craft or dollar store) then all you need is an old Bible or book.  Place the little nest on top of the book with a couple of eggs. 

You can usually buy eggs at the dollar stores, too.. 

Look up an old baby photo   that is free from The Feathered Nest  and print it off.. Just click on either link...

Then just cut it out with a pair of small scissors and place behind the eggs..  You could cut out a little set of wings, too..

Many lovely blogs show much nicer crafts done with nests and eggs.  But this is just one I put together for a night table..

I also placed one of the battery operated tea lights behind the cutout.. I left the edge of it so you can see it if you look close..

The tea light keeps the little photo balanced or use a dab of glue.

 It is kind of sweet at night.. 

While Terry was away this week I made a dish that is not one of his favorites... I love Middle Eastern food.. He does not...smile..

But I thought you might like to try this recipe...

It is very good for you and your children..

We all need to eat more grains and I am not much of a meat eater..

When Dustin (our youngest) was small he used to say that Mom was an almost vegetarian.... smile....

Anyway, did you know that the grain quinoa contains more protein than any other grain?  Plus it is a good source of fibre, calcium, iron and other good stuff....

QUINOA SIDEDISH..

Remember this is a mixture of recipes that I combined to taste the way I like.  You can get many good recipes on the web..

First of all ... you need to place your quinoa in a strainer and run warm water over it until the water is clear... For a minute or two..

3/4 cup quinoa.. rinsed well

2 1/4 c. chicken broth

salt and pepper..

Place these in a pot and simmer on low for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile...

Saute in 2 T. olive oil 1 medium chopped onion until soft.  Then add 1 or 2 chopped garlic cloves and a pinch or two of red pepper flakes.  Add zest of l lemon, 2 tsp. cumin and 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley..

Saute for just a few moments and set aside.

When the quinoa has cooked for about 20 minutes then add the onion mixture .

Also add the juice of l lemon and more chicken broth if needed and simmer for 15 more minutes or until the liquid is absorbed..

You can add leftover cubed up chicken and cool for a salad.

Or leave out the chicken and serve as a sidedish with Grilled Chicken Breasts...  

I like to add more fresh parsley and a lemon slice...

Serve warm or cold...

I hope you get a chance to try this.... Let me know if you like it...

That is all for today girls except I thought I would share this ...

I listened to a message on a dvd  last night..It was excellent.  It was titled the ECHOES OF US....

It concerned how we echo off the people that we come in contact with..

Are the folks we meet each day receiving an echo of love from us or are we too busy with the cares of this world to allow ourselves to echo the love of God..

It is so easy to be so busy that we as born again Christians forget our purpose..

Our purpose is to spread the Good News..

That Jesus loves us...all of us.. everyone.. no matter what or who..  

He died for our sins.. all of our sins no matter what they are..

He arose again victorious over hell and the grave.

He gave us Hope for tomorrow..

He will live in our hearts today...

We only need to invite Him...

 Did you know that you can NEVER go so far that you can crawl out from under the long reaching arm of  the LOVE of Jesus...

We need to echo the Love of Christ to all we meet today...

He is coming soon..

Thanks for dropping by and leaving your sweet comments...

Hugs..

LINKED TO DINNER ON A DIME AT LIKE A BUBBLING BROOK

A Miscellaneous Posting with a recipe...

Good Morning... It is a lovely day today but the picture here was taken this past weekend. 

As you know it was our anniversary and where would my dear husband want to go than to Prosser Brook..

(for you new readers ... Prosser Brook is a small rural place up in the Kent Hills of New Brunswick.  We have a wee old farm up there where we go to get away from time to time...

*get away from what has been my question.*. smile.... I love being home most of the time.. But Terry loves that old place and we go when we can.)

Anyway, he wanted to check and make sure the water had not froze up and such .... The long lane is full of snow... (there's tons of snow up in them thar hills....lol..)  so I stayed out in the car while he walked in to check..

I snapped the above pic as I waited...

Guess what I was doing... He was only gone about 25 minutes...

This...

I finished my very own Tim Hortons coffee cozy.. Tim's is Canada's fav coffee shop... Well, it is mine, anyway...

I have been trying to get back into crocheting again after 20 or more years and I could only go in circles..

In previous posts I showed you the water bottle cozy and I did an apple one which I don't think I posted.. I gave it away to Nancy..

I decided to keep this one and I am making Terry a red one.

He probably won't use it...smile..

I did finally master the square, though so be on the lookout for dishcloths... Oh, yeah:)  smile...

My Mom turns them out in a few minutes with her knitting needles... I do not knit... much...

Anyway....

Last week I shared a couple of heart felt postings so today we are on a lighter note..

I had said I wanted to share a recipe and here it is...

I made this last summer for the Keepers in St. Martins and they really liked it and Terry and I love it...

It smells delicous cooking in the oven and is oh so tender...

THE BEST PORK TENDERLOIN

(or use it on Chicken Breasts....)

1 pork tenderloin or 4 chicken breasts.

1/4 cup catalina dressing for salads

 1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1 Tablepspoon honey

Brush tenderloin or chicken breasts with 2 T. of the catalina dressing.

Then mix the dry ingredients to make a rub which you put on and let sit for 10 minutes..

Place meat in a shallow pan (I use foil to line the pan)

and put in a 375 degrees oven...

Bake for 15 minutes.

Mix honey and the rest of the dressing and brush on meat occasionally.

Bake for another 20 minutes or so until meat is cooked.

Let rest for 5 minutes.

**************************

You can also do this in your BBQ or grill pan...

Just grill for 20 minutes and turn occasionally.

Mix remaining dressing with honey and brush meat and grill another 10 minutes or so until cooked.

That is all for this morning my sweet ladies... For those of you who were wondering last week about what I was going to do with the dried pineapples you can check over at my prim blog

to see how they turned out...

Also.... we will be having a Keepers Meeting this coming Saturday morning at 9 a.m.  at our Fellowship Hall in Sussex...

We will (Lord willing)  have coffee and a lesson and a secret activitiy.. (I do not have it all figured out yet...smile...)

So if you live near enough please know you will be welcomed..

My email is  keepersofthehome@hotmail.com  if you are interested or have any questions.... It is free of charge, too...

So take care of yourselves and your sweet families until next time ..

May the God of Peace be with you and bless you all.. 

Hugs ....

For ever, for always and no matter what......

Hello my dears...
Today is a beautiful day here.  Windy and cool but Spring like...
Did you know that 41 years ago today at 7 p.m. Terry and I said "I do!"

As I sit here today I am wondering where the years have flown.. People say that phrase all the time but until lately I did not realize that time really does fly:)

Terry and I started out together when I was only 17 and he was 20.  I was a girl who had turned away from God. I used to blame everything and everyone else but the fact of the matter is that I quit praying and putting God first in my life.  I started down the broad path... 
I had accepted Jesus into my heart as a 9 year old child and was baptized in His Name and filled with His Spirit...
Terry had an experience with God as a child but had also turned away.
 
Really, when we met we were totally different.
Two different personalities, two different faiths, two different lifestyles.
But in there somewhere was a mutual attraction that led to love. 
We both made choices that had consequences.. We were married very young and soon had two children and life got kind of complicated.  There were bills and children and parties..
Things went from bad to worse..

 God is the glue in a good marriage and in those first few years we did not have any glue.. Things almost fell apart in our fourth year.  It was then that we realized that we did not have just ourselves to consider .. We had two innocent children who did not ask to come into this world.  They deserved their parents together... Loving and living.. 

So we made a commitment to try and fix things on our own... Every Friday night we sat it aside for DATE NIGHT..Slowly, we were trying to mend two broken hearts and two broken dreams..Working and striving together to make it work..

Then in 1975 Terry and I were on a date night.  We always went to get our groceries and then we would usually go to a movie or bowling or such.  On that particular night I had forgotten to look up the movie that we had wanted to see.  I found a phone and called our babysitter who happened to be Terry's sister to ask her to check the paper.  When she answered she told me that my sister and her husband had come down to stay overnite.. We were glad and said we would be right home.
  
On the way home we topped the hill near Marr Road in the St. John area when just ahead of us a car turning onto the Marr Road hit an incoming one head on... 
We quickly parked along the side of the road and ran to see if we could help.. 
Five people lost their lives that night.  A baby was crying amid the groceries and a dear wee boy about the same age as our daughter was screaming sitting between his mother and older brother who were gone... 
Walking around and wringing my hands I soon realizd that Life was precious and that I was lost.  I KNEW that if it had have been us then we would have been in eternity without God...

Our life changed that night.. On the way home Terry and I talked and decided that we were on the wrong road.  That night I literally cried all night long.  We made up our minds to yield our lives back to the Lord... 

I was working at a very good job with other girls at the hospital in St. John.  On Monday, I told them what had happened and that I was giving my life back to God and that Terry and I were going back to church on Sunday... They laughed and said that I had better get my sinning all done that week.  But do you know what? I didn't feel like sinning anymore.  I had given my life back to the One who had created it.. The following Sunday Terry and I and our two sweet children went to church.  God had met us that night but we made a commitment that Sunday and put Christ back in our lives where He belonged. 

Down through the years not everything has been perfect... Times when we could have slammed the door .... Times of grief and discouragment.  Times when the stresses of life were heavy.. But you know that Jesus made the difference.  He became the glue...He remained faithful.. He has answered so many prayers..I cannot imagine my life without God or without Terry.  I pray we have many more years together...
  
Jesus has blessed us with a wonderful family. Several years later God blessed us with another child.  And then there were three.  We now have 5 grandsons who also love the Lord.. God is good...
  
Today, there are so many things out there for couples to embrace.  Some see Hollywood and think that their marriage doesn't quite cut it and they look for something more to satisfy the longings of their hearts.  But when the rubber meets the road, girls only Jesus can satisfy.  You may get another relationship but some day when all is said and done the marriage you started out in is the Will of God.. Strive to make it work.  Consider your children and then consider eternity..I know that some marriages today fail and sadly there seems to be no solution.. It takes two to work on a marriage.. But you will find that Jesus is the answer..When all else fails and you cannot fix it then  you can depend on Him to get you through your situation...Just lean on Him...

Well, sweet ladies.. for another time this week I find myself sharing my heart.
Next week I will give you some neat recipes and stuff..ok?

Thanks so much for stopping by and I look forward to hearing your thoughts...


Love to you all.... 

A More Simple Time...

Greetings....  I believe it is actually beginning to feel like Spring here in Maritime Canada..  Although, we still have snowy fields the deer are out feeding.  On our way to Sussex last Sunday there were literally herds of deer in the big open fields.  Coming back home  cars were parked along the old back road watching them.  This is a sure sign of Spring..

Thank you to everyone who dropped in on my last post and to you who also left a comment.  I appreciate it..

God is faithful....

There used to be a more simple time, eh?  Days when the only really bad news you heard would be of someone's death.  There was the occasional tragedy or act of Nature but not a daily occurence.

I know we have had some terrible times in the past, also.  World Wars and earthquakes and epedemics.  I just mean when I was a child growing up there seemed to be less. 

Today it is daily.... Everyday some new catastophe touches not only lands overseas but on our own shores..

We really don't know what to expect when we start our day...

All that I do know for certain is that my life is in His hands... In Him will I trust...

On that note of speaking of a more simple time I thought I would show you some pics that you might enjoy. 

They are from when Terry and I went on  a little trip...  

FARMS...ANIMALS..GARDENS..

you get the picture... smile.... 

Beautiful old farm houses...

 I can just imagine how busy this old house could be..

Bread in the oven, soup on the stove. a pail of fixins for the chicks, eggs to be washed and put in the cartons, wool to be spun, baking started for the farmers market, school work on the table, clothes ready to be pegged and beds airing out from the spring breezes coming in the open windows....

And then outside...

Cattle enjoying the Spring weather...

Farmers cleaning their barns and planting...

The smell of Spring...

Sheep... my favorite animal on the farm...

I only want 3

2 ewes and a ram...

smile....

Did you know that at one time I had 3 sheep?  I loved them. The ewes always had twins..The dear things... 

I bought them at an auction in Sussex and brought them home in the back of the car... lol.. Terry was so impressed...

An old rooster or two...

Gorgeous horses and cows....

Chickens..... Oh.. farm fresh eggs...

What would we do with them all?

A lovely farm scene..

so peaceful...

Spring farm fields....

Everything's getting ready for the growing season. 

Now, in case you are wondering ....

We took these last March during our Amish visit...

Their Spring is ahead of ours....

Have you all started your seedlings?. We want to plant a lot of cabbage and turnips this year. 

I would like to try my hand at  fermenting them..

There is so much about it on the web and we love sourkraut... 

Terry has made that before and it was delicious:)

And of course, I love my herbs and hope to grow many  more...

Last year I learned how to make salves, balms and such and so I will need lots of them... 

By the looks of things the grocery prices are on the rise...I want to plan and to plant and preserve.... Right?

Now, if only Terry would consent to a few sheep and chicks... smile..

We would have to sell the summer cottage as well as the shop..

Did you know that the Bible says to occupy until He comes?

I think it is our responsibility to prepare for our families and be frugal... Do you girls agree?

My house smells like pineapples today.. What a lovely smell.

I am trying to dry them out for craft purposes...

I will let you know how they turn out...

Well, my dears I must go and stuff a few dolls and check on my pineapples.

Love and Prayers

Faye...

Psalms 146..

JESUS IS COMING SOON...

Good Evening everyone...
I guess you will find  this posting a bit different from the homemaking ones that I usually write.

 But tonight I am writing from my heart. 
As you no doubt already know I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I love Him, worship Him, strive to obey Him and He is the Head of our home and the centre of my heart.
He is altogether precious to me... I crave His presence in my heart and I need to feel His closeness every day of my life.

Life is hard sometimes.  As we see on the news daily the world is changing even as I write this... Earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars.....People are dying and going into eternity...

I believe that there is a Heaven to gain and a Hell to shun.. I really believe that Jesus Christ was born, died and rose again... And I really believe that He is coming back again.  SOON..
In the book of Matthew chapter  24 and 25 explains what will be happening in the world and tells us the signs we will see just before he returns ...  
You can see them tonight on CNN..... They are there...
He is coming again ..

With all that said I just wanted to share the GOOD NEWS...
Jesus Christ loves YOU...He died for you and shed His precious blood that you could be saved TODAY...  He is coming back very soon for a people who love Him and serve Him..
He is not someone who you need only visit in a building every Sunday or whenever you get around to it but He is as close as the mention of His Name... Wherever you are and whatever you are doing all you have to do is say Jesus... He is right there... He will hear you...He loves you...He is real...You can feel Him..

He made a Way that is so simple for man to follow.. He wants us to prepare to meet Him... 
In Acts 2 when the crowd asked Peter how to be saved...
He answered them by saying....
"Repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of  Jesus Christ for the remission of  sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.."

Jesus is our Redeemer, our Savior, our Healer, our Soon Coming King and so much more .......We sing an old song..
He saves, He keeps and He satisfies ......

If you don't know Christ as your personal Savior and want to accept Him into your life today He is available.  Find a place to pray... Ask Him to forgive you and to live in your heart... Then get a Bible and read it.. Start in the New Testiment.. Just do what the Scripture says..Follow the plan of Salvation...  Find a church that believes that the Bible is Truth... Every little word....And preaches that Word...The church won't save you but they will support you and help you...

He will turn your life around and give you joy and peace and hope ... He will make life  worth living and He will give you the Comforter... His Holy Spirit  infills you with power to withstand what Satan will bring into your life...He changes you and brings unspeakable joy.. He replaces the sin in your life...He fills that empty spot in your heart that only He can fill and bring satisfaction...

He is merciful, amazing, wonderous, awesome, all together lovely, and He will give you eternal life...
Isn't God good?   I am so glad that I know Jesus today and that He is my God and Savior.  When I look down the road I see Hope...
He is my protector and my peace....

There are only two types of people in the world...
    guilty and forgiven 
I am so glad that I am forgiven and even though I am so far from all I can be He loves me... Every morning his Mercy is renewed towards us...When I ask.. He forgives. His blood covers my sin.

I hope that this touches your heart today  and if you would like to comment I look forward to hearing from you sweet ladies...

Our families need to know that Mama loves Jesus and that He will get us through..If our children are lost then we need to remember that Jesus Christ still saves.  Our families need  God and we want them to know where to go.. At the foot of the cross...
And yes my dear child your Mom is praying for you.....
 In Jeremiah 31..17 says:
"And there is hope for your future", declares the Lord, "and your children shall return to their own territory".
I am putting my faith today in that little verse.... Hope....Promise...

We need Jesus..... Our children need Jesus... The world needs Him.

This has been on my heart lately dear girls.. I wanted to share it with you...  I think that blogging is about this... Sharing your thoughts....
                                                  
                                                                   GOD BLESS...

Frugal Hair Rinse Recipe and a Windy Day's Happenings...

Good Day to you all..

It is really windy and as you probably know by now  I am a grey weather type of person.. smile... That means that I love the wind and rain.. It usually brings out my creative spirit... 

Today I am here by myself as Terry and our youngest son have gone to the farm for the second time this week.  Dustin is on vacation and is helping to get the old farm house ready for us to go up and stay for a bit...They needed to get the water and bathrooms hooked up and such. 

I have another frugal recipe for you ...

 A hair rinse that is effecient, enviro friendly and healthy....  

The recipe is so simple... I  made it  awhile ago but did not get around to trying it until lately.. It works perfectly.

My hair is down past my waist but very fine. 

When I used this I was wondering about tangles.  But it worked perfectly. 

It has a nice smell and even my pillow smelled lovely..smile.

I of course used lavender as that is my fav but you can use your favorite essential oil..

Here is the recipe..

HOMEMADE LAVENDER HAIR RINSE...

1 1/2 cups warm spring water

1heaping tablespoon baking soda

essential oil of your choice. 

Just whisk this all together and use oil to your tastes.  It just takes a few drops...

Store in a jar.

When I used this I just poured some over my already washed hair and kind of rubbed it to the ends and then rinsed it out some...

I found a batch does 3 hair washes and as I said I have long hair...

Simple, eh?

I hope you girls like this.

Why buy expensive stuff loaded with chemicals when this costs pennies and is so much better for you and yours...

Now for the rest of my day... 

A lovely day to make bread.. It is nice to make two loaves of the no knead bread for the weekend...(recipe on sidebar under recipes.) 

Someone may come or perhaps Dustin will want one.. (is there any question?)

Also.... Someone emailed me some pics of a hummingbird's nest..

Isn't it darling?

So clean and snug.... Imagine the wind rocking you to sleep in this?

And there they are ...

Spring is coming .... We still have lots of snow but the fields are beginning to get bare spots... So looking forward to it...

And speaking of that... I am working at making things for my wee shop that we open when we cottage in St. Martins during the Summer.. 

HOUSE OF HENRY

You can check my other blog to see how I am making out gathering and creating for this.

I hope to open the first of June...

Well, sweet girls I need to go and get some dolls stuffed..

And then later I need to make myself respectable. 

I believe dear hubby and I are having DATENIGHT tonight.

I teach the Keepers that married couples should have special time for each other.  Terry and I have practiced

 Friday night - Date night for years...

The sweet girls at Keepers gave us a wonderful gift card for dinner that we can't wait to use.... smile...

Thank you girls..

Also... Welcome to the new followers... If you have a blog just leave a comment and I will visit with you... Most of your profiles are not displaying your blog... ok?

Thanks so much for dropping by and have a lovely weekend.

May God bless and keep you...

Hugs...

 

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP RECIPE

Good Morning my dears....

Just posting a quick recipe for you today.

I love this one..  The first time I ate it was at an Italian place that a friend and I tried.  I instantly fell in love with it and determined to make it at home. After many recipe tries I finally have it as close as I can get it to theirs..

I hope you give it a try it and like it.  Actually, perhaps you would want to buy a can of Campbells Italian Wedding Soup and see if you like it first.

Here is the recipe...

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Place 1/2 pound of ground beef and 1/2 pound of sauage meat in a bowl... Add 1 egg and 1/4 cup of cracker crumbs ( I use the flavored pita ones from Costco but any kind or even bread crumbs will do) along with 1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley, 1 clove of minced garlic and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper.

 

Mix well and make into wee meatballs. 

Place on a cookie tray or such and bake in 350 degree oven for 30 - 35 minutes.  Keep checking after 30 minutes to make sure they are cooked.

Now... I only use 1/2 of these balls and freeze the other cooked half for another soup later on. 

You can use them all but I don't find I need that many meatballs in the soup and it stretches the recipe for more than one meal..

Meanwhile... Cook 3/4 cup of soup pasta according to directions.

This is what soup pasta looks like.  Really small ....

Do not overcook.. Drain and sit aside.

In a soup pot bring to a boil 4 cups of chicken broth.(Sometimes I have used beef if that is all that I have).  Add 2 cups of chopped fresh spinach.  Simmer for 5 minutes or so and add your drained meatballs, pasta and 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese...

Simmer for a few more minutes...

I like to serve this with pita crackers and a green salad.

This recipe makes enough for two meals for Terry and I ..

I must confess that I sometimes have more than 1 bowl..

Terry does not like it as much as I do but he eats it and does not complain.. He would rather have corn chowder... smile...

If you have a large family or want to make a huge pot of soup just double the amounts of everything except for the meatballs  and then add all of them...

Ok?

Oh.... I usually have enough leftover for a cup or two of soup later on.. I find the pasta enlarges but I just add some more chicken broth and it is still yummy...

I must confess... I am a SOUP JUNKIE..lol...

Thanks again for stopping by and for all of your comments and emails...

I appreciate you all...

GOD BLESS...