Apples!

God knows all our needs and He abundantly provides for them often above all we can hope or imagine.
We have wonderful friends and one of them blessed us recently with a bushel of apples. It was a great gift and I was so pleased. I was able to make a batch of chunky apple sauce which is really good warm and served on ice cream and sprinkled with granola. It is like an apple crisp. I put that in the freezer up North to save for serving our company Thanksgiving weekend. It seems like a fitting dessert evening with the crisp fall air and changing leaves. Have I mentioned that I am super excited because I LOVE fall!
I was also able to prep and freeze enough apple slices mixed with cinnamon and sugar for 6 apple cakes which are one of my hubby's favourites. And I did bake him a cake for now as well.~smile~

I thought I might share those recipes here....

Chunky Apple Sauce 
8 cups chopped peeled apples (about 3 1/2 lbs.)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a large pot. Cover and cook over medium low heat for 30-40 minutes or until apples are tender.
Remove from the heat and mash apples with a potato masher until it is the desired consistency.
Serve warm or cold.
Yield about 3 1/2 cups.
This makes your house smell amazing while it is cooking!
Note -This recipe came from an old Country Woman magazine.

Lazy Granola
Preheat Oven to 375 degrees

In a saucepan combine...
1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup oil. 1/2 cup honey

Bring to a rapid boil and add....
 1  tsp. cinnamon and 2 tsp. vanilla

Stir then remove from heat and pour oven 7 cups of oats. Stir well to coat.
Bake for 10 minutes on a cookie sheet then take out and stir again.
Put it back in the oven and turn it off.
Leave the granola in there over night, it will be crunchy in the morning.
Note- I believe this recipe came from Laine's Letters many years ago.

 Apple Cake
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup veg. oil
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2-3 sliced apples
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs and add sugar and oil mixing well.
-Combine flour, salt and baking powder. Add to egg mixture alternately with milk mixture. Add vanilla.
-In a separate bowl toss apples with sugar and cinnamon.
- Pour 1/3 batter into a greased, lightly floured tube pan.
-Layer 1/2 the apple mixture over that. Then 1/3 batter, then the rest of the apples. Then top with remaining batter.
-Bake approx. 1 hour or until tests done. Cool 10 minutes or longer before turning out onto a wire rack. Sprinkle with icing sugar if desired.
Serves 10
Note - you can substitute - 2 cups of peaches or blueberries for the apples for something different.

I have no idea where this recipe came from ~smile~

Happy Saturday!
Blessings,
Liisa

Ladies Day Out

Today I was blessed with a day out with two lovely ladies.~smile~ We had such a nice time. We went to St.Jacobs Market which is a large farmers market and flea market with shops etc. as well. They also have a part that sells livestock. It is hard to describe it but it is always fun to wander through and see what they have, which is always a little bit of everything you can imagine.

Elmira is a town near St. Jacob's and we went there as well. These towns are in the midst of Amish and Mennonite communities so there are many tourists especially in St. Jacobs.So it was quite busy today but we had alot of fun.We also had lunch at wonderful buffet restaurant - so good! They serve home style food and so many pies. Mmmmm!

In Elmira we went to an incredible Christian store. It is huge and beautifully laid out. The other two ladies needed some things there and I was happy to go as I am on a hold list for two magazines that I really enjoy and they were there waiting for me. ~big smile~

These magazines are comprised of articles written by Amish and Mennonite ladies for other women. They are a great encouragement to me.

Keepers at Home is my favourite- their introduction says....
Welcome to Keepers at Home! For 25 years we have endeavoured to help Christian women catch a vision for the calling God had for their lives. Mothers are the vessels that God uses to carry a little soul and bring it into this world. It is our goal to encourage mothers in the varies duties of motherhood.
The aged women likewise that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children. To be discreet,chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. (Titus 2:3a,4,5)
God needs women who are willing to work behind the scenes, women who are willing to love, honor and obey their husbands, women who pray earnestly and without ceasing, that God will lead their husbands according to His will, as leader of their homes.

The other one I get is called Ladies Journal. It is a bigger magazine along the same lines.
I also found some packages of really cute recipe cards for a dollar so I grabbed 3 of those to tuck into gifts.

We then visited a thrift shop always a good time! Afterwards we popped over to a really sweet little quilt shop that also sells card making and scrapbook supplies and TONS of rubber stamps. Many are Christian verses and sayings. In addition they have lots of fabric, yarn, books and many many other things. It is pretty easy to spend alot of time in there.

We finally headed home and the hour and a half drive flew by as we chatted away.

So just a wonderful day! Lots of fun, visiting, catching up, food and shopping....what more could you ask for in a ladies day out.~smile~

Happy Thursday!
Blessings,
Liisa

P.S. Sorry for the glare in the picture but I am too pooped out to re-do it *wink*

On Today's Agenda

Today it is wonderfully cool and raining. There is something about a rainy fall day that reminds me of my childhood trips to our camp (Cottage for those not from Northern Ontario ~smile~). My family moved very often when I was growing up since my father worked for the railroad, so the camp was the one constant for me.
My grandparents built it themselves shortly after they were married and it was the place where all our family gathered for summers and holidays. It was a wonderful place in the summer. What child isn't thrilled to have a lake to swim in right there. Us children would swim no matter the weather - I remember swimming and my mum saying you better get out it's cold and your lips are turning blue. We didn't care it was the lake! Fall trips though were my favourite.

I baked my first ever pie at the camp on a cool rainy day. I think my Nanny (grandmother) just wanted to keep me busy ~smile~. I was about 7 or 8.  It was a raisin pie which is kind of funny as I really do not like raisins - but it was my Dad's favourite. I can still remember her guiding me through the steps and sliding it into the wood stove. That was also the day I learned to make "belly buttons". That is what Nanny called the tiny cinnamon rolls she made out of any leftover dough. She would roll it out into a rectangle shape, spread it with butter, sprinkle on cinnamon and sugar, roll them up and slice them. They then baked along side the pie for an extra treat. I was a much bigger fan of those than a raisin pie! I still make belly buttons and they are one of my hubby's favourite things.

Anyway, I got lost in my memories there for a moment. It is easy to do on a day like today.~smile~

Today I have been catching up on some housework upstairs. We live in a big old house with a wonderful porch in a little town surrounded by farmland. I love it but being a BIG old house means it takes awhile to clean and we have been away so much lately that our bedroom has been last on the cleaning list. So I tackled it today. I am not quite sure how our room becomes the catch all room but I got it all tidied up, everything put away and changed the bed. I also dusted the upstairs so now all I need to do up there is vacuum and clean the bathroom.

I am taking a bit of a break just now and then I will plan the hymn sing for this afternoon. Every other week my sweet friend Eunice and I go to our local seniors home and lead a hymn sing. It is alot of fun and we always leaved so blessed by our time there. I can't sing at all but I lead it anyway (I am in the joyful noise category for sure!) and Eunice plays the piano. The seniors don't care what we sound like they just look forward to us coming.

We usually sing several songs, then we have a break where we pass out cookies and watch some videos I choose of gospel music or maybe a short message instead and then we sing a few more we have chosen and at the end we leave time for them to choose favourites. We are there for an hour. One thing is key and that is to take time before each song to help the ones who are having a bit of a hard time, find the songs. In order to make it less embarrassing for them and not make a big production out of it to center them out I just have the song ready in my book and say can I trade you? And we switch books.
It is a really special time to be with them and worship the Lord together.

Tonight for dinner we are having leftovers which is a blessing since I don't get home from hymn Sing until nearly dinner time and my hubby is usually here waiting with a growling belly *wink*.

So it will be a good day and I am really pleased be able to get all my housework done today since tomorrow I get to go out with some lovely friends of mine for the day (I'll share about that when I get home tomorrow) and Friday my Mum and I are going to a nearby city for some shopping and to pick up my aunt at the airport! Yay!

God is so good and He does bless far above all I could ever hope or dream of.

Now, I had best get back at it and plan the Hymn Sing and finish my housework.

Blessings,
Liisa

Easiest Way to Dice Jalapenos

We have an abundance of jalapenos right now from our garden. They would go bad before we could ever use them all so I dice them up and freeze them to use in recipes through the year. The only thing is that it is usually a painstaking job to dice them all while wearing gloves. ( You only need to accidentally rub your eye once to know why you need to wear gloves!) Thankfully I found a better way.

Yep my handy dandy food processor. I just cut the end off the peppers twist a knife inside them to remove the seeds and membranes, which you don't need gloves for as long as you only touch the outer skin. Then I toss them whole into the food processor and pulse a few times until they are the desired size. You really need to pulse it because it is easy to make jalapeno puree if you are not careful!
Here is what they look like when I am done...

A nice small dice - no juice ready to freeze. I just toss them in a freezer bag and they are good to go. When I want to use them I can just break off a chunk or loosen them up and shake in what I need. They will only be good for cooked recipes after freezing as with all peppers.

If I have an abundance of any pepper or just ones that will go bad before I use them I dice them up and freeze them to use in recipes later. They still taste great but would be too soft for eating uncooked. I am doing this with the long yellow peppers we are growing in our garden too. I am not sure what variety they are as the plants were a gift but they are long and yellow with a mild flavor.

Anyway, This is how I do it and I hope it is helpful to you.

Happy Wednesday!
Liisa

Don't Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth

Yesterday I looked through a box of tomatoes we had been gifted with. I looked a gift horse in the mouth! So many of them were rotten! Literally black with holes and bugs crawling in them... Yikes!

I was thinking this over and to be honest muttering to myself about why would someone give away rotten tomatoes. I was pierced in my heart when I felt God saying "Why are you turning up your nose at My provision?" God forgive me! It was a blessing! A gift from God through a generous person.

I picked through and did get many nice big ones that were beautiful. There were enough that I could make 4 batches of spaghetti sauce! God is good. I am grateful that He works on me and that He does provide so abundantly our every need.

So I made spaghetti sauce yesterday afternoon and I thought I would share the recipe I use.

Spaghetti Sauce
3 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1/2 medium green pepper, diced
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes with juice
6 oz. can tomato paste
1 tsp. dried Italian herbs or to taste
1 beef bouillon cube (I used Better than Bouillon)
1/2 tsp. salt
-In a large pot over medium heat saute veggies until soft
-Stir in remaining ing. and simmer until hot through.
Enjoy!

Happy Tuesday!
Blessings,
Liisa