Spring Cleaning for the Heart and Home: Day 8

Good morning! How are you? Today we are talking about spring cleaning our kitchens! Don’t feel overwhelmed. It’s okay to take your time and do a good job!

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Today’s giveaway is:

Longing for a Vintage Life e-Book – AWOW Fall 2006,

available in our Proverbs 31 Bookstore, valued at $5.95 !

In order to be entered into the drawing, you must comment below. Let’s discuss the lesson!

If you have found this devotional to be helpful and would like to support our ministry at A Virtuous Woman, you can donate! As always your prayers and gifts are appreciated!

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Or you can purchase Spring Cleaning for the Heart and Home e-Book here.

 

Apple BBQ Sauce for Canning

I am still canning all those apples we bought back a few months ago. Who knew life would be so crazy the last few months? I’ve hardly had more than one day a week (if that, some weeks) to work on the canning. Thankfully I only have about 5 bushels of apples left and seven pumpkins left that need preserving.

So, since we have enough apple sauce and apple butter to last us a few years, I was racking my brain trying to come up with a new recipe for the apples. I get bored easily.

This original recipe is what I came up with:

Apple BBQ Sauce

8 cups applesauce

6 cups brown sugar

32 oz. tomato sauce (or two 15 oz. cans)

1 1/2 cups vinegar

4 tsp. salt

4 tsp. garlic powder

3 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. liquid smoke

2 tsp. chili powder

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. black pepper (optional)

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Mix all ingredients together in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil, simmer for 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until thickened. It smells wonderful!

Fill sterilized pint jars with the hot BBQ sauce, leaving 1/2 inch head space. Process 20 minutes in a hot water bath. Be sure to add five minutes for each 1000 feet elevation. I have to process mine for 25 minutes because we live at about 1600 feet.

Yield: 6 – 7 pints

Picky Eaters

From Chaos to Calm: Day Forty-One

 Picky Eaters

 Scripture Memory: “Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself.” Ezekiel 4:9

Download the .pdf version of this article.

Oh, the joys of motherhood. Cooking supper in your pretty apron with your hair fixed and a sweet helper washing the dishes as you go…

Oh, wait – this is real life! I don’t know about you, but supper time can be stressful. I enjoy cooking for my family. I really work hard to prepare healthy meals that look and taste good. Unfortunately, there is always at least one child who is less than thrilled with the menu. Whether it is Emily’s dislike of broccoli, James’ dislike of eggs and mayonnaise, or Sarah’s dread for coleslaw, it seems out of five kids the only nights everyone is thrilled is when I make spaghetti.

We have a rule in our house that no one is allowed to be picky. This rule starts at around the age of five. Before that, I encourage, but do not insist that they eat what is served. They must eat something of everything and they must eat what they take. I do not believe in forcing a child who feels full to continue eating. In this case, my children have the option of finishing their dinner at a later time. They know they will not be allowed to waste the food.

Children who are allowed to eat only the foods they really love grow up to be adults who don’t like vegetables. Over the years my children have grown to love greens, salads, spinach, and asparagus. Emily is even beginning to like broccoli! Our taste buds change over time. Not only that, but you can retrain your own taste buds by eating foods you don’t care for on a regular basis.

Some foods that my own mother did not serve – which I grew up disliking – were beets, mushrooms, olives, asparagus, sauerkraut, spinach and more. I am happy to report that thanks to my husbands encouragement, I LOVE all of these foods now and cook them frequently.

Children should not be allowed to waste food. I can’t count the times I have attended a potluck dinner and watched as children piled their plates high with good food only to throw most of it in the trash minutes later. God is not honored by our waste. Children need to learn that food is a blessing from God. Part of being a good steward is eating the food we are provided and avoiding waste as much as possible. My children know when we go to a potluck or eat at someone else’s home that they are to politely eat what they are served.

Teach your children about nutrition. Let them help you choose healthy foods at the grocery store. Tell them why you do not eat certain foods or why some foods should only be eaten in moderation. Teach them how to properly care for their bodies. More importantly show them by your own example.

 

Host a Cookie Swap!

This year, why not host a fun Cookie Swap with your friends? Or how about with the women in your church? This would make a perfect social for Women’s Ministries!

How it Works:

Each person bakes one batch of their favorite cookie for each guest attending the cookie swap. So, if there are 12 guests attending, each guest will bring 12 dozen cookies. Be sure everyone brings the recipe along with their cookies!

You can print out our Cookie Swap Organizer for free!

Note: I suggest printing the recipe cards onto cardstock paper.

Have you ever hosted a cookie swap? What is your favorite cookie recipe?

Turkey Veggie Platter

This would be so much fun for the Kids Table at Thanksgiving Dinner. Serve with homemade Ranch Dressing. Yum!

Enchilada Sauce for Canning

Okay, so I started getting all the produce put up. We bought 6 more bushels of tomatoes. That’s a lot of tomatoes! Plus the bushel of Pablano Peppers!

All in all our trip to the Farmer’s Market in Asheville, NC gave me… 

7 bushels of tomatoes

14 bushels of apples

1 bushel sweet potatoes

1 peck squash

1 peck eggplant

2 bushels red and green bell peppers

1 bushel pablano peppers

2 bushels cucumbers

That should keep me BUSY for quite a while!

Enchilada Sauce. So far I have made 23 quarts and 12 pints of this incredible Enchilada Sauce. (Plus what we used to make a small pan of enchiladas – probably another quart.) To make that much sauce I have used up about half of the Pablanos (maybe a little more than half) and about 3 bushels of tomatoes. We love enchiladas! They are so easy to make, so many options for fillings and just taste so good. I thought about dishing some up into a mug and sipping it like tomato soup!

Enchilada Sauce for Canning

12 lbs. quartered tomatoes

10 pablano peppers

3 tbsp. cumin

1 tbsp. chili powder

2 tbsp. salt

6 cloves minced garlic

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Quarter tomatoes and place on three baking sheets, lined with foil if preferred, salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with a little olive oil. Place pablano peppers on top. Roast for about an hour, turning peppers as they blacken and blister. Remove peppers when all sides are blistered. This may happen before the hour is up. I had to take peppers out one at a time as they were ready. Allow peppers to cool and then peel.

Add roasted tomatoes and peeled peppers to large stock pot. Add remaining ingredients and use an emulsion blender to puree (or use a regular blender in batches).

Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Then fill sterilized jars leaving a 1 inch headspace.

Pressure can at 10 lbs. for 50 minutes for pints and 60 minutes for quarts. This recipe is not for the boiling water bath method. I have to can at 15 lbs. pressure because of our altitude.

Note: You could add more peppers for a spicier flavor. Also, I suggest always boiling pressure canned vegetables/ sauces for at least 15 minutes, stirring frequently before feeding them to your family – just to be on the safe side.

Another Note: You could use this “method” for making smaller batches of the sauce for one time use and not can it. Easy and definitely worth it! I’ve been getting about 8 – 9 quarts from each batch of this recipe.

Speaking of Mason Jars…

…it’s that time of year again. My husband went to the Farmer’s Market in Asheville, NC on Friday with plans for going back this coming Thursday for more produce. I love it, but that also means, the pressure is on! I have canned a lot of produce since January.

Some of the produce I have to get put up came from our garden including habenero peppers, bell peppers, green tomatoes:

Bell peppers, Habenero peppers and tomatoes from garden (and two of my big white radishes).

From the Farmer’s Market we have…

1 bushel tomatoes

1 bushel pablano peppers

1 bushel green bell peppers and 1 bushel red bell peppers

4 bushels of apples (Red Delicious, Gala, Arkansas Black, Honey Crisp)

I’ll share what I make with all this good stuff as I go. Are you doing any fall canning or preserving? I didn’t can anything this summer, which is unusual for me, but I did so much in January, February, and March, I was wore out. You can see what I have canned this year (so far) on my sidebar.

Happy Canning!

Mason Jars

Have you missed me? This summer flew by, oh wait, summer been over for… weeks! Yes, fall is quickly passing me by as well it seems. I have had next to no time for my blog or website, much to my great disappointment. But I have learned over the years – 10 years blogging – that life needs to come first, family needs to come first. So I live by that rule when it comes to computer time. Anyway… here is a nifty little tip.

I love Mason Jars. I mean, really, what’s not to love? I use them for drinking, food storage, canning, flower vases, organizing, and more.

I have purchased quite a few boxes of Ball plastic lids for my Mason Jars. I love them. I can’t seem to get enough of them. But then I discovered that your typical mayonnaise jar and some peanut butter jar plastic lids fit a regular mouth Mason Jar. Talk about frugal and recycling at the same time!

Meal Planning and the Grocery Store

From Chaos to Calm: Day Thirty-Eight

Meal Planning and the Grocery Store

Scripture Memory: ”She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.”  Proverbs 31:14

 

Download the .pdf version of this article.

Before you can cook a delicious meal for your family, you will need to have a pantry(1) stocked with good foods. You will be able to prepare a wide variety of recipes if you have the basics already in your cupboard.

Grocery shopping with small children in tow is not always fun, so if you are able to do this when your husband is able to watch the children, you will be able to get done faster and probably save more money. Another option would be to trade off grocery shopping days with a friends and watch each other’s children on grocery day.

You want to prepare for your shopping trip. A good day to plan your weekly shopping is the day you clean out the refrigerator or perhaps the day after. Plan your meals(2) for the coming week. I typically do this a week ahead of time, but you can do it however you prefer.

To shop wisely and save more money, when you are planning your meals, have the weekly sales flyer available and plan as many meals around good deals as you can.

Make a shopping list of those items that are missing from your pantry. Make a list of those special things you need to prepare the recipes for each meal. Make a list of other items that you will need to prepare desserts and/ or snacks during the week. When planning snacks, think healthy – dried fruit versus candy, baked chips versus fried…

Remember that some foods are wants and other foods are needs. Foods that provide good nutrition are the needs! Try to limit the amount of processed and refined foods that you bring into your home. Whole foods – living foods – will provide the nutrition your family needs.

When planning your meals you want to think of colors. If your plate is all one color, you are missing out on important vitamins and minerals. For instance, serving sides of potatoes and corn mean serving foods that are similar - both starches. Instead of serving these in the same meal, try serving a green vegetable, a white vegetable and a yellow/ orange vegetable.

It can be fun to read cookbooks to get new ideas. You can learn a lot about what foods and flavors work well together by reading recipes. I love to cook foods from different cultures. By offering a wide variety of foods and flavors to your children when they are young, you will train them to not be picky eaters. I believe that children should be required to eat at least a small portion of everything you serve. When I was young, I didn’t much care for turnip greens, but after years of eating my greens, I grew to love them! It is possible to train – or even retrain – your taste buds!

Ever heard the term “acquired taste?” This is because some foods do take a certain level of “getting used to” before you fully enjoy them.

When planning your grocery shopping, go through your coupons for bargains on items you

regularly purchase or would like to try. Use coupons as much as possible, but always compare prices and brands. Store brands very often are as good a quality as the name brand product. By in bulk those items that you use frequently when they go on sale. You can begin using a price book(3) and track sales and sale prices.

Planning, shopping, and preparing meals should be a source of joy, of true contentment in your life. By planning ahead, you will know what you are going to cook each day. You won’t panic at 4:00 when you suddenly realize the dinner hour is approaching. Instead you will have prepared a balance meal. You will know that over the course of a week, your family has benefited from a variety of nutritious foods and that their bodies have been cared for.

God has given you the awesome responsibility of feeding your family. Embrace it!

 

Footnotes:

1.  You can download a printable Pantry Inventory List at: http://www.avirtuouswoman.org/at-home/household-notebook/ and find a list for the Basic Pantry at:  http://www.avirtuouswoman.org/2011/02/23/the-basic-pantry/

2. You can download a printable Weekly Menu Planner at: http://www.avirtuouswoman.org/at-home/household-notebook/

3. You can download a free printable Grocery Price List at: http://www.avirtuouswoman.org/at-home/household-notebook/

 

Cooking in the Kitchen

From Chaos to Calm: Day Thirty-Seven

Cooking in the Kitchen

Scripture Memory: “Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.”  Philippians 3:19 (NIV)

 

Download the .pdf version of this article.

Do you enjoy cooking? I love to cook. I am always on the hunt for new recipes to try. My favorite shows to watch on TV are on the Food Network! Cooking for my family is very time consuming. Of course, we have five children living at home. The bigger they get the more food they eat. I also regularly feed my step daughter and her family. They live right down the street from us, so we are always asking them to eat with us – sometimes 4 or more times a week! So, there are ten of us regularly around the table. Holidays and other family get-togethers mean cooking for up to twenty– five people!

I suppose it is a good thing I enjoy cooking! I think that part of enjoying cooking is knowing how to cook. I mean, it wouldn’t be much fun if I was always ruining a recipe or burning the food. I love to eat, and I know what I like to eat. I am not afraid to change a recipe if I don’t have all of the ingredients.

When I left home, years ago, I really didn’t know how to cook very much. I had to learn. If you struggle with preparing food for your family, or if your recipes are the butt of many family jokes, perhaps it is time you really took the time to learn to cook.

The foods you prepare and serve to your family – and friends – will leave a lasting impression on them. Food that is lovingly prepared stamps a seal of love on the hearts of those eating it. When people come to my house, they know they will enjoy the food and get plenty to eat. I don’t want anyone to leave hungry!

Food is also about tradition. Traditions play such an important role in the day to day interaction of family members. Children thrive on tradition. During the holidays, I always make the same recipes – wonderful cheese crackers, date balls, snowball cookies, spiced pecans, and pumpkin pies. I also incorporate new recipes each year and favorites are repeated. But it is not just during the holidays that your family can enjoy food traditions. Make Saturday night “Taco Night” or invite family and friends over for Dad’s Famous Salsa and Monday Night Football can be a treat. It doesn’t really matter the food or the reason, just that it is familiar and comforting.

As a wife and mother, food also plays a vital role in the health of your family. If your children are overweight, if you and your husband are overweight, or even if you were blessed by the “skinny gene,” your heart and health and their heart health is directly related to the foods you choose to serve. If you eat healthy but your husband doesn’t want to, you can greatly improve his health by learning to cook foods he likes in a healthy way. It is possible!

Today, I just want to encourage you to really consider what you are preparing for your family every day. It is up to you to teach your children to eat healthy! Whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains are essential to good health. You want to serve indulgent foods in

moderation. Processed foods give very little in the way of good nutrition, and should be avoided as much as possible. I recommend learning to cook as much as possible from scratch.

If you are unsure of what to do, get a good basic cookbook. Just start practicing! Schedule time each week to learn a new recipe. List areas that you might need to change:

- Cooking from scratch

- Eat more vegetables

- Eat less fat

- Eat less food

- Eat regular meals

- Cut out snacks

- Cut out late night eating

Now, you may be saying, “This is too hard!” I know. It can be a great challenge to change our patterns of eating. Today, I just want you to begin thinking about it. But for now, just think about it. Pray about it. Ask God to help you overcome any struggles you have with your appetite.

 

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