Category Archives: Family

Great Christmas Gift Idea!

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No one can preserve foods  like Grandma and Mom, that is just the way it is.  We all say from time to time I sure wish I had some of Grandma’s pickles or maybe it was her canned squash, maybe it was mom’s tomato juice.  Have you ever wished you had their canning recipes?  Canning  recipes are being lost with each generation.

Veronica Cooked has come up with a great idea  for preserving family canning recipes. Sections such as preparing produce, processing, ingredients and a very special section for family memories.  The Blank Canning Recipe Book. This book has 100 pages of carefully planned out lined blank sections just for canning. What a great way to preserve family canning recipes and family memories. The Blank Canning Recipe Book makes a great wedding, birthday, Mothers day and don’t forget Christmas gift.  You, your family and friends will complete this recipe book. Pass it around to each family member and let them write their own recipes. What a great way to not only preserve the recipes but their handwriting as well. There is something about a recipe in a loved ones own handwriting makes it extra special.  Veronica came up with this idea when she discovered she had no recipe of any kind in her own Moms or Grand Mothers handwriting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Major Weigh Down #6

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I know my followers thought I surely had fallen off the weigh down wagon and let it run over me.  Shame on you !!!  LOL

Actually, I have been involved in several projects and have not really had an opportunity to post  an update in quite some time.  My weigh down journey  at times has been a roller coaster ride and not an easy task. I seem to be on the down part of the roller coaster ride and am beginning to see a weight loss again. Since I began my major weigh down journey I have lost 43 lbs. It has been slow and not easy. Slow and easy will carry me to my goal and hopefully make my long term success  greater and permanent .  I have begun to see more energy and mobility return to my life. Thank you for your encouragement and I will continue to work toward my goal and hope not to disappoint my family, my followers, my friends nor myself.

As I mentioned I have been working on some projects. I am sharing links below with you to my projects.

Today’s Sermon was NOT from the Preacher

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As a young mother I remember praying every morning. I would pray for patience for the day. I prayed I would have patience with my two precious little boys. They deserved patience and required patience. I never wanted to get angry and yell at them. I know there were a few times I failed at both of my goals. However I prayed and did my very best. I loved seeing my boys smile. I loved knowing they knew they were loved. Being a mother can be the most rewarding job in the world.

This morning while in worship service at church I saw a young mother in front of me. I had watched this young lady grow from a child herself into a loving mother. She and her husband sat there with two small boys. I watched her as the youngest climbed around on her and the chairs. He was very quite while doing this. The only one that might have been inconvenienced or disturbed was his mom. She would look at him and give him a large smile. He would look back at her with adoring eyes and go on being a little boy climbing around.

Plastics and Brain Development in the Womb

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What a miracle, what a blessing and what a joy a baby is. It is unbelievable the awesomeness of a new life growing inside a woman’s body. A loving mother will do anything to ensure the delivery of a mentally and physically healthy baby. She is sure to make all her doctor’s visits. She takes her vitamins and gets extra rest. She will go the extra mile to take care of herself and her unborn baby. It is so sad to hear of a woman who has put drugs and alcohol into her body during pregnancy all the while knowing that it can harm the precious growing human inside her. It is equally sad to think a loving mother may not know of hidden dangers to her unborn baby and small child. I would like to bring to the attention of all parents the following study. A recent study from a group of scientist at Duke University finds dangers to an unborn baby and a newborn in developmental stages. These dangers come from the BPA (chemicals) found in plastic storage containers, plastic cups, and plastic drinking bottles. These chemicals can cause adverse mental and physical conditions. An expectant mother should stay completely away from the plastics containing BPA (chemicals).

A New Recipe From Veronica – Pork Tenderloin Stew

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I have enjoyed cooking since I was a young girl. I remember being in the kitchen with my mom when she would be cooking. I enjoyed watching the way she put her meals together. My mom was very quick in the kitchen. She would have dinner on the stove cooking before most people could get the ingredients out of fridge. My mom was a great cook. She was a very basic cook never anything complicated or “fancy”. I remember my mom getting up and cooking a big meal for breakfast. Many mornings our breakfast would consist of fried chicken, fried potatoes, tomato gravy and biscuits. Other mornings maybe it would only be chocolate gravy and biscuits or bacon, eggs and biscuits. As I grew older I do remember we would have cereal some mornings. Yes my mom was a great cook and teacher. I however enjoy the “fancy, complicated and experimental recipes. I enjoy going into the kitchen, getting out a cookbook, finding a new recipe, and trying it. One of my favorite ways of cooking is to just get ingredients and see what I can create. Thus coming up with a new recipe. This is what happened this week. For a couple of weeks I had been planing on making chicken stew and potato soup for a gathering of friends. Well, on Wednesday I went to lunch with some friends and we all had Pork tenderloin stew. It was great stew. I could not stop thinking about how to make my version of this stew. On Thursday I decided to try it. I bought the pork tenderloin and came up with “Veronica’s spicy Pork tenderloin stew”. Served it to our friends. They all loved it. Thought I would share my recipe with you. Serve with cornbread and ice tea. A great meal for these cold winter days.

Think and Rethink before you get the Flu vaccine

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I have just spent the majority of my time this week at the hospital. I was sitting with my mother-in-law who had a upper respiratory infection. She did not have the flu. However on a floor of about 40 patients 15 of them did have the flu. I was given a mask the day she was admitted. This was only until they were sure she did not have the flu. Even after it was determined she did not I continued to wear the mask. In my walks up the hall I noticed most all of the patients were elderly, looking to be 75 and up. The oldest person I heard of was 93. I directly spoke to five different families of patients there with the flu. All of them had been given the flu vaccine. All was either in an elderly facility, or pretty well home bound. How did they get the flu? They are not around that many people. They were given the vaccine. Goes back to my blog on December 31.The vaccine is pretty useless. It can also be harmful and possibly even increase peoples chance of getting the flu.

Have we lost the real meaning of Thanksgiving?

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On the fourth Thursday of November Americans observe Thanksgiving, a day that has been set aside for us to Thank God for all his blessings through the year. It is a time to also celebrate family and to reminisce with each other about the past year. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in early autumn 1621. The pilgrims did not call their harvest feast, Thanksgiving. They did pray to God but did not consider it a religious holiday. The first religious day of Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1623.
As a child I remember Thanksgiving being a day of feasting, being thankful, watching parades and being with family.
I remember only 20 years ago all the shops, malls, restaurants, even grocery stores were closed on Thanksgiving. This gave employees the opportunity to spend the day with their family. I like to think they were also closed out of respect for the holiday. The last few years this has slowly changed. Many families are no longer together talking, sharing, laughing, watching children play and praying together on Thanksgiving. Instead many are out trying to catch the sales shopping for clothes, gifts and items for their house. Now restaurants are open for dinning out. Families are missing out on the big turkey being carved at the table, all the homemade foods and desserts. The thing sadder than missing the home cooked meal is the family missing sitting around the table together talking, laughing, praying, while children are playing and just being together for the day. Times have changed.

Cooking without an exact Recipe

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I have been cooking in a kitchen since I was probably 10 years old. When I reached Jr High School level I really got interested in cookbooks. I enjoyed finding a recipe and trying it. I remember the first recipe I tried from a book was Eggs Benedict. This was breakfast for my parents, brothers and sisters. Since we did not have English Muffins I improvised and used plain toast. Some of the surprisingly best meals are made with substitutions. I have always enjoyed cooking especially when everything is neat and in order. I have to admit most of my meals are made without recipes. Most of them are made from memories of being in the kitchen with my mom, my mother-in-law, with aunts and friends. Of course I do have some favorite recipes passed to me from friends and family and sometimes from a cookbook.

Thanksgiving preparations continue / Recipe

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Eight more days to prepare my Thanksgiving dinner. I have my sweet potato casseroles ready and in the freezer awaiting topping on Thanksgiving morning. I did under estimate the sweet potatoes I needed for three casseroles. I will make one more if time permits. If not I will make the one I had planned for Christmas closer to that holiday.

Next in line was going to be the strawberry salad. However, I have decided to change that to a Cranberry Fruit Mold instead. I remembered how much my mother-in-law liked the cranberry one. I will make the Strawberry Salad for Christmas and will share the recipe with you then.

Sweet Potato… Delicious and Healthy/recipe

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I would like to invite you to follow me over the next few days as I prepare my Thanksgiving meals. I will be sharing memories, recipes and tips on preparing my Thanksgiving meal. I will be preparing meals for two different settings this Thanksgiving. My mother-in-law always begun in September preparing for the holiday meals. I do not begin that early. I usually wait until the day before. This year I have decided to begin a little bit earlier, twelve days earlier to be exact. I am going to work on some part of my meal each day. Today I am going to make sweet potato casseroles. Since this dish freezes very well, I am going to go on and make three, two for Thanksgiving meals and one for Christmas. I am going to use a recipe from a lady (Ms Vernice) who has passed on but left cooking tips and recipes in the hands of many.

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